Oats & Honey Irish Soda Bread

Looking for a traditional Irish recipe to celebrate this years 2015 St. Patrick's Day, try this easy to make bread that is healthy and tasty. 

What you need:

--1  3/4 cup all purpose flour (we prefer unbleached but it is up to you)

--1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal 

--1 tsp salt 

--3 tbsp Walker's Yaupon Holly Honey

--1 cup buttermilk

--1/2 raisins 

What you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking soda, and salt

3. Add in Walker's Yaupon Holly Honey and buttermilk and stir until dough comes together and stir until dough comes together

4. Slowly stir in raisins. Dough should be only slightly sticky (add a pinch of flour if its seems too sticky), so that it is easy to knead. If it is too dry, add an additional tbsp or two of buttermilk 

5. Keeping the dough into the bowl, knead it for 1-2 minutes, turning the dough, pressing it firmly with the heel of your hand, then turning the dough and repeating

6. Shape dough into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Flatten dough until it forms a disc about 1-1 1/2 inches thick 

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until loaf is golden brown 

8. All to cool for at least 20 minutes on a wire rack before slicing

When slicing the bread, we decided to divide the loaf horizontally given nice thin pieces. This recipe will make 1 loaf, serving 6. We suggest having the bread alone with a honey butter and a cool glass of milk. Also, serve the bread with a traditional corn-beef dinner with a glass of the Dancing Bee Winery's Breeded One.   

Recipe adapted from Bakingbites.com