 Irish Soda Bread (or scones)
Irish Soda Bread
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
2 TB sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup raisins
1 ts caraway seeds
1 egg
2/3 cup lowfat buttermilk
optional eggwash made from 1 egg yolk and 1tb milk.
Preheat oven to 375F (400 for scones).
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and sugarr. Cut in shortening until crumbly (If making scones add 1 or 2 more tb flour). Add raisins and caraway seeds. In a small bowl, whisk egg and buttermilk together. Add to the crumbly mixture and mix just until combined. Gently turn out the dough on a floured board and knead only 2-3 times--just enough to make it come together. If you knead it too much it will get tough and rubbery.
For bread: Pat the dough into a large round ball and flatten only slightly. Make a large cross in the top of the dough with a floured knife. Place on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray, or lined with nonstick foil (I love that stuff!) optional, brush with egg wash. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes.
For scones, Pat the dough into a large flat 8" x8" square. with a floured knife, cut into 9 squares (like making a tic tac toe in the dough). brush with egg wash if desired and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. |