Spotted Dog Bread

This recipe comes from Rachel's Irish Family Food cookbook (and no, it isn't Rachel Ray!). 

I made it twice, so the pictures are from both my first and second attempts. The first loaf would have been fine had I baked it a little longer. 

In a large bowl, mix together 3 2/3 c flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt. Stir in 2/3 raisins and 1 Tsp granulated sugar. 

 

In a separate bowl, beat together 1 2/3 c buttermilk and 1 egg. 

Make a well in the flour mixture bowl and pour most of the liquid mixture, leaving about 1/4 c. 

 

Using one hand with fingers stretched out like a claw, slowly combine the dry and wet ingredients, moving circles around the bowl. Do not knead. The dough should be soft, but not too wet or dry. Add more buttermilk mixture if needed, though I didn't need to oh either batch. 

 

So. It was a mess, but I resisted the urge to knead the dough and turned it out onto floured wax paper, which I folded up and over to smash the dough into a loaf. 

 

 

Cut a deep X into the bread loaf from edge to edge and transferred to a floured baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 400 degrees and bake an additional 30-35 minutes till the bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. I covered mine with tin foil towards the end of baking as I thought it was getting too done. 

Loaf #1

 

 

Loaf #2

 

 

Much better!  I served it with butter and homemade pear jam. Yum!