Great Craic, Even Better Bread.

St. Paddy's day. One of my favorite holidays. TOMORROW. What's not to like? Corned beef, cabbage, a cold Guinness, and a green Chicago river (or at least a slightly more neon green than usual).

I realize I'm not actually from Ireland (which a friend from London INSISTS on telling me constantly), but my great-grandparents came over from Ireland and I am extremely proud of my heritage. So this St. Paddy's day I decided to attempt my Nana's soda bread recipe. I told myself I'd try this recipe earlier in the week, but I didn't realize how nervous I would be actually cooking it. I suddenly felt all this pressure, like my family was going to compare it to the soda bread's of my grandmother, great-grandmother, etc., and Irish eyes would NOT be smiling.

Regardless, I pushed on, and combined my Nana's recipe with a few tweaks of my own (this way no one would blame me for totally botching her own recipe). For one, I macerated the raisins beforehand in a few tablespoons of really good whiskey I had left from a trip to Scotland. The whiskey flavor was barely there, but the raisins were much plumper and juicier. I also decided to add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of orange zest to give the bread a little extra zing. And since I didn't have any cream of tartar, I decided to omit it completely (with my aunt's approval).

But probably the best decision I made was to splurge and buy Irish Butter. I remember a baker once told me that using Irish butter made all the difference in his breads, and I am certainly not one to shy away from more butter-y butter.






















I was getting more nervous while making this because it is SUPER sticky. Definitely the wettest dough I've ever used. I don't think there's a surface in my kitchen without some dough permanently stuck to it. But... the result was great! The bread came out moist, but not soggy, and cake-y, but not dry. I'm really looking forward to having it with a strong cup of Irish tea for breakfast tomorrow morning. Hope Nana approves!

Adapted from Nana's Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
3 cups Unsifted flour
3 1/4 to 4 tablespoon Irish butter (cold)
2 1/4 teaspoons Baking powder
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Orange zest
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup Raisins (I soaked mine in 2 tablespoons of Famous Grouse whiskey for 15 minutes, then patted them with a paper towels to absorb extra liquid)
1 egg
2 cups Buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons Caraway seeds

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter an iron skillet. Mix flour and butter in a large bowl so butter is incorporated, but still lumpy.
2. In the flour mixture, combine the baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, and caraway seeds.
3. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and orange zest. Slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients with an electric mixer.
4. Add the raisins, and mix with a wooden spoon. Turn the dough into the iron skillet.
5. Cover the wooden spoon in flour, and drag spoon around the sides of the dough to create a neat circle. Using a serrated knife, make an X on the top of the dough. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in the skillet.
6. Enjoy with more Irish butter!