An Irish recipe for sure, I’ve turned Spotted Dog Irish Soda Bread into Spotted Dog Scones. Try this scone recipe for St. Patrick’s Day breakfast!
Historically, spotted dog soda bread was a fruit bread made by Irish farmer’s wives to take to their husbands, who were working in the fields, for a snack with whiskey or tea. Additionally, this bread was a treat for Sundays and special occasions. It’s also known as curnie cake or railway cake.
Spotted Dog Irish Soda Bread
This recipe was inspired by the Spotted Dog bread recipe in Rachel Allen’s book, Irish Family Food. They are small, barely sweetened scones spotted full of raisins and currants. The texture is a lot like Irish Soda Bread. Fresh out of the oven, they are warm and perfect for pulling apart and eating with butter and honey or jam. We enjoy them for days after making them though since they warm up easily in the microwave too.
How to Make Spotted Dog Scones
Dry ingredients and wet ingredients are mixed separately.
Then they’re combined and mixed WITH YOUR HAND. Move your hand through the mixture, fingers spread like a rake. The reasoning behind this is if the dough is overworked then it will turn out a tougher result. Gentle hand mixing is best. No kneading is necessary. The dough will be wet and sticky. It’s quite messy, but it works well.
To make mini scones, work the dough carefully into a long rectangle. Measurement isn’t really necessary, but maybe an inch high. And yes… I cheat and dot some additional raisins and currants on top. After all, I want them to look authentically SPOTTED!
Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut some haphazard triangles. Then pull them away from each other a bit.
Bake for about 15 minutes. They’ll end up with a dark, crisp crust. They’re all set for dousing with goodies.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions:
- Use craisins or raisins in place of the currants.
- Be sure to add a few of the pieces of fruit on the exterior of the bread so the spots show up after baking.
- This recipe may be made into spotted dog soda bread in one round loaf instead of individual scones.
Storage Instructions:
Spotted dog scones will keep for 2 to 3 days in a sealed bag or container at room temperature. They also freeze well in a sealed container for up to 3 months.
We enjoy ours served warm with (real) butter and a multi-berry jam. In Ireland, you might see people eating their spotted dog soda bread with a slice of cheddar. It’s mighty good, but you have to know that you’re eating an Irish soda bread sort of scone (and not a typical scone that you might buy at a coffee shop). They’re basically a lightly sweetened Irish Soda Bread. I think these would be equally good with dried apricots in there too. You’d probably enjoy trying my breakfast Irish soda bread too, since it has a lot of fruit in it!
Spotted Dog Irish Soda Bread Scones
Ingredients
- 3⅔ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
- ⅔ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup currants
- 1 large egg
- 1⅔ cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450℉ Lightly dust a baking sheet with flour.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and the dried fruit.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture. Use one hand stretched like a claw to mix the dough and combine until all is moistened (don't try to knead it or it will be too heavy). The dough will be soft but not too wet and sticky.
- Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and bring together a little more, as needed. Transfer the dough to the floured baking sheet and form a long, flat rectangle, about 1 inch high. Cut into mini scones (triangles) using a pizza cutter or a knife. Pull each scone a little bit away from the others.
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes (or until golden and baked through). Let cool a bit, then serve warm with butter and jam (reheat as needed in the microwave).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have a granddaughter that has a stomach allergy to dairy – she is okay with almond milk or rice milk, there are also other “milks” she can have. Do you think the consistency of the scones, made with those products, would stay pretty much the same…or would the addition of maybe coconut oil be advised to get the same viscosity as the butter milk.
I wish I could help, but I can’t really suggest anything that I haven’t experimented with myself. Hope you’re able to work it out!
These spotted dog scones are so fun, Lori! My kind of breakfast 🙂
Love all the currants in these scones, I have grown up with currant scones- my mothers specialty!! I am so interested in the texture of these. Look great!
These look so delish!
These look delicious & you can see in the photos that they have a wonderful texture! Love that you made them mini too! I keep meaning to email you about your fabulous book! Great recipes and beautifully done, Lori! Going to pick up another one for a friend of mine!
Thank you!
Such a cute recipe for St. Patty’s Day, Lori! Thanks for sharing and have a fabulous weekend. Pinning!
I love Rachel Allen and Ireland! These scones look divine.
Lori,
I’ve only made/tasted scones once in my life but they were so good. I had to pin this for later.
Annamaria
Those look perfect with coffee! Or with beer, let’s be honest 🙂
Yes!
Love these Lori! I’ve never used currants before, what is my deal?? Also, I’m in love with your spoon in that last shot.