Irish Soda Bread

I made this for the first time this St. Patrick's day after a search for a great recipe. I don't know how this compares to other recipes, but it was DELICIOUS so I don't think I'm going to go searching for any others.

It has a thick crispy/chewy crust and a dense moist middle. It was very sweet and good. This would be a perfect bread for a brunch and I will be using for much more than St. Patrick's day.

The recipe came from allrecipes.com submitted by penguin lady.

Irish Soda Bread

1/2 cup white sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour (I believe I substituted whole wheat flour for half)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

3 cups raisins (that is A LOT of raisins. I put in 2 cups and that made it packed with raisins still.)

1 tablespoon caraway seeds (left that out)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch round cast iron skillet or a 9 inch round cake or springform pan.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour (reserving 1 tablespoon), sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins, and caraway seeds.

3. In a small bowl, blend eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Stir the liquid mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened.

4. Knead dough in bowl about 10 t o 20 strokes. Dough will be sticky.

5. Place the dough in the prepared skillet or pan and pat down. Cut a 4x3/4 inch deep slit in the top of the bread. Dust with reserved flour.

6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 65-75 minutes. Let cool and turn bread onto a wire rack.

Here's a phot of our St. Patrick's day spread: