St. Patrick's Day Archives - Vintage Baked Modern https://vintagebakedmodern.com/tag/st-patricks-day/ Tue, 17 Mar 2026 23:43:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Irish Soda Bread with Currants https://vintagebakedmodern.com/irish-soda-bread-with-currants/ https://vintagebakedmodern.com/irish-soda-bread-with-currants/#respond Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:00:51 +0000 https://vintagebakedmodern.com/?p=2263 This Irish Soda Bread has a tender, scone-like texture, with a warm depth of Irish whiskey-soaked currants and bright zing of orange zest. It makes for a festive addition to your St. Patrick’s Day celebration or on a Spring breakfast table. What is Irish Soda Bread? Irish soda bread is a traditional quick bread that ...

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This Irish Soda Bread has a tender, scone-like texture, with a warm depth of Irish whiskey-soaked currants and bright zing of orange zest. It makes for a festive addition to your St. Patrick’s Day celebration or on a Spring breakfast table.

What is Irish Soda Bread?

Irish soda bread is a traditional quick bread that is similar in texture to a scone, but made without yeast. It uses baking soda as the leavening agent which reacts with buttermilk to create rise and a slightly tangy flavor. Unlike traditional yeast breads, this easy Irish soda bread doesn’t require any kneading or rising time, making it quick to bake. Serve it plain with Irish butter, or savory by not adding the currants and pair with a hearty stew. Although this is a traditional Irish Soda Bread recipe, I’ve added currants and orange zest for a flavor boost.

My vintage inspiration.

My recipe inspiration came from my America Cooks (The General Federation of Women’s Clubs Cookbook (1967), guides home cooks with simple recipes for cooking and baking. This cookbook is an eclectic collection of recipes from women’s service organizations around the United States. The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) was founded in 1890, with its main mission to better the community through volunteer efforts.

The original recipe states “Originally, the daily bread was made with just caraway seeds, but for Sundays, raisins were added and the loaf was iced.” Here are my recipe modifications: omitted the caraway seeds, added orange zest for zing of flavor, added currants instead of raisins for their dainty size and tangy sweetness, soaked the currants in Jameson Whiskey for a boost of flavor & nod to St. Patrick’s Day, added more butter to make it richer and more flavorful, decorated the top of the bread with course sanding sugar for crunch, added cornstarch to improve the texture and retain the moisture in the bread.

Did you know? Traditionally, Irish Soda Bread is marked with a cross on the top as a blessing of thanks. However, the main purpose is that it allows the heat to reach the center of the loaf for even baking.

America Cooks (The General Federation of Women’s Clubs Cookbook (1967)
America Cooks (The General Federation of Women’s Clubs Cookbook (1967)

Also from the book banana nut muffins

Ingredients for Irish Soda Bread

Wet Ingredients

  • butter: American butter is made from cream and contains 80% butterfat as regulated by the USDA. Try to use a good quality butter in baked goods as it will make a difference. Another option is European butter, which is churned longer, has a higher fat content (82%-85%), with less water it yields more flavor, but can be more expensive.
  • sugar: Sugar is derived from sugarcane and is a key ingredient in baking that provides sweetness, texture, and moisture to baked goods. The most common type being granulated white sugar. For a more natural option, use cane sugar which is less processed and has a slight golden color and hint of molasses. It does have a slightly courser texture, so be sure to incorporate a bit longer when mixing into recipes.
  • buttermilk: Buttermilk is a cultured dairy product that adds a tangy flavor and creates tenderness in baked goods. When purchasing buttermilk, look for simple, natural ingredients such as “cultured milk”.
  • eggs: Eggs are important in baking because their protein provides structure, they are a natural leavener trapping air that expands during baking, and they add moisture to baked goods.
  • orange: Oranges are a citrus fruit that add a bright, zesty flavor to savory and sweet foods. Before squeezing the juice, zest the peel with a microplane tool and add it to baked goods for zingy flavor.
  • whisky: Irish Whisky is a triple-distilled alcoholic spirit, made from malted barley and other grains, aged in wooden casks in Ireland for at least three years. It is different from other whiskeys because the triple-distillation give it a smoother, lighter taste.

Dry Ingredients

  • flour: Use all-purpose unbleached flour with 10-12% protein, such as King Arthur or Sir Galahad Artisan Flour (its bulk-purchased name) which has 11.7% protein. Avoid bread flour, as its higher protein content (11-14%), develops more gluten, which results in dense baked goods.
  • Cornstarch is made from the starchy center of dried corn kernels used as a thickener in sauces and pie fillings, and in baked goods to create a light, tender crumb.
  • currants: Zante currants are are a small, dried, dark seedless grape. If you don’t have currants on hand, a smaller type of raisin such as a Thompson raisin is fine to use.
  • sparkling sugar: (sometimes called course sugar) consists of large, heat resistant crystals that add texture and crunch to baked goods. Perfect for sprinkling on top of scones, muffins, and cookies for a professional look. However, it is sometimes confused with sanding sugar (also called colored sugar) which has a finer grain and melts into baked goods, rather than retaining its shape.
Baker’s Tips
  • For a flavor boost, soak your currants or raisins in a bit of Irish whiskey for about 15 minutes before adding them to the batter
  • Before adding soaked fruit, drain first and toss lightly in flour so they will distribute evenly in the dough.
  • Brush the bread with a light coat of heavy cream with a pastry brush and sprinkle on sanding sugar. This helps give shiny gloss to the bread and adds a nice crunch.

How to make Irish Soda Bread

Dietary Substitutions

For the past 12+ years, I have owned an all-natural specialty bakery converting conventional recipes to gluten free, vegan, wholesome, etc. You can read more about my pro-baking here.

Here are a few basic tips when converting conventional recipes into specialty baked goods.

To convert recipe to gluten-free, vegan, keto or wholesome, see our master list of dietary substitutions here.

  • Shelf Life: Specialty baked goods tend to dry out faster and have a shorter shelf life than conventional baked goods. Store in an airtight container on counter for 1 – 2 days. For longer storage, freeze up to 6 months. Avoid refrigerating, as it can dry out baked goods.
  • Let Batter Rest: Alternate flours can be dense or slightly gritty compared to white flour, so be sure to let the batter rest at least 15 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator before baking. This allows the flour to fully hydrate and produce a lighter, tender crumb.
  • Oven Temperature: Alternative flours are delicate and tend to brown faster before the center is cooked through. Reduce oven to 325° and bake “low and slow,” adding a few extra minutes of bake time if needed.

Storage & Freezing

  • Store in airtight container on counter 1-2 days.
  • Seal in in freezer safe container for up to 6 months. To thaw frozen bread, allow to come to room temperature before opening the container.
Print

Irish Soda Bread with Currants

Course Bread
Cuisine Irish
Keyword 1960’s, bread, St. Patrick’s Day
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Servings 12
Author Apryl Niksch

Equipment

Ingredients

WET INGREDIENTS

  • 1 ¼ c. buttermilk or milk
  • ¼ c. unsalted butter slightly melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 T. orange zest optional
  • ¾ c. currants or 1 c. raisins soak in Whisky
  • ¼ c. Whisky drain after soaking
  • 1 tsp. course sanding sugar for the top

Instructions

PREP

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Pour Irish Whiskey into liquid measuring cup and add raisins or currants. Set aside.
  • Whisk together dry ingredients and mix and set aside.

MAKE BATTER

  • Use the bowl with the dry ingredients OR a stand mixer.
  • Add liquid ingredients, slightly melted butter, eggs, buttermilk into the dry ingredients. Zest the orange right into the batter and mix until just combined.
  • Drain currants, reserve whiskey if any is left and add to bread mixture.
  • Toss currants into a bit of flour and gently fold into the dough by hand.
  • Sprinkle parchment paper with a little bit of flour.
  • Pour out batter onto the parchment paper. Move batter around to form dough into round loaf (the batter will be sticky). This is more of a quickbread type of bread so no kneading is required.
  • Place the parchment paper with the loaf on it directly into a low dutch oven. Cut a cross on the top with a sharp or serrated knife.

BAKE

  • Sprinkle top of bread with white course sanding sugar.
  • Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.
  • Lower oven to 350° and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes.

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