Irish Soda Bread

Alyssa

A modern twist on the traditional Irish Soda Bread with grapefruit zest, walnuts, and raisins.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 10

Servings: 1 loaf

4 cups all-purpose flour + ½ cup all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour divided
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and diced
1½ cups buttermilk
1 egg
zest of half a small grapefruit
1 cup raisins
½ cup walnuts roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 375* then line a large sheet pan or a 9-inch pie pan with parchment paper and set aside
In a small bowl, combine the raisins, walnuts, and 1 tablespoon of flour and set aside*
In a large electric mixing bowl, combine on medium speed, 4 cups of flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt
Once combined, with the mixer on low, add in the cold, diced butter until incorporated into the flour mixture
In a very large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and grapefruit zest
With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the buttermilk-egg mixture until fully combined
Remove the bowl from the mixer. At this point the dough will be very wet and sticky, it's okay!
On a flat countertop, distribute ¼ cup of the remaining flour
Turn out the dough on top fo this flour and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup on top of the dough
Kneading the dough and flour together, adding additional flour if needed, until the dough is no longer sticky
Form the dough into a large round mound and place in on top of the parchment paper
With a sharp knife, cut a large 'X' into the top of the dough
Place the dough in the oven and cook for 50 minutes
If the outer crust begins to brown, place some foil over top for the remainder of the cooking time
Once done, remove the bread from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving
The bread should keep for at least a week on the countertop if well covered.

*Tossing the raisins and walnuts with flour will help them more evenly disperse throughout the bread dough