Traditional Irish Soda Bread is a dense and moist bread that requires no rising time and just four simple ingredients to make.
This Irish Soda Bread is a delicious recipe that goes back many many years. Using only 4 ingredients it comes together quickly and serves a crowd. A great quick recipe when you have minimal ingredients and time.
Is Irish Soda Bread really Irish?
While that question has been asked for many years, the truthful answer is no. Irish Soda Bread or Soda Bread is a quick bread using baking soda as a leavening agent. The chemical reaction between the baking soda and buttermilk in this recipe produces carbon dioxide which causes it to rise.
The Irish like other many European countries back in the early 1800’s didn’t produce much hard wheat to make a good yeast bread, and adopted the soda bread as their own and hence the name Irish Soda Bread.
How do you eat Irish Soda Bread?
While there are many ways to eat this tasty bread the most typical way to enjoy it is with a spread of butter. While adding some jam or marmalade to it also produces a fun flavorful breakfast type feel.
You can also serve it along side soups for dipping or instead of slicing into chunks you can slice thinly and make them into sandwiches, which this bread would serve well because it’s sturdy.
How do you store Irish Soda Bread?
While this particular bread can dry out quickly, it is best to store it tightly wrapped or in an air safe container to preserve it longer. You can store it wrapped for about 3-4 days or freeze it for up to 2-3 months.
So if you have minimal ingredients on hand at home but have a hankering for bread, this Irish Soda Bread recipe is a quick, easy option and is 100% delicious!
If you like this recipe you may also be interested in these other delicious bread recipes:
That was so exciting, thank you!!!
First loaf of bread we’ve ever made, and it was perfect soda bread, just like we remembered.
Since we can’t get yeast anywhere, this is perfect.
We aren’t big bread eaters, but we made it this morning, and it’s over 1/2 gone by 1:45pm, and there are only 2 of us in the house.
Not likely to go back to buying bread after this, it’s far superior.
Good solid loaf, very filling, just can’t stop eating it!
Thank you very much for such a easy recipe for a novice like me who could succeed in making fresh bread in lockdown situation.
I am not an experienced baker at all, and during the coronavirus social distancing decided to try making your soda bread, since I had all the ingredients on hand (and no yeast!) I followed your instructions exactly and the bread came out great. I’m planning to make this again, and again. I’ll make it even still whenever things get back to normal, if they ever do. I did use your lemon juice and milk trick instead of buttermilk, since I didn’t have that. I used 2% milk. One thing I’ll say for the other people trying this: the bread rose… Read more »
Excellent recipe. Made a loaf this evening after work, while it was baking I shook a mason jar of whipping cream until it was butter. Had a nice cold homebrew, bread and butter with salmonberry jelly for supper.
Excellent!
My first time making it, and my wife and MIL, who are Irish, actually loved it.
This is the second time I’m making this bread and only because it was so delicious the first time. It was also easy to make with ingredients already in my pantry. My husband loved it! Thanks for sharing.
I’m so upset, dough was completely too sticky so I added some more flour but it didn’t make a difference. When I took it out of oven and let it cool and rest it was so wet inside. Please tell me where I went wrong as I even spooned flour into measuring cups so I wouldn’t overdo it. Thank you
Amount of flour is unpredictable, so you just need to add more until the dough is just beyond sticky. I think I used at least half a cup, probably more, while kneading, and even then the dough was a little too moist. Be sure you decrease the salt though – nothing to do with moisture, but I don’t know who would want such salty bread. I had to cover it with jam in order to make it palatable.
2 1/4 teaspoons of salt seems like a lot! Did anyone adjust this?
I just made it as listed and it was reeeeeally salty. I used course sea salt but a tbsp was way too much. I’ll make it again but with less salt.
Should have! Next time I’ll cut it in half.
Yeah, I went with 1 tea spoon of table salt.
Great recipe. I tried it with raisins and a little molasses and substituted quick oatmeal for some of the flour on another batch. Both excellent.
Just made this recipe for a 2nd time. The first time I added raisins, this time I did not. Delicious either way. I think I need to make two loaves next time, my family loves this bread. So quick and easy! I’ve been using a powdered buttermilk that I add water to, and it turns out great! I’ve written this recipe down so I don’t forget it! Happy Baking during the Quarantine.
Easy to make, but because I live in Japan I had to opt out for yogurt seeing how there is no buttermilk here. The oven temp is another challenge because we don’t have real ovens in Japan, but otherwise it came out perfect.
You can add lemon juice to regular milk to make buttermilk. Let sit ten mins. Or use vinegar. White vinegar.
Didd the yogurts make anything different instead of buttermilk?
So dang good!! And sooo easy.
Thank you ?
Delicious with a little butter and jam
This was very hard to get a “smooth” dough while kneading. I used unbleached flour instead of all purpose. I’m wondering if that makes a difference?
Can depend on the brand of flour even.. with all the quarantine silliness I recently used a brand of flour that I normally don’t use and several of my recipes were Meh at best… poor texture, etc. etc.
Was able to get back to King Arthur Flour (No, not sponsored..I wish!!) and recipes started coming out good again
I bake quite a bit.. so yes…there are differences in flours even from brand to brand of the same type.
Cheers!
Great, traditional recipe!
I recommend baking in a preheated cast iron pan and if desired, adding raisins.