Brown Irish Soda Bread with Molasses

🧂 Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 5 tablespoons cold butter

  cubed
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2/3 cup raisins or currants

Instructions

• 1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and coat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with butter
  or cooking spray. See options for baking pans in the Notes below.
• 2 In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
• 3 In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and
  molasses.
• 4 Cut in the cubed butter to the flour mixture using your fingers, a pastry
  cutter, or a fork. Continue working until the butter is about the size of peas.
  Stir in the raisins and make a well in the center of the flour. Pour the
  buttermilk and egg mixture into the well.
• 5 Gently mix in the buttermilk until a shaggy dough is formed and it begins to
  come together. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. With floured
  hands, knead the dough gently until you can form a ball. and gently knead until
  most of the flour is moistened. Add additional buttermilk if needed or if the
  dough is too sticky, work in a bit more flour.
• 6 Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan. Using a very sharp knife, cut a
  cross into the top of the bread (Tradition holds that by carving a cross, you
  are blessing the bread). Then pierce the knife into the center of each quadrant
  of the bread.
• 7 Bake the bread for about 45 minutes, or until the soda bread is golden and
  appears to be baked through. Tent a sheet of foil over the bread if it browns
  too quickly.
• 8 Remove the bread from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Cover the bread
  with a clean tea towel, this will help keep the crust of the brown bread soft.

Nutrition Info