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The secret to Irish Soda Bread lies in baking soda and buttermilk. When combined, they release carbon dioxide which makes the bread rise without yeast.
So when baking soda arrived in Ireland towards the end of the 18th century, clever Irish bakers took note. And today, soda bread is still paramount in Ireland and an easy way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Table of Contents
Ingredient notes
- Sugar: For a less-sweet Irish soda bread, reduce sugar to 2 or 3 tablespoons.
- Buttermilk: You can make your own buttermilk with milk and lemon juice or vinegar.
- Currants and orange zest: Or try caraway seeds, rye seeds, raisins, lemon zest, fresh herbs, grated cheese, or even scallions.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add butter and mix on low speed until butter is mixed into the flour. With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With mixer on low speed, slowly add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture.
- In a small bowl, mix currants with 1 tablespoon of flour, then mix into the dough. Dough will be very wet. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and knead a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with serrated knife.
- Bake for 45- 55 minutes, or until a toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow “thump” sound. Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe tips and variations
- Soda bread: It’s called “soda bread” because the recipe uses baking soda instead of yeast for leavening.
- Brown bread: Substitute whole-wheat flour for part or all of the all-purpose flour.
- Savory bread: Omit the sugar and add 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds.
- Round out your ultimate St. Patrick’s Day menu: start your feast off with Irish Nachos or Hot Rueben Dip. Serve Corned Beef and Cabbage and homemade Sauerkraut along with a basket of Marble Rye bread. Leftovers can be put to use for breakfast with Corned Beef Hash, or lunch with a hot Rueben sandwich or Rachel Sandwich.
More Irish recipes
Soup and Stew Recipes
Guinness Stew
Beef Recipes
Shepherd’s Pie
Appetizer Recipes
Irish Nachos (Potato Nachos)
St. Patrick’s Day
Irish Coffee
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Irish Soda Bread
The secret to Irish Soda Bread lies in baking soda and buttermilk. When combined, they release carbon dioxide which makes the bread rise without yeast.
Ingredients
- 4 cup all-purpose flour plus extra as needed
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar (see note 1)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons butter cold and cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk cold (see note 2)
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 cup dried currants (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add butter and mix on low speed until butter is mixed into the flour.
- With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With mixer on low speed, slowly add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture.
- In a small bowl, mix currants with 1 tablespoon of flour, then mix into the dough. Dough will be very wet.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and knead a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with serrated knife.
- Bake for 45- 55 minutes, or until a toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow “thump” sound. Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Sugar: For a less-sweet Irish soda bread, reduce sugar to 2 or 3 tablespoons.
- Buttermilk: You can make your own buttermilk with milk and lemon juice or vinegar.
- Currants and orange zest: Or try caraway seeds, rye seeds, raisins, lemon zest, fresh herbs, grated cheese, or even scallions.
- Soda bread: It’s called “soda bread” because the recipe uses baking soda instead of yeast for leavening.
- Brown bread: Substitute whole-wheat flour for part or all of the all-purpose flour.
- Savory bread: Omit the sugar and add 1 teaspoon caraway seeds.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 157kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 4gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 256mgPotassium: 123mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 122IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 36mgIron: 1mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Dying to .make those biscuits and irish soda bread hope i can make it with no problem let you know thank you be safe
Hope you enjoy Miriam! -Meggan
SO GOOD!
Very very good!
Do you mean bleached or unbleached all purpose flour?
Hi Allison, in this case it doesn’t matter which one! I tend to keep unbleached flour on hand, but it won’t make a difference here. It’s just a personal preference. Thanks for the question! -Meggan