It’s pretty embarrassing that until today, this blog did not have a recipe for Irish soda bread. My Irish ancestors (because we all have them) are probably tipping over on their heavenly bar stools.
I can’t quite figure out why I’ve never posted a recipe for Irish soda bread. This bread is quick (literally), fun to make and is ridiculous as toast with butter and a drizzle of honey.
Soda bread itself isn’t actually Irish. I read that Native Americans were making a version of this bread long before sodium bicarbonate was introduced to Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century. As luck would have it, the type of wheat that grew in Ireland was more responsive to baking soda as a leavening agent than yeast and so became the favored method for bread baking. 
Folklore says it that the cross was cut into the top in order to ward off the devil.
In our neighborhood, the Goodyear serves the same purpose and he was flying laps around the house as I was baking this bread. Unlike soda bread, the Goodyear Blimp’s leavening agent is helium and a lot of hot air (and cheerleaders).
Though there are many variations on Irish soda bread, I’ve gone with a currant, orange zest and sour cream version here (sometimes called a spotted dog) mostly because I had sour cream in the fridge.
While we’re on the subject, happy St. Patrick’s Day to all. I often find myself on other continents for the grand celebration of green beer. This year I’m in Beijing but in other years I have celebrated from Taipei and Hong Kong. One year I was even at the source in Dublin.
Irish Soda Bread
borrowed from All Recipes
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 pint sour cream
- Zest of an orange
- 1 cup raisins or currants
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan, an 8X8 square pan or two 8×4 inch loaf pans.
- Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, sour cream, orange zest and currants/raisins and mix until just combined.
- Form dough into a rough ball. Score top if you desire your bread to be demon free.
- Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour.