This recipe for Irish soda bread with blueberries and currants was inspired by the Yellowstone prequel 1923, from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook. Cara Dutton immigrated from Ireland to Montana where quick breads were popular during the early 20th century. Blueberries and currants incorporate a local flavor and tint the bread with a beautiful blue color.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup frozen blueberries defrosted, with juice
- 1/3 cup dried currants
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8-inch cast iron skillet with butter.
- Smash the blueberries with the back of a spoon or a meat mallet to extract as much juice as possible. Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add buttermilk and melted butter and the smashed blueberries and their juice and currents mix with a rubber spatula. When the dough becomes too still to stir with a spatula, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead with floured hands for a minute, and form into a ball.
- Place the dough ball in the middle of the buttered 9-inch cast iron skillet. (It will not reach the edges of the pan.) Cut a ½-inch deep X in the middle of the top of the dough ball using a sharp knife.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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