Gammy’s Irish soda bread (“Gammy” is what my dad and his five siblings called their grandmother) is a Lange family classic: hearty, barely sweet, and always served with a spread of butter so thick that you can see the marks of your teeth in it. At its base is a simple, sticky soda-leavened dough flavored with buttermilk, which is traditional for Irish soda breads. From there, though, Gammy’s version veers distinctly in the direction of Irish-American. It calls for white flour rather than whole wheat (aka wholemeal, in Ireland), as well as raisins, currants, and caraway seeds. It probably wouldn’t be considered a true soda bread in Ireland, but that’s what Gammy called it and therefore, so do I.
I love currants in scones, and revisiting Ovenly’s excellent rosemary-currant ones made me curious about replicating the flavor of our family’s soda bread while trading its crumbly, moist texture for a buttery, flaky one. I think I’ve done it here. Butterier (thanks to lots of Kerrygold Salted Butter) but otherwise just like the original, these Irish soda bread scones are a very happy accompaniment to a cup of tea.
They do have a bit of an existential problem, which is that…these soda bread scones have no baking soda. I swapped the soda for baking powder for a more controlled rise; otherwise, the baking soda reacts so strongly to the large amount of buttermilk that the scones get puffy and shaggy, losing their sharp, crisp edges. The other key to keeping those edges (and getting the flakiest scones) is keeping the dough very cold—that’s why these chill twice before baking.
If you’d like, you can make these ahead. Freeze them solid after slicing and bake from frozen, brushing with buttermilk and sprinkling with sugar before baking; you may need to add a few extra minutes to the cook time. Alternatively, you can freeze after baking for up to 2 months; warm in the toaster or the oven before serving. —Caroline Lange
This recipe is shared in partnership with Kerrygold. —The Editors
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