Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Irish Whiskey Soda Bread



Every year for St. Patrick's Day I make Irish Soda Bread. This is the only time of the year that I make it, and I'm not quite sure why because it is good (very good), and people love it. I have my own special recipe that gives mine a unique taste; it came about due to an error I made the first time I baked it. The original recipe calls for caraway seeds, as do pretty much all soda bread recipes. Honestly, I thought I had my hand on the caraway seed jar, but as it turned out, I didn't, and ended up using anise seed instead. What a wonderful difference! People would taste it and wonder why theirs wasn't as good. Another boost that I give my version is to soak the raisins in Irish whiskey to plump them up and inject a little flavor. Easy, delicious, and makes excellent toast the morning after.

Irish Whiskey Soda Bread

4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tablespoon anise seeds
2/3 cup raisins
2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
1-3/4 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Put raisins in a shallow bowl and cover with whiskey; set aside.

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat©.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Stir in sugar, anise seeds, and whiskey/raisin mixture.  Add buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon just until the dough is moist, but still lumpy.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and gently knead 8 times to form a soft dough.  Cut dough into two equal halves and form into balls.  Pat each ball into a domed 6-inch round on the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Cut a ½” deep X on top of each loaf and brush with melted butter.

Bake until golden brown, 35-40 minutes.  Remove to rack to cool completely.
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4 comments:

  1. Bonjour chère Pattie,

    Telle les soeurs Tatin, l'erreur vous fut salutaire !! Merci de partager avec nous ce pain qui doit être succulent. J'adore le pain avec les raisins aussi.
    malheureusement lui ne m'aime pas. Je suis allergique au gluten.
    Gros bisous ❁ ☼ ❁

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  2. Of course a touch of whiskey makes everything better --- Happy St. Paddy's Day!

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  3. Hubby was out of town yesterday so I celebrated with one of my daughters family. She had Irish soda bread and it was tasty. I think she bought hers. Yours looks delicious!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  4. I only make Irish Soda bread once a year Pattie and this year I didn't make it at all. I don't know why though. It really is a nice bread and toasts up so crummy too. (I love toasted crummy bread on the grill:)

    Love the thought of soaking the raisins. I must try that. I'm not too sure about the anise though. I'd give it a try at least once!

    Thanks so much for sharing, Pattie...

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Thank you so much for commenting, I love every one of them! I am, however, unable to respond to anonymous comments.