I love Irish Soda bread. Especially at this time of year. I think I have made quite a few versions of Irish Soda bread over the years, but my favorite is a softer tea type bread. This one fits the bill.
This bread is SUPER easy to make! There will be no excuses in not making this bread!
I don’t know why but I love caraway seeds. They have a mild Anise flavor and that’s probably why….I love Anise flavor! I don’t seem to fins many recipes though that use them.
The original recipe said that they were optional, but I would not dream of making Irish Soda bread without them.
I happen to have all of the ingredients needed to make this bread. It took literally 5-10 minutes to measure and mix the ingredients. It takes 35-40 minutes to cook. And you have a delicious bread. 
To make this bread:
Mix dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add cubed butter and mix in until blended with flour mixture.
In another bowl blend together the egg, buttermilk, sour cream and orange zest.
Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry/butter mixture.
Add raisins and caraway seeds.
Spread the batter in a greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. 
This recipe needs real buttermilk (not the shortcut milk and added vinegar). The lactic acid in the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide, which helps the bread rise. Don’t substitute with regular milk or any other milk.
This bread can be stored in an airtight container or zipper bag for 2-3 days. 
Irish Soda Loaf
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp very cold salted butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
2/3 cup raisins, tossed with 2 tsp flour
2 tsp caraway seeds
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the cold butter and mix on low until the butter is incorporated into the flour.
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, sour cream and orange zest. Gradually add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir in the raisins and caraway seeds.
Transfer to the prepared loaf pan. The dough will be very sticky, so it helps to dampen your fingers or spatula with a little bit of water so that you can spread the dough in the pan without too much sticking.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
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