Irish soda bread was one of those perfect recipes I learned in The Chew kitchen - I substituted the sour cream with Greek yogurt and the raisins with currants because it is what I had on hand! I also added walnuts for extra crunch and energy! Enjoy for breakfast or a snack - Happy St. Patty's Day!
3 1/2 cups AP flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and frozen
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (total) (substitute with sour cream)
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
2 cups currants or raisins
1 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tsp caraway seeds
salted Irish butter, room temperature, to serve
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add chilled butter and toss to coat; use fingers to press butter into flour mixture and break up into flaky, pea-sized pieces. Add yogurt, buttermilk, egg, currants, walnuts and caraway seeds. Stir to combine. Use hands to bring dough together in bowl. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and form into round loaf. Using a knife, score an X in the center of the loaf. Transfer to oven and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer to cooling rack to cool. Serve with softened, salted Irish butter! Happy St. Patty's day!
Tip: Alternatively, freeze a stick of butter until solid. Using a box grater, grate butter on the large holes and return to freezer until ready to incorporate into dough. Simply coat shredded butter with flour mixture and stir to combine.