by Emma Knauf

In second grade, my elementary school had an event called The Culture Fair. It was an opportunity for each student to tell their classmates about their culture and home country and to bring in foods traditionally eaten there. One of my friends is Irish, and for her dish, she brought in Irish Soda Bread. I remember how delicious the bread was and how excited she was to share her grandma’s recipe with all her friends. With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, I thought it would be wonderful to spread this recipe to others. My friend and her family were happy to share the recipe with me, and I am so lucky to be sharing it with Baked readers as well!

Here are the ingredients needed for the recipe:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. butter (softened)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 9 oz. box of raisins
• 1½ cups buttermilk

1. Combine the flour, sugar, butter and baking soda into a large bowl. Then, add the butter with the dry ingredients and mix it together using your hands. After that, add in the raisins and mix again.
2. Slowly pour in the buttermilk and mix it with the dry ingredients using a spoon. It should create a sticky texture, so if it does not feel sticky, add in extra buttermilk as needed.
3. Take the mixture, knead it and shape it into a ball. To keep the mixture from sticking to your hands, roll the ball into a small amount of flour.
4. Put the ball into a pan or cast iron skillet, then pour a little bit of buttermilk on your hands and rub it on top of the bread.
5. Using a knife, create a cross on top of the bread, so it does not split.
6. Bake at 350 degrees in the oven for an hour. My friend said her family tends to bake the bread at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, so adjust the time and temperature as needed.
7. Once the bread is done, immediately wrap it in foil to keep it moist and let it cool.

That’s the recipe! It is super simple, delicious and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. My friend’s grandma also recommends eating the bread hot with butter, so be sure to give that a try as well.