It doesn’t require much effort to make this delicious Irish Soda Bread made even more flavorful with the addition of sweet raisins. Enjoy warm with a bit of jam for tea time or with your coffee. SO GOOD! Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or anytime you fancy a delicious bread.
I have often been intimidated by yeast bread so more often than not I make cakes or quick bread instead. I feel like I can tackle the latter with more ease and confidence.
I know I need to overcome this fear and attempt to make even an ordinary loaf soon – definitely before summer comes as it would be intolerable to turn the oven on during the warmer months.
However, before I do so I thought I ought to make Irish Soda Bread first and see if I can actually make one. I know it doesn’t require yeast or a lot of kneading so perhaps it won’t be so difficult at all.
Besides, I promised the kids I would make them some proper bread this weekend so now I cannot back out.
I am glad I made it and it came out fine despite my lack of skills in bread-making. This can only mean that anyone can also make this bread. And yes, it can look as lovely as the photo, too.
It doesn’t take a lot of skills to make this and you can impress anyone with your work. So whether or not you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this bread is a delicious addition to your table.
It’s perfectly served warm so you can enjoy that delicious freshly baked taste. Spread a little butter on it and oh, it’s so good. This bread is also best eaten in the same day it’s made.
It’s quite a big round loaf so the entire family and perhaps even some friends can all enjoy this so feel free to share.
Now, I am all set to conquer my fear of making yeast bread! Until the next baking adventure!
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FOR FULL RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS and to PRINT, SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW.
WHAT INGREDIENTS TO USE FOR Irish Soda Bread?
- All-purpose (or plain regular) Flour
- Sugar
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Buttermilk plus a little extra for brushing on top
- Unsalted Butter, melted
- Egg, lightly beaten
- Raisins (optional but it makes the bread yummier in my opinion so add if you can!)
HOW DO I MAKE Irish Soda Bread?
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix together the buttermilk, melted butter, and lightly beaten egg in another bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the liquid ingredients into the well. Stir to form a soft dough. Add the raisins (if using) and mix lightly. You can use your hands for easier handling. The batter may be sticky.
- Do not overmix. Shape into a ball.
- Transfer the dough to a greased baking sheet, springform pan or to be more traditional, in a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet. Brush with extra buttermilk on top. You may also cut an X across the top if you wish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned on top and no longer looks shiny and doughy (toothpick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean).
- Let it cool in the pan or skillet for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. I read that you can also cover the bread with a dishtowel while it’s cooling on a wire rack. This should help maintain the tenderness of the crust.
Enjoy warm-ish with some butter and jam!
Yield: 1 large Loaf, 26 slices
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 50Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour and 10 Minutes
Easy-peasy deliciousness, right? Now go and make this soon!
Irish Soda Bread
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet (See notes if you're not using cast iron skillet)
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose Flour
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ cups Buttermilk plus a little extra for brushing on top
- 1/3 cup unsalted Butter melted
- 1 large Egg lightly beaten
- 1 cup raisins optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Mix together the buttermilk, melted butter and lightly beaten egg in another bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the liquid ingredients into the well. Stir to form a soft dough. Add the raisins (if using) and mix lightly. You can use your hands for easier handling. Batter may be sticky.
- Do not overmix. Shape into a ball.
- Transfer the dough to a greased baking sheet, springform pan or to be more traditional, in a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet. Brush with extra buttermilk on top. You may also cut an X across the top, if you wish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned on top and no longer looks shiny and doughy (toothpick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean).
- Let it cool in the pan or skillet for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. I read that you can also cover the bread with a dish towel while it’s cooling on a wire rack. This should help maintain the tenderness of the crust.
- Enjoy warm-ish with some butter and jam!
Notes
Nutrition
Last updated on March 1st, 2024 at 09:09 pm
I am so excited to make my first Irish Soda Bread this year…this looks wonderful. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Same to you Catherine! Hope you enjoy making the bread! 🙂
Hi I have never seen this one before. Yes I am Irish. So I am going to try it. Without the rasins first. I do enjoy your dishes.
Author
Thanks and hope you love the bread. Have made it twice again in a week and my friends from church loved it so hope you do too. Thanks!
I use my Kitchen-Aid to mix the dough – much easier because it’s so stiff.
Also, sometimes I add 1-1/2 t. of caraway seeds.
I knead it a few tomes on a lightly floured board – less sticky to handle.
I bake it in a 9″ round cake pan.
Author
I should try the caraway seeds with it soon! That sounds yummy.
Can you use bread flour instead of all purpose flour for this recipe.
Author
You can try it. I haven’t used that but I cannot see why not. Enjoy!
This is delicious! It reminds me of one I used to make many years ago. Thank you.
Author
So glad you enjoyed this Kathy! It’s our favorite for sure. Thanks for stopping by.
I’m interested in making this, but I don’t keep buttermilk in stock. Is there anything I can substitute for it?
Author
You can make your own buttermilk by simply combining a little vinegar and milk. There are many recipes online for that with exact measurements – just google buttermilk substitute recipe. That’s what I do when I don’t have or run out of buttermilk. Because the baking soda reacts with the acid in buttermilk to produce a nice airy and tasty bread – I would personally keep it and just use a sub rather than eliminate it.
The smell of this irish soda bread baking in the oven nearly drove me insane but I managed to wait until it cooled long enough to dig in! Fabulous recipe!
One of my favorites this time of year! I keep coming back to this recipe, so good!
I’d definitely be having a few slices of this Irish soda bread at a time with some jam! Delicious!
Such a classic recipe to bake up for St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂 It looks perfect.
I had no idea it was this easy to make Irish Soda bread. I’m going to make this often!
Can this be made with gluten free flour?
Author
I haven’t done this with gluten-free flour but it’s worth a try. If you do, let us know how it turns out. Thank you!