Cran-Raspberry Irish Soda Bread

4 from 1 ratings

In the early 1800s, the Irish typically made due without a lot of the luxuries the rest of Europe enjoyed. One of them was yeast. Being the resourceful type, though, Irish bread makers relied on baking soda as a leavening agent and combined it with flour, buttermilk, and salt to create soda bread in cast-iron pots. With additions like butter, sugar, currants, and seeds, our version is what some traditional Irish folk might call railway cake, but we call it our soda bread with a sweet ending.

Servings

servings

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
3 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup dried craisins
4 cup raspberries
4 cup sugar
zest and juice from 2 limes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours. Sift in the baking soda. Pour the buttermilk into the center of the flour mixture and stir. Once the dough begins to take shape, pour in the Craisins and lightly knead the mixture together. Shape the dough into a round, flattened ball. To create the tradition look of Irish soda bread, make an "X" on the top with a paring knife.
Lightly sprinkle some flour into a 9-inch cast-iron skillet. Place the dough in it and bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from skillet and let cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
In an oven-safe dish, warm the sugar in the oven for about 15 minutes.
In a large pot, mash the raspberries, zest, and juice together, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
While stirring continuously, slowly add the warmed sugar. Allow the mixture to boil until it thickens into a gel, which could take up to 15 minutes. Once it is at the right consistency, remove from the heat and pour into glass jars. Allow to cool completely before serving.