When Mike Hines graduated from Towson University, he took a job working the register at the original Atwater’s at Belvedere Square Market. Throughout the years, he worked his way up to become the local cafe chain’s head baker and production manager.
At Atwater’s “Big Kitchen” in West Baltimore, he oversees a team that bakes everything from everyday breads and cakes to seasonal pies and pastries for the cafe’s three locations, plus farmers markets and catering.
With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, the team has been churning out one of the cafe’s most beloved holiday baked goods: Irish soda bread.
Atwater’s ode to the early 19th-century staple—a necessity in the wake of the tragic Irish famines of 1845-1852—dates back more than two decades, when founder Ned Atwater added the sweet bread to their offerings at the 32nd Street Farmer’s Market in Waverly.
Built from a page out of a recipe book, the team has tweaked the recipe little by little over the years to get the spongy, zest-loaded loaf—which incorporates golden raisins, currants, citrus, and caraway seeds—they serve today.
“It became popular in Ireland because it was easy and quick,” says Hines. “Ours is kind of like the glitz and glam version.”
This week, hundreds of soda breads were handmade just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. The last batch will be sold online and at all of Atwater’s storefronts and markets, but if you’re feeling lucky, you can make it at home.
Atwater’s Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp golden raisins
- 1 tbsp currants
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp caraway seeds
- ⅓ cup cubed, cold butter
- ½ tsp orange zest
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Soak the raisins and currants in orange juice.
- Mix together the all-purpose flour, sea salt, sugar, baking powder, and caraway seeds.
- Cut the butter into the dough until it is the size of a pea.
- Once the butter is cut in, stop the mixer, add the soaked raisins and currants, plus the orange zest and egg.
- Drop the baking soda right into the buttermilk and stir it up before adding it to the mixture.
- Mix until just combined, or else the dough will be tough.
- Shape the dough into a round loaf and coat in an egg wash. Using a sharp knife, score a cross into the bread.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Serve traditionally with orange marmalade or with Hines’ pick, toasted with butter and a pinch of flaky salt.