A family recipe from Lavenlair Farm's original owners. Enjoy!
Spice up our authentic "green" Irish Soda Bread with a little "lavender blue." Diane's family emigrated from Frenchpark, County Roscommon, Ireland in the mid 1800s. Her grandfather's grandfather, Edward Dockery, was the first in the family to serve in the US Army as a 19 year old during the American Civil War. Diane & Dave's son Stephen is currently serving as a 2nd Lieutenant, USA, deployed in Afghanistan.
Our family continues to enjoy soda bread served with a cup of our naturally caffeine free lavender tea, It's a lovely bed time snack, especially during the cold weather! This Authentic Irish Soda Bread is a cherished family recipe with a lavender twist!
Lavender Blue Dilly Dilly, Lavender Green Irish Soda Bread
(makes 2 round loaves: one to keep & one to share!)
ingredients:
4 cups King Arthur brand Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup raisins
1 TBSP caraway seeds
1 TBSP culinary lavender buds
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet and set aside. Mix flour, soda salt & sugar together. Cut in butter to the mixture with two butter knives or a pastry blender until it looks like coarse cornmeal. Stir in raisins, caraway & lavender. Add buttermilk gradually, stirring to incorporate. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a round ball. Place each ball equidistant apart on cookie sheet with enough room to expand. Dipping a butterknife in flour, cut a shallow cross on the top of each ball. Bake for 50 minutes or until nicely browned a cake tester comes out clean from the center of each loaf. Place on a cooling rack for 15 minutes and then slice and enjoy! Serve with butter & jam (and, of course, a "cuppa" tea!)
