Irishfest 2024 Irish Soda Bread Winner

by | Nov 10, 2024 | cookbooks, Irish American Cookbook, Irish cookbook, Shamrock and Peach Recipes

We are excited to announce that Jessie Brownie Cesari is the 2024 first-place winner of the Irish Soda Bread competition. Both Chef Thomas McKeown and I had the honor of judging the entries of delicious home-baked Irish soda bread, but we were unanimous in our final decision about who would win the blue ribbon, with prizes thanks to our sponsor, King Arthur Flour. Our winner showed creativity by infusing a traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe with Rosemary and homemade honey butter. Jessie has kindly shared her recipe with us, and we hope you may enjoy this delicious twist, just in time for the holidays.

Here is Jessie’s Recipe

4 cups King Arthur Plain Flour (plus more if needed)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Sugar

3 Tbsp finely chopped Rosemary

A large squeeze (about 1.5 Tbsp) Honey

2 Tbsp Irish Butter (she uses Kerrygold unsalted)

2 cups Buttermilk

1 egg

Honey Butter Glaze

1 Tbsp Iris Kerrygold Butter

1 Tbsp Honey

How to make it

  1. Set oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, rosemary) and sift well.
  3. Melt butter and whisk in the honey to make honey butter.
  4. Whisk together the honey butter, egg and buttermilk.
  5. Gently fold wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. If the mixture is sticky and hard to handle, continue to add flour just until you achieve a dough you can pick up and shape.
  6. Dump on to parchment papered surface, shape in to a dome, and cut deep lines along the top to make and X that covers the loaf.
  7. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour until a knife removes cleanly and the bottom sounds hollow when you knock on it. EXTRA STEP: In the last 5-10 minutes baking, melt together more honey butter and brush it over the entire loaf.
  8. Let cool completely, before cutting, and enjoy with more Irish Butter!

Thank you to everyone who entered and we wish all of you could have received the blue ribbon for your efforts. Please enter again next year. We appreciate your support in keep the Irish tradition alive of baking homemade soda bread alive.

With love form Shamrock and Peach (Judith)