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Spotted dog
White soda bread studded with raisins, also called railway cake
Spotted dog, or 'spotted dick' and 'railway cake' in parts of Leinster, is white soda bread with a handful of raisins and a little sugar, the sweet loaf Irish grandmothers bake for the afternoon tea or Sunday visitors. It is soft, slightly cakey and best warm, split and buttered. Chef's tip: toss the dried fruit in the flour first so it stays spread through the loaf instead of sinking.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 425°F (400°F fan). Sift the 16 oz plain flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, ½ tsp salt and 2 tbsp caster sugar into a bowl and rub in the 1 oz cold butter.
4 minStep 2: Stir in the 4 oz raisins or sultanas so each one is coated in flour.
1 minStep 3: Beat the 1 egg into the 1 ½ cups buttermilk, pour into the dry mix and stir with a knife until it just comes together as a soft dough.
2 minStep 4: Shape gently on a floured tray into a 20 cm round, cut a deep cross in the top and bake for 15 minutes.
17 minStep 5: Turn the oven down to 375°F (350°F fan) and bake 25 minutes more, until golden and hollow-sounding underneath. A common mistake is heavy handling of the dough, which squeezes out the gas and makes it dense.
25 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does spotted dog take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of bicarbonate of soda?
- Baking powder, three times the amount (the bake may taste slightly different).
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