Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's a beautiful spring day here, and this is exactly how I like to celebrate. Some baking, time outside, and enjoying the anticipation of many spring days to come. On my teaching schedule, St. Patrick's Day always falls over my March break. This allows for even more celebrating! Here's a basic, simple Irish Soda bread recipe that I found on The Confused Homemaker. It does not add in raisins as many of the traditional recipes do, so I knew Dave would eat this version.

You will need:
*4 cups all purpose flour
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon baking soda
*2 cups buttermilk
*1/2 cup butter
*2 tablespoons sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Sift all dry ingredients together. Create a little circle in the center of them and add softened butter & the buttermilk. Mix together quickly (It will look like a biscuit dough) Kneed it for about a minute, not any longer.

3. Shape into a round cake on a floured sheet pan, or shape it into a cake pan. Carve a cross on the top. Bake for 40 minutes. Enjoy!