Spotted Dog is an Irish soda bread made with dried fruit and is ready to eat in less than 1 hour! Perfect accompaniment for a St Patrick’s Day menu or anytime you need a quick bread.
A quick bread recipe for an Irish dinner
Irish Spotted Dog is a quick and easy soda bread made with raisins or dried fruit. A quick bread is made without yeast and can be made with minimal preparation and time. Every year I make a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner for St Patrick’s Day and serve it with this Spotted Dog bread. My variation has dried cranberries in it, but feel free to make it your own by adding whatever dried fruit you prefer.
Tips for making Spotted Dog
This is a very simple, easy dough to make and , when mixing it up, try not to mix or even touch it too much. Just knead it enough to incorporate all the ingredients together and form the loaf. I treat it like I’m making biscuits and try to keep some of the butter pieces whole throughout the dough.
The dough formed into a round loaf and the ‘X’ cut on top before going into the oven.
Spotted Dog is delicious served warm from the oven, spread with butter. The leftovers are wonderful toasted up the next morning or turned into Cranberry Irish French Toast with Whiskey Butter.
Personally I like the second option because, duh, it’s french toast. Sugar on top of sugar for breakfast? Yes, please, and I’ll have seconds with my first serving.
Looking for more Irish recipes? Try the Irish Stout Lamb Stew or this super easy side dish of Slow Cooker Colcannon
Enjoy making this super easy and quick version of Irish Spotted Dog bread! Please let me know in the comments below how you like it and what dried fruit you used in the recipe.
Irish Spotted Dog
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or buttermilk, if needed to moisten
- Optional: serve with Irish Coffee
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C degrees.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or use your your fingers. Add dried cranberries or raisins and mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside
- In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and egg. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and GENTLY knead with your hands to form a round loaf, adding 1-2 tablespoons of milk, as needed to moisten the dough.
- Place the round loaf on a parchment paper or silpat lined cookie sheet. Take a knife and lightly cut an 'X' on the top of loaf. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on top.
- Transfer loaf to wire rack and let cool at least 5 minutes before cutting into slices.
Recipe Notes & Tips:
- Quick breads are best eaten the day they are made. To store leftovers, place bread in a sealed plastic bag and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- For longer storage, freeze in a freezer proof bag for up to 3 months.
- Got leftovers? Make this Cranberry Irish French Toast
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