Irish Soda Bread with Caraway Seeds Recipe
Easy Irish Soda Bread with Caraway Seeds. This loaf is made with buttermilk, butter, and a little sugar, which makes for a tender and sweet loaf.
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (16 ounces; 455 grams)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (2 ⅓ ounces; 65 grams)
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons cool butter, cut into 8 pieces, see note (2 ounces; 56 grams)
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk, plus more as needed (12 ounces; 340 grams)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Whisk together flour, sugar, caraway seeds, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix in butter with either your fingers or a pastry cutter until no large pieces remain.
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Add the buttermilk. Stir until a thick dough forms.
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Dust your counter lightly with flour. Turn the dough out onto the counter. Knead until a dough forms. If the dough seems dry, add a tablespoon more buttermilk.
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Place dough on baking sheet. Cut an X, about 1-inch deep, into dough with a sharp knife. This helps the loaf to bake evenly.
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Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, about 45 minutes. If the loaf browns too quickly before the center is done, cover the loaf with foil and bake until the center is done.
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Remove pan from oven. Allow loaf to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool for an additional 15 minutes or so. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Butter Temperature
For this recipe, you don't want the butter too cold, nor do you want it too soft. You want it just right.
If the weather is cool, which it tends to be in March when I make this bread, I take the butter out of the refrigerator about 45 minutes before I plan on baking. This takes the chill off of the butter but it doesn't soften too much.
To tell if the butter is the correct temperature, poke it. Your finger should go in with a little light pressure. If it sinks right in, the butter is too soft. If the butter feels hard, it's too cold.