Farmhouse Loaf is a traditional Irish recipe for a classic, rich, fruited sodabread that, traditionally, was served for teatime. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Irish version of: Farmhouse Loaf.
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Despite the name, this is not a wheaten loaf, instead it's a fruited sodabread that originated from County Donegal, but which is baked in a loaf tin in the style of a farmhouse loaf.
Ingredients:
50g butter
120g sugar
240g plain flour
2 tsp (level) baking powder
pinch of salt
pinch of bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice)
finely-grated zest of 1/2 lemon
120g currants
120g sultanas or raisins
1 large egg, beaten
300ml buttermilk (see the home-made buttermilk recipe for making your own)
Method:
Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl then sift over the flour, baking powder, salt, bicarbonate of soda and spice. Mix well to combine then stir in the lemon zest and the dried fruit.
Add the beaten egg and buttermilk and mix well to a soft dough, adding a little extra flour if the mixture seems too slack. Turn into a buttered and lined 1kg loaf tin then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 150°C (Gas Mark 2) and bake for between 60 and 75 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through and a skewer inserted into the centre emerges cleanly. If, during the final stages of cooking, the loaf seems to be colouring too quickly cover with a sheet of kitchen foil.
Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
