recipe for brown soda bread with currants and caraway
While this recipe resembles Spotted Dog more than a traditional Irish soda bread as it’s dotted with whiskey-soaked currants and caraway seeds, both of which contribute to the simple bread’s full-bodied rich flavor. Slather a slice with fresh butter and serve it alongside a mug of hot red tea.
Gently sift five and one-half cups soft white wheat flour, then stir two cups fresh buttermilk into the flour. Combine the flour and buttermilk well until the two are thoroughly mixed together to form a soft, shaggy dough. Cover well and tightly, allowing the dough to sit at room temperature overnight or up to eighteen hours – a process referred to as “soaking.”
In a separate bowl or small container, pour out 1 cup dried currants then pour enough whiskey over the currants to cover them. If you do not have whiskey on hand, or do not wish to use it, cover the currants with filtered water brought to room temperature. Allow the currants to soak in the water for the same amount of time you allow the flour to soak in buttermilk – overnight to eighteen hours. While this practice doesn’t improve the nutrient profile of the currants, it does improve their flavor and texture.
The next day, after the dough and currants have sufficiently soaked overnight or up to eighteen hours, strain the currants from the whiskey reserving the whiskey for another use as you see fit.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the oven preheats, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead one tablespoon caraway seeds, the whiskey-soaked currants, one teaspoon baking soda and one teaspoon unrefined sea salt into the dough.
Flour your hands, as needed, and shape the dough into a nice, full and round ball. Cut a deep cross into the top of the dough.
When the oven has reached a temperature of 425 degrees Fahrenheit, place the dough in the oven and bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes.
After the soda bread has baked at 425 degrees for twenty-five to thirty minutes, reduce the heat of the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to bake for another fifteen to twenty minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool thoroughly before serving.