Irish Soda Bread

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, I have been planning an Irish menu for Josh and I next week. Its definitely something a little different for us, but why not give it a try?

I started off by making some Irish Soda Bread, a few days early. I don't know if I've ever had this before, so I'm not sure whats its supposed to taste like - but this was good! I found this recipe on allrecipes, and the reviews said it tastes pretty traditional. I added raisins which I think made a huge difference!
Irish Soda Bread

4 c. all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. margarine, softened (I used butter)
1 c. buttermilk
1 egg
2/3 c. raisins
1/4 c. butter, melted (I used half of this)
1/4 c. buttermilk (I used half of this)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Lightly grease a baking sheet (I used nonstick).
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. (I sifted dry ingredients together first, and used my kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook. It worked great).
3. Stir in 1 c. buttermilk and egg. (Still used the kitchenaid.)
4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead slightly. (This is where I added in the raisins - its hard to knead raisins evenly into the dough, so I ended up with some very raisin-heavy pockets!)
5. Form dough into rounded loaf and place it on the baking sheet.
6. Mix melted butter and 1/4 c. buttermilk in a small bowl and brush over the loaf (you only need 1/2 of this). Cut a good size "X" on top of the loaf.
7. Bake for 45-50 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the top of the loaf comes out clean. Enjoy!

REVIEW:
I don't make bread often, so I kind of winged it with this. This is a dense bread, but it isn't sweet. My crust came out kind of hard, but the bread itself is good and the raisins really add something. I've had a few pieces this afternoon.... hopefully there is still some left for Tuesday!