Nan’s Famous Irish Bread

My Nan’s Irish bread has been a Hoban Family delicacy for the better part of the last 80 years. A traditional family recipe passed on from generation to generation, changing with the times but staying true to itself. A humble soda bread filled with raisins and slathered with lots of butter. Last year, I asked my nan if she wanted to make a recipe vidoe to share with the world her delicious bread and family story. We posted the video thinking not much of it. To our surprise, we woke up the next day and Nan had gone viral!!! The people loved her, how could they not? She is such an incredible woman, mother to 10 children, and grandmother to over 30 of us! She met my grandfather at a young age, and they lived a full life together. Her mother and father met on the boats from Ireland to the East Coast of the US, in 1919! Her mother, my great-grand mother, said she learned this recipe by watching her mother make it. No measurements. All vibes, and all love! My nan thinks it’s funny that this is an Irish Soda bread recipe, but there is actullly more baking powder than soda in this recipe….

Ingredients

• 500 grams (3 cups) AP flour

• 150 grams (1 cup) of mixins (raisins or cranberries are best)

• 16 oz of buttermilk (2ish cups)

• 2 Tbsp sugar

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

• Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl

• Toss in raisins and coat them fully with the flour mixture

• Then slowly add buttermilk until you get the right texture and consistency you probably won’t use all 2 cups

• The dough should be sticky but not wet and still slightly clumpy you may use about 12 oz of the buttermilk or all of it, depending on the climate where you live and the type of flour you are using

• Plop into a greased pie dish and cut a cross in the dough - my nan calls it “blessing the bread” which is the same as scoring the bread

• Bake at 325F for 40-50 minutes you want the bread to be perfectly golden and fall out of the pan if you tip it over

• BEST enjoyed still warm with a healthy tab of butter and flaky salt.

• Enjoy :)