My Great grandmother (also from Ireland) used a very similar recipe; this is the only other time that I have seen it calling for the 'X' on the top. However, we use melted butter/margarine (1 cube melted) instead of the sour cream and we scale the raisins down to approximately 3/4 to 1 cup; we dip the knife into the flour and then make our 'X'. We don't put seeds in ours. This was the first recipe that my cousins and I were taught to make when we were young girls, or 'wee ones' as our Grandmother called us. For some strange reason, the best bonnets (Great grandma said that they weren't loaves but "bonnets of bread") seemed to come from my mother's oven...an old Wedgewood. Now they come from my kitchen...I have an 'old Wedgewood' now.
This recipe is so delicious, I have made it twice in the last three weeks. Instead of 3 cups of raisins used 1 cup raisins, 1 cup dried cranberries and 1 cup chopped dried apricots. The most recent time, I substituted Splenda for the sugar without any real change in taste. I also divide it into 16 servings rather than 8. At that rate it's about 175 calories a slice and not bad for a mid-morning snack.
This bread is PHENOMENAL! I was a little nervous at its consistency as during the preparation phase, it doesn't resemble a typical bread loaf. It was more like very loose chocolate chip cookie dough, but that's ok -- that's the way it should be. This was delicious beyond words and is now a part of my permanent recipe collection.
As the daughter of an Irish immigrant I've had plenty of Irish bread in my lifetime. This recipe was easy and delicious. Good enough that I even made a loaf and sent it to my grandmother since she can't really cook anymore. I made a loaf last night too and have eaten 1/2 of it already. I did use only 2 cups of raisins (1/2 golden & 1/2 regular) and 1 tsp of caraway seeds. I don't care for caraway seeds but had to have some for authenticity.
I tried all the Irish soda bread recipes I could find. This was by far the best -- not just easy, but beautiful, amazingly moist and flavorful. I've made it over and over at the requests of family and friends. Toasts beautifully too, and wonderful with marmalade.
1/2008 UPDATE: I'm still making this bread with constant raves from friends and family. I made French Toast with it on Sunday morning and my husband and I LOVED it! You need to let the slices sit in the batter a bit to soak it in. YUMMY.
I made this with my corned beef and cabbage St Patty's Day meal. It tasted good. I used only 1 cup of raisins and it was enough for me but my boyfriend thought 2 would have been better. 3 cups would be way too much!! We both agreed the flour on top was yucky. I blew the excess off but you really don't need it. Next time I'll just brush the top with egg to give a rich color. I'll make again b/c it's yummy toasted w/ butter.
i used this for my first and only soda bread baking experience and it has gotten rave reviews the four subsequent times i've made it! it is absolutely beautiful and completely delectable. my irish boss says, "as good as my mom's." !*HIGH PRAISE*! my baking afficionado friend says, "give me your recipe. now." !*I AM THE ENVY OF MY PEERS*!
DETAILS: i just eye-balled the raisin quotient (probably in the neighborhood of two cups, no need to quibble over the specific amount). i made it once without raisins and it was still spot-on, but not as popular. i substituted lowfat sour cream all four times and it remained uncompromised. orange marmalade is a nice compliment but not at all necessary.
This is an excellent recipe....I made it a bit "low fat" by using light sour cream and making buttermilk from skim milk and vinegar. I also reduced the amount of raisens to about 1 cup and it was perfect. I didn't even "knead" it in the bowl, just transferred the batter directly to the baking dish for shaping and baking. Everyone asked for the recipe. Excellent toasted in the morning!
Fast easy delicious. What more could you want? I made four loaves of this bread in less than an hour last St. Paddy's day and have made it several times since. If you have any leftovers it makes great French toast or bread pudding. I did leave out the raisins because we don't care for them and it was definitely sweet enough without them (you can pull back the sugar to 1/3 cup). I also made some loaves without the caraway. I love caraway but many people don't.
I used this recipe because it had such high ratings, but it came out much stickier than I had imagined and I've been baking bread for a number of years. It was so sticky, in fact, that I couldn't really slit the top as directed in the recipe. I followed the recipe to the letter and was disappointed. I used all purpose flour (rather than bread flour) because the recipe didn't specify any particular type of flour. Suggestions?
