A new St. Patrick’s Day tradition is making the Irish Soda Bread from The Bread Bible. Dense, sweet, buttery, and delicious. The raisins are soaked in whisky, packing a ton of flavor into the lowliest of dried fruit.
Last year, I made both rolls and bread, and found the rolls had a much better texture. It takes a bit longer to make, but it’s worth it. I’d make them a bit larger next year, though, as they were slightly small.
A key part is the whisky butter- butter, the whisky left over from soaking the raisins, and a bit of sugar. It’s impossible to mix the whisky and butter completely, so it looks a bit weird until you spread it on. Probably blending it would help.
Another finding this year was how delicious the leftover whisky is- slightly sweet and smoother.
