I have a recipe for "Irish Bread" that I got from my sister many years ago... she got it from friends in the Boston area. It's a soft (made w/ milk) dense slightly-sweet quick-bread that's full of raisins. I love the stuff and haven't made it in forever. It makes great toast too. It's made in a regular loaf pan, however. LMK if you think it sounds like what you want.

Hopefully party_music's recipe will work for you. You might check some of Darina Allen's recipes to see if she has anything. She has a cooking school in Ireland and is a good source. Maybe try googling "spotted dog soda bread" to see if that even comes close.

I had a soda bread that I made "forever" -- last year I made this brown one of Ina Garten and I'm not sure I would go back!

IRISH GUINESS BROWN BREAD

1 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant), such as McCann's, plus extra for sprinkling

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, such as Heckers

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 (11- to 12-ounce) bottle Guinness extra stout beer, at room temperature

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for brushing the pan

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Salted butter, such as Irish Kerrygold

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the beer, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. With your fingers, stir the batter from the middle of the bowl to the outside, until it's well mixed. It will look more like cake batter than bread dough.
3. Brush a 9 x 5 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan with melted butter. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with oats. Put the bread in the oven, immediately turn the temperature down to 400 degrees, and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn the bread out onto a baking rack and allow to cool completely. Slice and serve with salted butter.

Martha, that sounds like another good one. It's from "Cooking for Jeffrey"...I have the book but haven't tried the bread.

We love the Sunset Cookbook version of Irish Soda Bread. It is a quick bread with lots of currants, not raisins. I like currants better as they taste fruitier than raisins and are not as strong a flavor. If this is what you want, I can look it up for you. Let me know.

Chloe -- I had a GREAT Irish soda bread -- from the 70s and fixed that one last year . . . decided that that one is the only one I will make from now on it was that good!

Thanks, Islay. That's pretty much how I used to make it when I still made bread.

Islay, that does look like what I am searching for. And I love the directions!

And Islay's recipe is from Darina Allen. :-)

Sally has soda bread on her blog today: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/grandmas-irish-soda-bread/