By Bianca Asare and Michelle Gillan Larkin
Whether everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day is debatable, but one thing is certain: Irish soda bread is pleasing no matter how you slice it. Room temp, toasted, with or without raisins, dusted with powdered sugar, or crusty and plain on top, this little piece of Ireland goes down easy, and it makes no difference from whence your people came. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite places to pick up a loaf of Irish soda bread in Westchester. May the road rise to meet you on your quest for the perfect loaf, and may your soda bread be light as air and your butter thick and melty.
379 S Riverside Ave, Croton-on-Hudson; 914.862.0874
Served by the slice or the loaf, this Irish soda bread is made fresh from scratch daily without caraway seeds and with lots of raisins and a little sugar.
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773 Yonkers Ave, Yonkers; 914.965.4690
In the baking business for more than 80 years, this perennially popular neighborhood shop serves Irish soda bread as a seasonal staple that has kept customers happy, satisfied, and returning for decades. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it’s made both with and without raisins.
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24 South Water Street, Peekskill; 914.737.4659
At Homestyle, presentation is just as important as taste. Made with black raisins for the look and golden raisins for the sweet taste, this Irish soda bread will surely satisfy both your taste buds and your Instagram feed.
Believing that heirloom recipes (passed down from mothers to mothers) are “just the best,” according to bread baker extraordinaire Anne Mayhew of Katonah, this hunk o’goodness is rich with flavor and tender from buttermilk, butter, eggs, freshly milled wheat, currants, and caraway.
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181 N Main St, Port Chester; 914.937.9489
Loading its bread with caraway seeds and just a little bit of sugar, The Kneaded Bread chooses savory over sweet. Made with traditional currants and without raisins, the soda bread is praised for its moist, dense texture and top-notch crust.
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64 Main Street, Tuckahoe; 914.779.1328
This husband-and-wife, owner-and-baker duo has combined the best parts of their grandmothers’ recipes to create the perfect, traditional Irish soda bread. Filled with currants and golden raisins, and slightly sweet, it’s a warming, soothing taste of family history. Comes in a gluten-free loaf, too!
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Related: Check out These St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Westchester County