Irish Soda Quick Bread and Scone Mix (Makes 2 loaves)

Irish settlers brought this rustic classic to America.  It's been described as a cross between a biscuit and a coffeecake.  In Ireland, this convenient, hearty bread is served with breakfast, brunch, or tea as delectable platters for butter and preserves. 

This is a royal soda bread, much different than the soda and flour concoctions we sometimes find in the recipe books.  What's our secrets for great Irish soda bread?  We've loaded this bread up with buttermilk and just the right combination of stone ground wheat flour and our best pastry flour.  In all of our Irish breads, we slip in a little potato flour--not just for the flavor but to keep the bread moist.  Potato Flour is hygroscopic--this is, it attracts moisture from the air rather than drying the bread out.  The result is a delectable bread with an aroma that wafts through the kitchen and a taste and texture that is terrific.

This bread will stay moist and good for days.  We keep a loaf sitting on the counter and for a mid-morning break, we cut a thick slice, warm it quickly in the microwave, and slather it with butter and jam.

This is a quick and easy bread to make that is nearly foolproof.  Cut in one cube of butter.  Mix one egg with water, combine that with the mix, form two loaves, and bake for about 35 minutes.  Prep time is less than ten minutes.  

Irish Scones:

Quite after the fact, we discovered that this mix made terrific scones.  We tinkered around--adding more butter and increasing the oven temperature--until we had a scone that our testers raved over.  We think this will become your favorite scone.  For a change of pace, add raisins or dried cranberries.

"This makes a delicious scone." --MV in MN

Complete directions for both soda bread and scones are included.  Butter and eggs are not included.