On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 17:55:55 GMT, Steve Ritter
> wrote:

>
> Happy St. Paddy's to all.
>
> The closest I had come to an edible Irish Soda bread was Jill's. But
>still, it's just not as I'm sure it can be, and granted, I only gave it two
>tries last year.
>
> Is there a recipe that actually works?
>
I have made many over the years, haivng married into Irish twice in my
life.

There are as many recipe variations for this as there are Irish, I
believe. Some swear by the most plain, others like it dressed up a
bit. Here is what I use. It makes 2 large loaves.

Boron

Irish Soda Bread

6 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking soda
3/4 cup Sugar
4 Tbsp butter, cut into pats
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 ½ Tsp Salt
1 ½ - 2 cups raisins
3 tbsp
3 cups Buttermilk

Mix together all dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry blender
or mixing fork until you get a cornmeal consistency.

Add and mix in both caraway seeds and raisins. Add buttermilk and mix
until all dry ingredients are incorporated into a dough. It will be
sticky. Knead on floured surface with floured hands

Divide in half and shape into 2 round loaves, like two oversized
biscuits, making an X cut deeply across the tops with a sharp
knife. Bake on a heavy cookie sheet or directly a pre-heated stone
at 375 for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 350 and bake until
evenly browned.