I am not Irish, but I live in a community with a large Irish population. Every year a local Irish pub/restaurant holds a local Irish Soda Bread Contest. Although I had never made Soda Bread before, since my hobby is developing bread and cookie recipes, I decided I might do as well as anyone else. So I researched Irish Soda Bread in cookbooks, internet sites, and interviewed my Irish friends about their mothers’ recipes. After experimenting with many variations for a couple of months, I baked my own version for the contest. I came in 4th place out of 40 entries. The older Irish ladies sampling the entries complained that the 3 winning breads were really “cake”, not the traditional style bread to which I tried to adhere! This bread is great for breakfast or for brunch served with a variety of jams, and for St. Patrick's Day of course.

Ingredients

3 cups bleached all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup salted butter, softened but still firm
1 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange zest
1 cup currants
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Cut in salted butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. Stir together buttermilk, vanilla, and orange zest. Add to flour mixture along with currents and stir just until dough comes together. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive, about 12 to 14 turns. Dough will still be bumpy.

3. Shape dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 3 inches high; place on parchment lined baking sheet. Score dough with a sharp knife, making a cross shape onto the top.

4. Bake until golden brown, about 43 minutes. Cover lightly with a piece of foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. Remove from oven and lightly brush with melted unsalted butter. Cool on a wire rack, covered with a thin towel. Serve when mostly cooled with your favorite jam for breakfast or with afternoon coffee. Store in a ziplock bag.

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