Soda Bread

If youre like countless others who anxiously await Saint Patricks Day, you have already begun to plan your celebration. Youve rummaged the closet in search of green clothing, decorated your home with shamrocks and leprechauns, and searched countless cookbooks for Irish specialties. Before you finalize your menu, be sure to include soda bread. Sliced thick, slathered with butter, and served alongside corned beef and cabbage, soda bread adds a festive flair to every St. Patricks Day meal.
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it lightly with cooking spray or lining it with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt together into a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse meal.
Add the raisins, caraway seeds, and milk. Mix the dough until just combined; avoid overmixing as this will cause the dough to toughen.
Turn the dough into a lightly floured surface. Press the dough into a ball. Form the dough into two equal loaves, or cut into sixteen equal pieces to make rolls. Dust with flour and lightly score an "X" across the top of each roll or loaf with a sharp knife.
Bake the soda bread until it is lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about eight to ten minutes for rolls and twenty-five minutes for loaves. Wrap the bread in a tea towel directly out of the oven.
Cool the soda bread in the tea towel on a wire rack before serving. It can be held at room temperature for up to two days or frozen for up to four weeks.
Nutrition information per 2.5-ounce serving:
210 calories, 4g protein, 41g carbohydrate, 4g fat, 520mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol, 1g fiber.

Ingredients:
Makes two loaves or sixteen rolls
four cups cake flour
one tablespoons baking soda
one-half cup sugar
one-quarter teaspoon salt
one-quarter cup vegetable shortening
one cup dark raisins
one tablespoon caraway seeds
one cup cold milk

Source: articlesnatch

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