Skip to main content
Main

Irish Buttermilk Bannock

A yeasted‑like raisin bread made with buttermilk, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, and raisins.

Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Irish Buttermilk Bannock

Oven350°F
Timeabout 1¼ hours

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Stir flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and raisins together.

  2. Separately, fork-blend eggs and buttermilk, then add to dry ingredients.

  3. Stir until sticky batter is formed.

  4. Scrape batter onto well floured surface and knead lightly.

  5. Shape batter into a ball, then place in a round non-stick casserole that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

  6. Mark a cross in the center, using a sharp knife.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 1¼ hours.

  2. Wait 10–15 minutes before attempting to remove bread from the casserole, then cool on a wire rack.

  3. If desired, cut loaf into quarters and then slice thinly.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

744Calories
28 gProtein
15 gFat
124 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,721 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Bread + raisintop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,111 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All purpose / bread flour
Provides the starch and gluten that form the structure of the loaf.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the oven, helping the bread rise.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas, adding lift and a tender crumb.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the crumb.
Buttermilk
Adds moisture and acidity, tenderizing the crumb and activating the baking soda.
Raisins
Add sweetness and moist pockets of fruit throughout the loaf.

The step that matters

Knead lightly and shape the batter. Overworking a batter that is already sticky develops too much gluten, making the bread tough and dense. Handle it gently, just enough to form a ball.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like