Irish Soda Bread Recipe

This classic Irish Soda Bread is quick, easy, and just the answer when you want homemade bread

No yeast, no kneading, and no rise time means piping hot bread from the oven to the table in just an hour!

This delicious quick bread recipe is soft on the inside with a golden crust on the outside. Serve it for breakfast with warm Irish butter and jam, or for dinner, with herbed butter and a warming soup or stew

Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day with our Guinness Irish Pot Roast

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Simple Ingredients for Irish Bread

This easy recipe gets its name from its key ingredient, baking soda. Combining the baking soda with buttermilk “activates” the baking soda (also called sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda), resulting in beautifully leavened bread without yeast.

This traditional Soda Bread recipe uses basic ingredients, like most Irish recipes. There is a good chance you have all of the ingredients on hand, which makes it ideal for baking any time.

• All-Purpose Flour – we use white flour, but in Ireland, it is often made with whole wheat flour
• Baking Soda – the key ingredient for leavening
• Baking Powder – an additional leavening agent
• Sugar – we use just a touch of sugar
• Salt – fine sea salt or table salt
• Buttermilk – the lactic acid in buttermilk is what activates the baking soda and gives the bread its lift and fluffy inside texture. See below for DIY buttermilk.
• Butter – we use unsalted butter however salted works fine too
• Sea Salt – optional for the top of the bread

Optional add-ins: (any combination totaling no more than 1 cup)

• Raisins – we like golden raisins but any type will work
• Currants – another traditional Irish add-in
• Caraway Seeds
• Orange Zest – zest gives the bread a bright tangy touch
• Cranberries – a sweet and tart addition

How to make Irish Soda Bread

• Choose the type of pan you want to use. We recommend:
• 9″ – 10″ Cast iron pan or other heavy-bottomed pan, 9″ pie dish, 8″-10″ Dutch oven

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F and make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven.
• Select the pan you want to use and lightly grease it or line it with parchment paper.
• For the best results: start with very cold butter and buttermilk. Cut butter into small pieces and measure the buttermilk. Then put both in the freezer while you gather your other ingredients.
• Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl: Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of salt.
• Add the very cold butter pieces and lightly blend into the flour mixture using two forks or a pastry blender. Make sure all the pieces are coated in flour because this step helps give a flaky texture to any baked goods.

• Add cold buttermilk in 3 batches, blending lightly with a sturdy silicone or wooden spoon after each addition.
• If adding any add-ins (raisins, caraway, etc.) add them now.
• Be sure to mix gently just until combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.
• You will have a shaggy dough, that is also sticky. It should have small pieces of butter visible.
• Put a little flour on your hands and place the dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Bring the dough together into a ball. Then flatten it slightly into a large disk.

• Transfer from the floured work surface to the prepared pan, baking dish, or Dutch oven.
• Using a sharp knife, score an X on top of the dough, cutting about one-third of the way through the dough.
• Top with coarse sea salt, optional but highly recommended.

Baking the bread

• Bake the bread for 25 minutes and check to make sure it isn’t getting too dark. If it is then tent loosely with aluminum foil.
• Bake about another 20 minutes. The top should be golden brown and no longer shiny. A test skewer should come out clean and the internal temperature should be 205˚F.
• Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Remove bread from the pan and cool completely on a cooling rack. It’s important to cool on the rack (instead of in the pan) to prevent steam from softening the bottom of the bread.

• Serve warm, sliced, or torn into wedges alongside our savory Flavored Butters.

How to tell if Soda Bread is done

• Bread is done when the X area has lost its shiny raw look and the crust is medium golden brown.
• If you tap the bread it should have a hollow sound.
• Use an instant-read thermometer. This type of quick bread should be baked to an internal temperature of 200˚f – 210˚f. We’ve found that 205˚f is ideal for quick breads.

Tips for the best results

• Quick breads benefit from very little mixing and kneading. Be sure to combine just until the bread comes together otherwise, you will overactivate the glutens.
• Be sure the oven is ready to go and hot! The lactic acids and baking soda begin to react immediately and the best bread rise will occur quickly in a hot oven, providing even cooking and a crispy crust. Waiting to bake the bread can result in a denser, less airy bread.
• Let the bread cool for at least 10 minutes on a cooling rack before serving. Slice into individual slices with a serrated knife or cut the loaf into wedges.
• The X on the top of the loaf isn’t just for looks! It also helps guarantee even cooking.

How to store Irish Soda Bread?

• ROOM TEMPERATURE: Cool completely, wrap the whole loaf (or remaining loaf), and store it at room temperature for about 2 days.
• FREEZER: This bread freezes well, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and an airtight container, for about 3 months. Thaw to room temperature before serving.

Need a tangy buttermilk substitute?

In case you don’t have buttermilk on hand it’s easy to make a substitution using the formula below. Also, real buttermilk freezes well, so if you have leftovers (since this recipe only uses 2 cups of buttermilk) freeze it in freezer trays for next time.

• The ratio: 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to every 1 cup of regular whole milk.
• Mix and let stand for a few minutes. Stir again before using.

Does Irish Soda Bread come from Ireland?

• Research suggests that Soda Bread was first made in Ireland during the Irish potato famine, around the 1840s, when baking soda, which is a leavening agent, was initially introduced to Ireland. The round loaf was cooked over an open fire and marked with a deep cross or X slashed in the center of the loaf, which was believed to provide protection for the household.

• This traditional Irish Soda Bread recipe was handed down by my Irish maternal great-grandmother who usually added golden raisins to her bread. It’s always been my favorite Irish Soda Bread recipe.

Looking for more quick bread recipes?

Quick breads are so easy to make that you can have fresh bread, sweet or savory, anytime.

• Buttermilk Banana Bread is perfect for an easy snack and the chips are optional
• Blueberry Apple Bread is chock full of sweet berries
• Classic Zucchini Bread is a great on-the-go snack
• Pumpkin Bread brings all of the Fall flavors we love in one loaf!
• Our easy Beer Bread Recipe needs just 4-ingredients!