Cooking with Solveig: Irish Soda Bread

You don’t have to be Irish to appreciate Solveig’s latest recipe! Try it toasted with butter - YUM.

Grandma Mary’s Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

• 4 C flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• dash salt
• 1 C sugar or less
• 1 stick Imperial margarine (or butter)
• 2 C raisins or less (I use 50/50 golden and regular raisins or golden and dried cranberries)
• 1 16-ounce container sour cream
• 2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350°.

Prepare two loaf pans (9x5x2.5) with butter and flour or baking spray. This will also make four mini loaves when using the smaller bread pans. I have also used the Texas muffin pans to make a minimum of six for gifts.

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in margarine with pastry knife or use cold hands. Add raisins – coat to separate. Add beaten eggs to sour cream and mix well. Add sour cream mixture to dry ingredients; DON’T OVER MIX!

Bake at 350° 15 minutes; then at 325° for 45 minutes.

Let cool in pan 10 minutes on cooling racks. Remove loaves from pans and let cool on rack until completely cooled.

You can substitute reduced fat products for fat and sour cream.