Irish Soda Bread

Since St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, why not celebrate by baking a nice Irish soda bread? Many (and I do mean many) years ago when I was still working at a local hospital as a respiratory therapist, my colleagues and I loved to share all kinds of food and special dishes with each other. One of the therapists had an Irish background, and every St. Patrick’s Day she brought several loaves of fresh baked soda bread for us to enjoy.

She was kind enough to share the recipe as well, and the first time I made it I was shocked at how fast and easy it was, especially since I remembered what my Eastern European grandmothers went through to make fresh home made baked bread. I much prefer the Irish way, although after doing some research, I discovered that soda bread actually originated in North America. No matter where it came from, it is delicious, as well as quick and easy.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (I use whole wheat flour)

3/4 cups sugar (I only use 1/2 cup, but that’s just me)

1 TBSP baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, well-beaten

2 TBSP vegetable oil

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt cake or tube cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Combine first 8 ingredients and mix well with a spoon until smooth, then carefully fold in raisins. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool before serving, but if you can’t wait, it tastes fabulous warm with a nice high quality pure Irish butter. Enjoy!