Irish soda bread is beyond easy to whip up, made with very basic ingredients, and is perfect smeared with butter or jam. Serve alongside some hearty soup for dipping or in place of dinner rolls!
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.
How to make soda bread:
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.
Brush the outside with a mix of melted butter and buttermilk.
Kind of looks like a head of cauliflower at this point, but just stick with me.
I brush this mixture on the outside every 15 minutes during cooking.
The bread takes about 1 hour in the oven.
We serve this warm with loads of butter smeared on top.
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.
Is Irish soda bread really Irish?
Yes, it really is!
This is an old recipe using the most basic of ingredients because they’re cheap and easily found.
How do you eat Irish soda bread?
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.
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 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.
Carri H says
Awesome Recipe! Delicious crust – the basting really made a difference. I took it to a St. Patrick’s Day dinner and everyone loved it. Perfect accompaniment to Corned Beef and Cabbage. I had it the next morning, toasted. THANK YOU.
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Carri! Thanks for the review! 🙂