Irish Soda Bread Muffins

With Saint Patrick's day being just a few weeks away, my mind this month is very much turned towards Irish recipes and food. One of my deepest regrets about the 20 years I spent living in the UK was that I never got to visit Ireland. It was on my bucket list, but just did not happen.

I love the Irish people. My UK Landlord was Irish and one of my best friends was Irish. I, myself, have 27% Irish DNA, so I think it is pretty safe to say that I am well within my rights to celebrate Saint Patrick's day as much as I want to! I can wear green and not feel like I am misappropriating anyone's culture!

I adore Irish Soda Bread. In the UK you could buy a really nice soda bread in the shops. Made by Paul Rankin (A very popular Irish chef) I loved the fruited one, but they also had a whole wheat one. Both were very good actually.

I have also made my own homemade soda bread many times. I love the ease of it and how nice it tastes, both sliced and buttered and on its own or with a hot bowl of soup or stew.

When I saw this recipe for Irish Soda Bread Muffins on the King Arthur baking site, I immediately bookmarked it as something I wanted to try at a future date.
Nothing could be easier. The easy batter goes together just like a muffin batter would, gets spooned into a muffin tin and baked.

The end result is a mini Irish Soda Bread, with all of the characteristics of a regular soda bread, but the size of a muffin. With loads of crisp crags and crannies, and loaded o the hilt with plenty of dried currants.
I buy my currants on Amazon. But if you cannot get currants you can always use raisins. Both would work very well.
It is a basic drop biscuit type of dough. Quite stiff, but yielding a tender moist muffin that is perfect spread with butter and jam.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE IRISH SODA BREAD MUFFINS
Simple every day baking ingredients and where I can I have suggested substitutions that you can use in the place of something which may be a bit more difficult to procure.

1 1/2 cups (210g) unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup (105g) whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup (75g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups (170g) dried currants (or the equivalent measure of raisins)
1/2 to 2 tsp caraway seeds (depending on if you want a hint or a hit!)
1 large free range egg
1 cup (227g) buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream (I used a mix of yogurt and milk)
6 TBS (85g) butter melted or 1/3 cup (67g) vegetable oil
coarse sugar for sprinkling on top (I used demerara/turbinado)

The King Arthur site actually recommended the use of white whole wheat flour. I have never seen such a thing and so I just used regular whole wheat flour. I always buy unbleached all purpose flour.
My sugar is organic granulated sugar, which I buy from Costco in big bags. It is not white, but a golden color. I buy my currants online from Amazon. If you like or cannot get them, you can use raisins in their place.
I use regular salted butter. You can also use oil in this recipe if you don't want to to the trouble of melting butter. I use free range eggs.

Buttermilk can be problematic for some people to buy. What I loved about Ireland was that you could buy buttermilk by the liter. In the UK, it was only available in small 1 cup sized containers. I bought my buttermilk from an Irish store in a much larger container.
You can also make your own buttermilk substitute very easily, in one of two ways. You can add 1 TBS of white vinegar or lemon juice to a jug and add milk to the measure that you need. Leave to clabber for five minutes.
Another way is to mix together equal parts of plain yogurt and milk. This is generally what I do when I don't have any buttermilk in the house. Obviously if you have it, using buttermilk itself is ideal.

One important component of this bread is the caraway seed. You can omit it if you don't like it. You can use any where from 1/2 tsp to 2 tsp of them. Obviously the more you use the more you will taste their flavor.
Generally speaking, one thing that I try to do for most of my baking is to make sure all of my ingredients are at room temperature, unless otherwise specified. Some recipes do require the use of cold butter, etc. But they will say that.
Normally I will bring all of my dairy ingredients to room temperature. This really helps to ensure perfect results. So butter, milk, eggs, oil, etc. all room temperature, unless otherwise specified.

HOW TO MAKE IRISH SODA BREAD MUFFINS
If you pretty much follow the rules for making muffins, then you cannot go wrong. Do not overmix or you risk creating tough muffins. Mix wet and dry ingredients together only until evenly moistened.

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a standard muffin tin really well, or line with papers and butter the papers.Whisk both flours, the soda, the baking powder, salt, sugar, caraway seed, currants or raisins together in a medium sized bowl, combining well.Whisk the egg, buttermilk and melted butter together in another bowl. (Or the substitutions)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and quickly combine, using a few strokes with a bowl scraper or a large spoon. Mix only until everything is moistened. Do not overmix. The batter will be quite stiff.Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, dividing it equally. It will look mounded in the cups. Sprinkle some of the coarse sugar on top.Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. A skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.Remove from the oven and tip the muffins in the pan. Leave for five minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve plain or with some butter and jam.

I was really pleased with the way these turned out. I enjoyed one for my lunch today with some soft butter and some of my precious English Marmalade. I was in heaven.
I will share some with my neighbor and then freeze the rest to have on Saint Patrick's day proper! These were delicious! It might look like a lot of currants, but this was just the right amount!

If you are interested in cooking a full sized Irish Soda Bread you can find my other recipes here:

TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA BREAD - This is a simple classic bread in many Irish households. Perfect for mopping up gravies and stews and for serving alongside of hearty broths and soups! It is also pretty wonderful served warm, buttered, and spread with jam or honey, meant to be washed down with copious cups of hot tea!

SMALL BATCH IRISH SODA BREAD - A smaller loaf for a smaller family. This is a traditional white, fruited loaf that breaks into four lovely pieces to enjoy as you wish.

IRISH SODA BREAD - The white flour non-fruited version. Quick, easy and tasty, this version is just as much at home next to the soup or stew bowl as it is spread with butter and jam. Delicious either way!

Yield: 12Author: Marie Rayner