Ever since writing this post our first year up and running, I’ve begun to bake Irish soda bread beyond the annual St. Patrick’s day. It is too good not to enjoy more times of the year! Plus, it is so quick and easy. We are a bread with every meal (basically) family, so soda bread is a great one to fall back on.

If you read my original post, you know that I compared three different recipes — one cake-like, one pure and strictly authentic, and one combining elements of both. In the end, I wondered what a further combo of the latter two would bring. The result is my go-to recipe. Simple ingredients, easy to memorize, but with room to adapt to the needs of a given meal.

Everyday Soda Bread

Ingredients:

• 16oz flour (roughly 3 3/4 cup flour)

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tbs sugar (optional)

• 1 tbs caraway seeds (optional)

• 1 cup raisins or currants (optional)

• 14oz (1 3/4 cup) buttermilk or kefir (sometimes I use honey vanilla kefir — extra delicious!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. If using raisins or currants, soak in boiling water for at least 5 minutes before using. This helps them be nice, plump, and flavorful in the final baked loaf. You don’t want them hard and tough or sopping up and stealing moisture from the dough!

3. Measure dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Stir well.

4. If using raisins or currants, drain from water and then add to the flour mixture. Mix well.

5. Add buttermilk or kefir last and stir quickly, but firmly until a shaggy dough forms (some flour at the bottom of the bowl is okay).

6. Turn dough out onto a clean surface and knead briefly until the flour is incorporated into the dough. Try not to overdo it, or a tough loaf can result. Aim to knead for about a minute or less.

7. Once kneaded, shape into a tight ball, then slash with a cross. Place on parchment paper and put into a dutch oven. Cover with lid, place in oven, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes of baking, remove the lid and continue to bake 15 minutes more. Once baked, remove and allow to cool on a wire rack before serving. Enjoy!

Notes:

• Why no egg or butter in the dough? I don’t think they bring too much and can risk making the final loaf a little dense & doughy. Plus, all the more reason to slather butter on individual slices all the more generously!

• If I’m using raisins or currants, I often won’t use the sugar. Sometimes, too, I will use honey vanilla kefir instead of plain, and then won’t use sugar there either. BUT if I want such a scrumptious loaf that it almost tastes like dessert, then I’ll keep everything in AND use honey vanilla kefir.

• I always use caraway seeds, unless we are out of them. I love caraway!

• I almost always use raisins or currants and prefer currants for their look, size, and taste. If I want a more simple or variable bread, however, I’ll omit them. Then I will be sure to use the sugar or honey vanilla kefir to keep the loaf from being too bland.

• If you don’t have a dutch oven, it should bake fine free form, but you may need to cover with tin foil partway through baking to prevent it from burning. You could also try an oven proof pot or pan and place a pan on top of that.