When I was a little girl, I remember sitting next to my mom all the time in our tiny kitchen in West Virginia. She was on the phone, smoking a cigarette (what’s up early 90s!), and doodling on a big yellow notepad. This was her regular spot, right next to the window, after school and on the weekends. Usually she was talking to my grandmother or one of my aunts, but this particular day she was talking to her dad, my Pop, to get the family Irish Soda Bread recipe.
I now make this same Irish Soda Bread for my kids every now and then from the same handwritten recipe from that big yellow notepad. There are doodles and plops of food all over it, but it is still readable. The thing that makes this piece of paper even more special is that my mom passed away in 2009 and this is something of hers that I can share with my kids since 2/3 of them never got to meet her.
Now I want to share this recipe with you!
- 5 Cups Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 heaping tsp Baking Soda
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Cup Sugar
- pinch Cream of Tartar
- 1 Stick of Butter
- 1 1/4 Cups buttermilk
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 1 Beaten Egg
- 1 1/2 Cup Raisins (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- If using raisins, soak in hot water - drain after next step
- Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, and sugar)
- Drain raisins really well
- Mix in raisins
- Mix wet ingredients (butter, buttermilk, milk, egg)
- Add wet to dry and mix until a bread consistency
- Knead on a floured surface 4-5 times
- Butter and flour an 8" circle pan
- Smooth the dough in the pan
- Cut an X in the top
- Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes
- Turn oven temperature down to 325 degrees until a knife comes out clean
- Cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan before putting on a wire rack to finish cooling
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