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Spotted dog (Irish soda bread with sultanas)

By: Cherie Denham

Published: 15 Jan 24
Updated: 25 Mar 24

Spotted dog (Irish soda bread with sultanas)

Spotted dog is an enriched soda bread made with sugar, sultanas and egg. Cherie Denham shares her recipe for this Irish farmhouse classic.

“It’s best eaten warm with salted butter on the day of baking, but it’s also great the next day, toasted and topped with a slice of extra mature cheddar or a creamy Irish brie,” she says.

Recipe taken from The Irish Bakery (Montgomery Press £27) and tested by delicious.

Keep our easy plain soda bread recipe handy, too.

Easy
January 2024

Test kitchen approved

Makes 1 loaf
Hands-on time 15 min. Oven time 30 min

Spotted dog is an enriched soda bread made with sugar, sultanas and egg. Cherie Denham shares her recipe for this Irish farmhouse classic.

“It’s best eaten warm with salted butter on the day of baking, but it’s also great the next day, toasted and topped with a slice of extra mature cheddar or a creamy Irish brie,” she says.

Recipe taken from The Irish Bakery (Montgomery Press £27) and tested by delicious.

Keep our easy plain soda bread recipe handy, too.

Nutrition: Per slice (for 8 slices)

Calories: 271kcals
Fat: 1.6g (0.4g saturated)
Protein: 9.3g
Carbohydrates: 54g (13g sugars)
Fibre: 2.4g
Salt: 0.7g

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Ingredients

450g plain flour, plus extra to dust
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp caster sugar
110g sultanas
1 medium free-range egg
300ml buttermilk

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Method

Heat the oven to 200°C fan/gas 7. Put a baking sheet on the top shelf of the oven to heat up.
Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and sultanas, then mix well with your hands, lifting up the flour and fruit mixture (this will add more air and make a lighter loaf). Make a well in the centre of the flour.
In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk and 30ml water. Using a wooden spoon or a knife, gradually stir the liquid into the dry ingredients. Use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a soft dough (see Tips).

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and dust liberally with flour. Form the dough into a round shape, about 15cm wide. Cut a deep cross into the top with a sharp knife, dust with a little flour, then transfer to the hot baking sheet. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 30 minutes or until risen, lightly browned and hollow-sounding when tapped on the bottom. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.