A Note Before You Start
Thankfully Peggy Flaherty agrees that this recipe is too good not to share! I wanted a large round loaf so I shaped mine as such and baked it on a sheet pan (free form) but Peggy typically bakes it in a greased & floured large loaf pan or 2 medium size loaf pans. I serve mine with orange honey butter (recipe to follow).
Ingredients
3 cups of all purpose flour
½ tsp of baking soda
3 tsp of baking powder
½ cup of sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup of raisins (I used golden raisins and added an extra ½ cup)
1 & ¼ cups of buttermilk (not reduced fat)
1 extra large egg
Preparation
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together with a whisk. Set aside.
Step 2: Cut the cold butter into cubes. Cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter (or 2 forks) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins.
Step 3: In a separate bowl mix the egg with the buttermilk. Pour over the flour and raisins and mix together. Dough will be sticky. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and gently knead (about ten strokes) and shape into a round loaf.
Step 4: On a parchment lined sheet pan bake the loaf for 50-60 minutes, (until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Orange Honey Butter
Author: Jodi Hoffmann
Prep time: 10 min
Ingredients:
Zest of one medium orange
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 TBSP of honey
Place the room temperature butter into a bowl. Add the zest of one medium orange and the honey and mix well.