Irish Soda Bread with Orange Honey Butter

Celebrate St. Patrick’s with a warm or toasted slice of this Irish soda bread and a generous slather of orange honey butter. An easy quick bread using baking soda instead of yeast which means no rising time and no waiting. Raisins are always a hot topic but traditional here as are caraway seeds, which I left out because I don’t love them. Delicious with your morning coffee or afternoon tea, this one’s a keeper.

1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) buttermilk*
1 large egg (optional, see note)
3 cups (384g) all-purpose flour
11/4 cups (156g) whole-wheat flour
3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
0ptional: 1 cup (150g) raisins, currants or golden raisins - or a combination 1/3 cup caraway seeds

Orange Honey Butter
4 ounces (113g) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 teaspoons orange zest
2-3 teaspoons orange blossom honey

Preheat the oven to 425°F
Combine buttermilk and the egg in a measuring jug and whisk until combined.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the butter and using a pastry cutter or your (clean) fingers, work the butter into the flour until it resembles course meal.
Add the buttermilk egg mixture and raisins and stir to combine.
Using your hands, gather dough into a ball shape and knead a few times, adding a sprinkling of flour if needed. The dough will be shaggy and sticky.
Transfer the dough to a cast-iron pan or baking sheet and score an “x” the top, about 11/2” deep, with a serrated knife.
Bake for 35 - 45 minutes until golden and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Insert a thin skewer to test for doneness- the skewer should come out clean.