Made with 8 simple ingredients, this Irish soda bread recipe is quick, easy, and delicious. Serve hot with butter, jam or a bowl of soup or stew!
This Irish soda bread recipe is the fastest, easiest way I know to make a great loaf of bread at home. It requires 8 basic ingredients, and you can mix the dough and have it in the oven in less than 20 minutes – no rising required! It has a crisp, golden brown crust and a soft, buttery interior studded with sweet dried currants. Make it for St. Patrick’s Day this weekend…and then keep making it! This Irish soda bread recipe is super easy and perfect for a once-a-year treat.
What is soda bread?
But first things first! What is soda bread, anyway? This Irish quick bread gets its name from the leavening agent being baking soda, not yeast. In its simplest form, it consists of four ingredients: flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt. My recipe, along with many other American soda bread recipes, takes it on a slightly sweeter, richer side by adding butter, sugar, eggs, and raisins or raisins. Caraway seeds are also a common addition, although I’ve omitted them here.
Enjoy Irish soda bread with your St. Patrick’s Day feast, corned beef and cabbage (or my cabbage soup!), or served warm with butter and/or jam.
Irish Soda Bread Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this Irish Soda Bread recipe:
- Baking soda, of course! It leavens bread.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon and level to avoid packing too much in your measuring cup. If you prefer to weigh your dough, you will need 438 grams and more for kneading the dough.
- Buttermilk – It adds moisture to the bread, but that’s not all! Its acidity is crucial for activating the baking soda, helping the bread rise.
- an egg – It adds extra growth and richness.
- butter – It gives the bread a delicious buttery taste.
- Cane sugar and dried currants – They add sweetness to bread. Any currants on hand? Raisins work too!
- and sea salt – Make all the flavors pop!
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Irish Soda Bread
As for bread recipes, this Irish soda bread couldn’t be easier! Here’s how to make it:
First, whisk the buttermilk and eggs together. To save myself a dish, I like to combine them in the liquid measuring cup I use to measure the buttermilk.
Next, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt In a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine the baking soda with the flour.
Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture. Toss to coat it in flour, then use your hands to work in the dry ingredients until it’s roughly pea-sized pieces. Mix in the currants.
Then, add the buttermilk mixture. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk and eggs. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until the wet and dry ingredients come together into a shaggy dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it into a ball. It should be soft, but not too sticky.
If it’s too sticky, work in a little more flour. If it’s dry, whisk in a little more buttermilk.
Then, bake! Transfer the dough ball to a parchment-lined sheet pan (a cast-iron skillet works too!) and use a sharp knife to score the top with a 1/2-inch-deep cross. This allows the heat to penetrate the center of the bread. Pop the bread into a 400°F oven and bake until golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. You’ll know the bread is ready if it makes a hollow sound when you tap the bottom.
Let the soda bread cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to continue cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Recipe tips
- Like clump of currants. Make sure to break them up before adding them to the flour mixture. If the raisins clump together as they go into the flour, they will stick together in the bread!
- Top score with a cross. This gives Irish soda bread its signature look and helps the bread cook in the middle.
- Foil is your friend. Is your Irish soda bread getting too dark before it’s cooked in the middle? Tent the bread with a sheet of aluminum foil and continue to bake.
- No buttermilk? No problem. Although I like this recipe best when it is made with buttermilk, you can use a buttermilk substitute if needed. Squeeze 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice into the bottom of a liquid measuring cup. Then, fill the cup to the 1 1/3 cup line with regular milk or unsweetened almond milk. Let stand for 5 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
- Freeze. Irish soda bread dries out quickly. Enjoy some fresh the day it’s baked, and then slice and refrigerate the rest. Frozen slices toast up beautifully and are delicious with butter or jam!
More favorite bread recipes
If you like this Irish soda bread, try one of these easy homemade bread recipes:
Irish soda bread
serves 8
This Irish soda bread recipe is quick, easy, and delicious! Serve slices with your favorite soup or slathered with butter or jam. This bread is best the day it is baked. I recommend slicing and freezing it for longer storage. Frozen slices make fantastic toast!
- 1â…“ the cup Buttermilk*
- 1 big egg
- 3½ the cup All-purpose flour, spoon and flatten (438 g), and more for kneading
- 2 table spoon sugarcane
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt
- 3 table spoon Cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup dried raisins or raisins chopped
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Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the cubed butter and toss to coat. Use your hands to work the butter into the flour mixture until it forms roughly pea-sized pieces. Add the currants and stir to coat in the flour.
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Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
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Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pull it into a ball. The dough should be soft but not too sticky. If it’s too sticky, whisk in a little more flour. If it seems dry, add a little more buttermilk.
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Transfer the dough ball to the baking sheet and score the top with a ½-inch-deep cross using a sharp knife. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. If it browns too quickly before it’s done, tent it with foil and continue baking.
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Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
*If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can substitute it with milk or a combination of almond milk and lemon juice. Squeeze 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup and pour the milk of your choice to the 1â…“ cup line. Let stand for 5 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.