Irish Soda Bread

Job perks. 

Every job's got 'em. 

Occupational swag, if you will. (Please do.)

In my previous career as a banker, perks included free dinners and a free HP-10C financial calculator. The catch? Eating in the conference room at 7:30pm (preferably over Jeopardy) and going back to my desk to work with my HP-10C. Ballin'. That job also came with five hours of sleep a night. Cannot forget that. 

When I was a professional baker, as you can imagine, the swag was modest, but promising: free coffee, free bread, and on Friday, a sandwich to call my very own.  

I was feeling pretty good about my sweets baking swag situation until one Friday during the holidays, my sister (a corporate lawyer) called to tell me about the Christmas gift her firm gave her: a brand new iPad. I can't quite pinpoint why, but from that point on, that Friday sandwich didn't quite do it for me.

Still, every day at 9am when leaving the bakery, I took home a warm loaf of bread of my choosing. My selection typically varied day-to-day, but when March came around and I tried my very first slice of Irish Soda Bread, my world was rocked. ROCKED. I could be found towing home five loaves of this stuff a week. A little part of me died when April rolled around and ISB was off the rotation.

At the bakery, we filled the bread with currants and caraway seeds before scoring it with a quintessential "X". This variation is known as "American-Style Irish Soda Bread". Go figure.  The classic Irish version is far more toned down, with less sugar and the absence of currants/seeds. But I've gots to have my caraway. This is one of those treats that comes together so easily and is so satisfying that you won't want to wait around until March to pull out the recipe. The sweet currants play nicely with the distinctive rye flavor of the caraway seeds. And adding a healthy amount of softened butter to a warm slice doesn't hurt either. 

Irish Soda Bread with Currants and Caraway

adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. cake flour
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1+1/2 tsp. baking soda
1+1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1+1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened (plus 1 tbsp. butter melted for crust)
1+1/4 c. buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
1 c. currants
1 tbsp + caraway seeds



Instructions:

Adjust your oven rack to the upper-middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Whisk together the dry ingredients (both flours, sugar, baking soda, tartar, and salt) in a large bowl. Work the softened butter into the flour mixture with your hands or with a fork (I tend to opt for hands in these situations), until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Combine the buttermilk and beaten egg with a fork. With a fork, incorporate the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, and add the currants and caraway seeds. Mix with a fork just until the dough begins to come together - the mixture will be dry.

With floured hands, turn the dough onto a floured board and knead about 15 times, until the dough becomes cohesive. It will not look perfect. This may upset you. But resist the urge to overknead (lest you wind up with tough bread.) Pat the dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high.

With a serrated knife, score the top of the round with a large "X", about 5 inches long and 3/4 inch deep and place the dough onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. If the crust is beginning to brown before the bread is finished baking, cover the bread with aluminum foil and return to the oven.

Remove the loaf from the oven and brush with melted butter. 



You're supposed to allow to cool to room temperature before serving, but I like mine warm, and I'm impatient.



Serve with softened butter and be not afraid to make this year round.