Irish Soda Bread with Brandy-Soaked Raisins

This Irish Soda Bread with Brandy-Soaked Raisins is an easy recipe with a fun twist thanks to the brandy raisins. Bake up a loaf or two today!

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Irish Soda Bread with Brandy-Soaked Raisins--click for recipe from Spiced!

St. Patrick’s Day is less than a week away!  I love celebrating holidays, so of course Halloween through Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year.  But St. Patrick’s Day is not far behind in my book.  The weather is beginning to get warmer and days are starting to get longer, so St. Patrick’s Day for me signals the beginning of the Spring.  (Ok, not officially the beginning of Spring…but close enough!)  Here at Spiced, we will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a week of Irish-inspired recipes.  So release your inner leprechaun and give some of these recipes a shot!

We begin our St. Patrick’s Day celebration with a traditional Irish Soda Bread.  Well, technically, this version is slightly altered due to the addition of brandy-soaked raisins, but the base ingredients remain traditional.  (With the addition of sugar and raisins, this bread might be closer to what the Irish call “spotted dog.”)  Soda Bread falls into the quick bread category as it does not include yeast.  Since you don’t have to let the dough rise or rest, you can whip up a loaf or two of Irish Soda Bread in just about an hour!

Irish Soda Bread with Brandy-Soaked Raisins--click for recipe from Spiced!

Once baked, cut thick slices of this bread and serve with butter (to truly channel your inner Irish spirit, go with Kerrygold Irish Butter).  Irish Soda Bread makes an excellent partner to your morning coffee or dinner stew…and since the recipe is so easy, you might end up making one loaf in the morning and another in the evening!

Looking for more tasty Irish-inspired desserts?  Check out this roundup of 15 Dreamy Irish Desserts on RecipeLion!

Irish Soda Bread with Brandy-Soaked Raisins--click for recipe from Spiced!

Irish Soda Bread with Brandy-Soaked Raisins

This Irish Soda Bread with Brandy-Soaked Raisins is an easy recipe with a fun twist thanks to the brandy raisins. Bake up a loaf or two today!
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Soaking Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 153kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Soak raisins with brandy in a small bowl for 20-30 minutes.
  • In another bowl, combine all dry ingredients until well mixed.
  • Add diced butter. Use a pastry blender (or two forks) to mix until a cornmeal-like texture is created.
  • Add buttermilk and brandy-soaked raisins; stir until completely absorbed. (Dough will be very sticky.)
  • Turn dough onto a floured countertop and gently fold. (Do not overmix this dough. You may need a small amount of additional flour if the dough is too sticky to fold.)
  • Form dough into a small, round ball and cut a deep cross in the top.
  • Place dough on a sheet pan and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.

Notes

It’s important to use a soft wheat flour for this recipe, such as pastry or cake flour. The additional gluten in all-purpose flour or bread flour is not ideal for Irish Soda Bread.
If you don’t have pastry flour, you can substitute 1.5 cups + 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour and 2 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp of cornstarch. Just mix the all-purpose flour and cornstarch together and sift three times. (Yup, three times.)
If you warm the brandy in the microwave slightly (10-12 seconds), it will help the raisins absorb the brandy faster.

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14 Comments

    1. Oops…I never caught that mistake. The raisins get added in Step #4. I’ll adjust the recipe right now…thanks for letting me know, Mindy! Enjoy the bread!!

      1. Hey Patricia! There’s no set amount of brandy here – just enough to cover the raisins. I’d estimate somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 cup total. I hope you enjoy this recipe – we love it! 🙂

  1. This sounds delicious, and it’s even better that you don’t have to let the dough rise like other breads.
    I personally would throw in some caraway seeds–I have an obsession with them in my Irish Soda bread. But most folks just like the raisins like you have here.
    And nothing beats IRISH butter!

    1. Thanks, SueAnn! I do love how easy this recipe is to make! I’ve never added caraway seeds to this recipe, though…perhaps I’ll have to give that a shot next time I make it. And you’re right on about the Irish butter! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

    2. Both my parents are Irish born and raised, we had soda bread almost daily.

      SueAnn..they consider caraway seeds to be an English addition, therefore verboten in a true Irish recipe.
      It way be common in US, never in Eire

      1. Thanks for sharing, Mary! I didn’t realize caraway seeds are an English addition to soda bread. Happy (early) St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂

  2. Being Irish I have baked Soda Bread many times but your recipie lifts it to a higher plane.
    Shall save your recipie for next Patricks day (our son-in-laws birthday) and make it for him.
    Thank you for lovely recipie.

    1. Wow! Thank you so much, Deirdre!! This is totally one of my personal favorites…and now im craving it again! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

    1. Hey Katie! Irish butter is just butter that is made in Ireland. Kerrygold is one of the biggest brands of Irish butter (at least here in the U.S.), and the quality of their butter is amazing!! If you ever get a chance, try it out! I hope you enjoy this soda bread…it’s about time to make another loaf here in my house! 🙂

  3. Bonjour. A combien de grammes correspondent 1 tasse de farine et tout le reste aussi svp ?
    Merci

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