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Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread made with baking soda instead of yeast! No waiting for the dough to rise! Perfect smeared with butter or jam, and even better for dipping in soup or stew!
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You know how some dinners just NEED bread to go alongside them.
Soup, stew, salad, roast…the list goes on and on because let’s be real – bread makes every meal better. 😉
Well, sometimes you just don’t have any packaged dinner rolls laying around and you don’t have any tubes of dough in the fridge and you don’t have time for yeast to rise. This is when Irish soda bread comes in handy.
Although, let me be perfectly honest with you: Irish soda bread is not only for when you’re short on time or as a ‘last resort.’ Irish soda bread should often be your first choice because it is DELICIOUS. And EASY. And did I mention DELICIOUS?
We’re obsessed in this house.
Speaking of soup, stew, salad, and roast…you’re going to want to make this bread with our favorite ham and bean soup, chicken stew, vegetable salad, and Mississippi pot roast!
What is Irish Soda Bread?
Soda bread originated in Ireland and remains a popular recipe there today! It is a type of quick bread that is leavened with baking soda instead of yeast. It uses simple ingredients, most of which you likely already have.
The buttermilk is an important addition that reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise, and it’s useful for ensuring the bread does not dry out!
This bread reminds us a bit of a biscuit recipe – just a giant, buttery biscuit!
Ingredient Notes:
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For the bread:
Dry Ingredients – You may have most if not all the ingredients already for this recipe. You’ll need all-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Wet Ingredients – You’ll also need softened butter, an egg, and some buttermilk. No buttermilk? Keep reading below for how to make your own at home – so easy!
For basting:
Butter & Buttermilk – You’ll mix these two ingredients together to prepare a baste for the bread. The buttermilk helps to keep the dense bread from drying out so it is still moist and crumbly, plus it improves flavor and texture!
What We Love About This Recipe:
- Simple Ingredients: Aside from the buttermilk there is a good chance you’ve got all the ingredients for this bread. Plus, they’re cheap and budget friendly!
- Texture: This is a dense bread with a nice crust, sturdy enough for dunking in a bowl of soup! Also delicious with a thick spread of butter or jam!
- No Rise Time: I love working with yeast, but don’t always have time to let dough rise. This recipe doesn’t require a rise time so it really cuts down on time!
How to Make Irish Soda Bread:
Mix: This traditional Irish soda bread recipe uses basic (and cheap!) ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, buttermilk, butter, and egg.
There’s really not much to this recipe. You just toss everything in a bowl, all at once, and you mix.
If you’re using a stand mixer, the dough hook is perfect here. If you’re doing this by hand, get in there and knead the dough.
Shape the dough into a ball and pop it on a baking sheet.
Helpful Tip!
You can customize this Irish soda bread with all kinds of different mix-in ingredients! Popular choices include raisins, currants, and chopped nuts. Feel free to make this recipe your own!
Baste: Brush the outside with a mix of melted butter and buttermilk. I brush this mixture on the outside every 15 minutes during cooking.
Bake: The bread takes about 1 hour in the oven. We serve this warm with loads of butter smeared on top. My crockpot apple butter is great on there too!
How to Make Irish Soda Bread without Buttermilk:
Buttermilk plays an important role in Irish soda bread. The baking soda reacts with the acidity of the buttermilk to cause the bread to rise.
If you don’t have buttermilk, you may substitute fresh milk with 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar added to sour the milk. Just add the vinegar to the milk and let set for 5 minutes before adding to your flour. Easy peasy!
Storage:
Store your Irish soda bread recipe on the counter in an airtight container for 2-3 days. We love to use a bread bag to keep our bread fresh.
FAQ’s:
Yes, it really is! This is an old recipe using the most basic of ingredients because they’re cheap and easily found.
You can slice the loaf into traditional slices or you can cut it into wedges.
Serve warm with plenty of butter or marmalade. This bread is also great for dunking in soup. It’s a dense, hearty bread that holds up well. It’s perfect at breakfast with a cup of hot tea.
You can keep this stored in an airtight bag or container just like you would any other bread, at room temperature, for about 2 to 3 days.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH IRISH SODA BREAD:
- Pork Tenderloin: Topped with garlic butter!
- Corned Beef: The obvious choice here!
- Cabbage Roll Soup: All the flavor of a cabbage roll in soup form.
- Crock Pot Pork Chops: Smothered pork chops in the slow cooker!
- Crock Pot Beef Stew: Use the bread to sop up this goodness!
Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
For the bread
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 large egg
For basting
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a large cookie sheet with nonstick spray.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the buttermilk, softened butter, and egg to the mixture and mix well using an electric mixer until a soft dough forms.
- Use your hands to knead the dough lightly. Shape into a large ball and flatten slightly.
- Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet and use a sharp knife to cut an ‘X’ into the top of the loaf.
- Stir together the melted butter and buttermilk and brush over the outside of the loaf.
- Bake in a hot oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Brush the loaf with the buttermilk mixture every 15 minutes during baking.
Cindy says
Really, really good! I am trying to get the hang of my countertop convention oven so I seriously underbaked this but what was baked was delicious. So good, in fact, that I’ll give it another try this weekend.
LMG says
One correction…it is a + cross you mark the bread with before baking..not an X.
D Zorrilla says
Your recipes are the best, this one in particular, I love it.
Karly says
Thank you so much! 🙂
Apurva Aryan says
looks soo yummy. Sharing with my sis.
Anant Vijay soni says
Really a nice recipe with complete information. I will share it with my family to try this!!! Thanks a lot!!!
Rozanne says
Made a bakers dozen good-sized buns using your recipe, and they turned out great. Baked on parchment paper for ~ 25-30 minutes basting twice whilebaking then again when I removed them from the oven. Great recipe. Thanks!
Karly says
Oh, awesome! Thanks for the review!
Connie says
Is the buttermilk and egg mixture for basting part of the measured ingredient, or do you just make more separately?
Can you add raisins into this recipe when mixing?
Karly says
The last two ingredients (butter and buttermilk) are the measurements for basting. I’ll update the recipe to make that more clear. 🙂 Raisins would be a great addition.
Letrice Baker says
Stater Brothers supermarket was handing out samples. I have been hooked every since. I ate a load in 2days. Went back and got one for me and took one to work. Very good.
Bernie ~ A Gouda LIfe says
There isn’t much that thrills me more than fresh baked bread from the oven ~ unless it’s a quick bread like this one. Can’t wait to try it. Lucky for me I have all the ingredients!
Isabel says
I made this bread yesterday. When I put the beaters in the bowl I had flour and dough flying everywhere. I then started kneading it with my hands but it was very dry with lots of flour left in the bottom of the bowl. I did get it all to stay together but I felt the time recommended for baking was too long. The bread is very overbaked but it’s still yummy. I thought I may have mistakenly added too much flour but I had the right amount. I will definitely make this again. It’s delicious.
Karly says
Oh no, sorry it was overbaked! Perhaps your oven runs hot or you just made a flatter ball than I did? I always need every bit of the 70 minutes to get the center cooked through. Either way, I’m glad you enjoyed and next time I’m sure it will turn out perfect! 🙂
Mary Pitman says
Is the sugar necessary??
Karly says
Yes.
Vickie L Howell says
sounds fabulous and easy..making with crock pot carrots, potatoes, shallots & turkey smoked sausage for supper tonight!!
Karly says
Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Allegra says
Delicious! This bread is one of the many reasons I love returning to Eire.
Maggie Martin says
With any soup, stew or just salad, wonderful.
Thanks Karly
Maggie
Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats says
This really is easy to make and I have all the ingredients to make this already! Totally need to make a loaf for the family for St. Patrick’s Day. Looks like bread perfection Katherine! XOXO