Soda Bread With Walnuts and Raisins

This Irish soda bread is inspired by a classic, made with white flour and currants, called “spotty dog.” My whole wheat version proved to be the perfect home for some particularly luscious golden raisins and walnuts that I get from a vendor at my farmers’ market.

Ingredients

• 375 grams (3 cups) whole wheat flour
• 125 grams (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 10 grams (2 teaspoons) baking soda
• 10 grams (1 1/4 teaspoons) fine sea salt
• 60 grams (heaped 1/2 cup) chopped walnuts
• 110 grams (1 cup) golden raisins or regular raisins
• 475 grams (2 cups) buttermilk

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

    440 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 80 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 3 milligrams cholesterol; 1256 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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1 large loaf (about 16 slices)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Sift together the flours, baking soda and salt and place in a wide bowl
2. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the walnuts and raisins and pour in the buttermilk. Using a wide rubber spatula, a wide wooden spoon or your hands mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl to the center, turning the bowl and sweeping the flour from the sides into the buttermilk. Mix until the buttermilk, raisins and walnuts have been incorporated into the flour, then scrape out onto a lightly floured work surface. The dough should be soft and a bit sticky. Flour your hands so it won’t stick to them.
3. Gently and quickly knead the dough, only enough to shape it into a ball, then with floured hands gently pat it down to a 2-inch high round. Place it on the parchment-lined baking sheet and cut a 1/2-inch deep cross across the top. You shouldn’t let too much time lapse between the time you add the buttermilk to the flour and the moment you put the loaf into the oven.
4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until the loaf responds with a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Remove from the oven, wrap loosely in a cloth or kitchen towel, and cool on a rack.

• Advance preparation: Soda bread is best eaten within 2 days of baking. It does not freeze well.

1 hour