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ingredients of golden Irish soda bread, collage

Golden Irish Soda Bread

Here's our family's twist on a traditional Irish soda bread made bright by saffron and golden dried fruit.  As a magical bonus we also show you how to change up the ingredients a bit to make the color of your bread match your favorite redhead.  Liven up your St. Patrick's Day with this easy, sweet yet savory golden version of soda bread!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Cup Buttermilk**
  • 1/2 tsp. Saffron crushed to small bits
  • 2 Cups Flour*
  • 2 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 2 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp. Sea Salt
  • 1/4 Cup Raw Sugar or Monk Fruit Sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. Butter
  • 1 Tbsp. Caraway Seeds
  • 2 tsp. Lemon Zest
  • 1 Cup Golden Raisins or any golden dried fruit like apples, persimmon or pineapple
  • Milk for coating the loaf

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven 375F/191C.
  • Measure out 1 cup of buttermilk. Crush 1/2 tsp. saffron in your hand and put it in the buttermilk to steep for 15 minutes.
  • Sift together 2 cups flour, 2 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. sea salt and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix well.
  • Cut the 3 Tbsp. butter into the dry mix with a pastry cutter or two knives until the butter bits are like tiny pebbles.
  • Gradually stir in the buttermilk mixture to form a dough. Mix in the 1 Tbsp. caraway, 2 tsp. lemon zest, and 1 cup dried fruit evenly.
  • Flour a surface for kneading the dough into a 2 or 3 inch-high loaf.
  • Put the loaf on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Use a pastry brush to coat the loaf with milk until the surface is smooth and glossy.
  • Use a sharp knife to cut a cross into the top of the loaf. This prevents the loaf from cracking but it also makes an attractive top.
  • Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown.
  • Serve hot with butter and honey, or jam for breakfast. May also be served with only butter at dinner.

Notes

See the article to learn how to follow this recipe but switch out the saffron for a different herb to turn the loaf red-gold! We call this the Redhead Soda Bread.
*For a gluten free soda bread swap out the wheat flour for Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free flour.
**If you don't have buttermilk, measure out whole milk and add 2 tsp. of lemon juice. Allow the mixture to sit for ten-ish minutes. Milk will naturally curdle a bit.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!