Irish Soda Bread
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Irish Soda Bread is a wonderfully simple recipe. You don’t need yeast, rising time, or kneading, but you still get a beautiful, crusty loaf that’s perfect to slice while it’s warm. This is the classic, authentic version made with just a few basic ingredients. It has a golden, rustic crust, a soft inside, and a tangy flavor from real buttermilk.
Table of Contents
- Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- In Photos: How To Make Irish Soda Bread
- Recipe FAQ
- More Recipes
Recently, I took a fabulous trip to Ireland, where I learned all about Irish baking straight from the experts! I’m so thrilled to be sharing this authentic Irish soda bread recipe with you!
If you are looking for some really fun St. Patty’s Day foods, be sure to check out my Shamrock Shake Macarons, Pot of Gold Cupcakes, and Rainbow Fruity Pebble Cake.
Today, we are going more for that authentic Irish vibe, and this recipe couldn’t be more so.
I learned it at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork, Ireland. I have always wanted to go there, so it was truly a “pinch me” kind of moment! It really felt like a dream come true to learn real Irish baking from none other than Darina Allen herself. Such an incredible privilege!
She taught us that soda bread is so easy to make with just 4 simple ingredients and comes together in just a few minutes. If you’re craving homemade bread but you don’t have time for a big fuss, this is the recipe for you!
It bakes up crusty on the outside and soft, fluffy on the inside. The flavor is quite basic, but perfectly balanced.
You can jazz it up with interesting add-ins if you’d like (more on that later), but as it is it makes a perfect loaf that you’ll love to eat (with real Irish butter!) for breakfast or as an appetizer or side dish to your meal.
If you’d like to see more of what I experienced on my recent trip to Ireland, check out the “Ireland” highlight on my Instagram!
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Only 4 ingredients: Simple, traditional, and pantry-friendly.
- No yeast, no waiting: Just mix, shape, and bake. That’s it!
- Crusty and rustic: Gorgeous golden exterior with a soft interior.
- Authentic flavor: Buttermilk gives that signature tang that you just can’t fake.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you’re cooking.
- All-purpose flour: The foundation of the loaf. Spoon and level if you’re measuring by volume to avoid dense bread.
- Kosher salt: Essential for flavor. If you’re using fine salt, use a little less.
- Baking soda: The leavener that reacts with the buttermilk to make the bread rise. Make sure it’s fresh for the best lift.
- Buttermilk (whole milk buttermilk if possible): The key to authentic soda bread. It provides acidity for the rise and adds the signature tang and tenderness.
In Photos: How To Make Irish Soda Bread
Step 1: Combine Dry Ingredients
To make this easy recipe, start by whisking flour, baking soda, and salt together in a big bowl.
Step 2: Add Buttermilk
Next, you’re going to add in buttermilk. The exact amount can vary based on the humidity in your kitchen on any given day, so you’ll want to start with a smaller amount and work your way up as needed.
Step 3: Mix With Hands
Once you’ve added about 1 1/4 cups of buttermilk, begin mixing the dough with your clean hands. This is the way we were taught by the chefs at Ballymaloe! They taught us to make a “claw” with our fingers and mix the dough gently by hand.
You can get a better idea of what this looks like by viewing the video in the recipe card below.
Step 4: For Sticky Ball
If your dough seems really dry, add more buttermilk, a little at a time, until it gathers into a big, sticky ball.
Step 5: Add To Baking Sheet
Wash your hands, then transfer the dough to a baking sheet.
Step 6: Form Disc
Then dust your hands with flour and pat the dough into a circle that’s about 1 1/2-inches thick.
Step 7: Score Bread
Flour the blade of your knife, and score the bread in a criss-cross pattern. This is traditional for Irish soda bread! It helps the loaf to rise evenly in the oven.
Step 8: Create Slit
Last but not least, use the tip of your knife to puncture a slit in each of the 4 quarters. This is so important! My teacher at Ballymaloe explained that you have to do this in order to let the faeries out!
Step 9: Bake
Bake the bread at a very high temperature initially (450°F; this is not a typo!), then turn the oven down and finish baking at a slightly lower temp. This will really help the bread to rise nicely and be fluffy!
You’ll know your soda bread is done baking when it’s golden and crusty, and it makes a hollow sound when you tap it with the tips of your fingers.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Do not overwork the dough: A few kneads are plenty. Too much mixing makes the loaf tough.
- Sticky is good: If the dough is dry, the loaf will bake up dense. Aim for tacky and a little shaggy.
- Fresh baking soda matters: If yours has been open for a long time, replace it. It’s doing all the lifting here.
- Let it cool slightly before slicing: It finishes setting as it cools, and the crumb will be nicer.
How To Serve This Recipe
There is truly nothing better than warm bread, fresh from the oven! Feel free to cut into this bread straight away.
I like it just as-is, smeared with imported Irish butter, and maybe a little homemade jam.
But it can also be baked with a few handfuls of just about any kind of mix-in you can imagine! Here are a few ideas:
- Raisins, dried currants, or sultanas (aka: golden raisins)
- Shredded cheese (a sharp Irish cheddar would be especially nice)
- Herbs, such as chives, rosemary, or thyme
- Roasted garlic or caramelized onions
- Nuts and/or seeds, such as pistachios, walnuts, caraway seeds, or sunflower seeds
Really, you could get as creative as you’d like!
Recipe FAQ
I really think there isn’t any good substitute for real buttermilk in this recipe. If you search around, you’ll see that it’s possible to sour your own milk by adding lemon juice or white vinegar to regular milk, but in my experience, that type of substitute only works well when there are lots of other ingredients (like in chocolate cake, for example). With a recipe as simple as this, with only 4 ingredients, I think the buttermilk takes on a lot more importance.
It’s definitely worth seeking out real buttermilk if you want to make this, and if you can get your hands on whole milk buttermilk, by all means do it. It’s thicker and richer-tasting, and I can find it easily in the dairy section of my regular supermarket.
While this bread can certainly be made a few days ahead, you probably won’t need to, since it’s so quick to make.
But if you’re really pinched for time, it will keep for about 4 to 5 days at room temperature. Just be sure to wrap it tightly so it doesn’t become stale or dried out.
Irish soda bread can be re-warmed in a low oven (170°F). Wrap it in foil first, and heat it gently until it’s warmed through.
Wrap this loaf up tightly in plastic wrap, then slip it into a freezer bag. It will last in the freezer for several months. Just thaw it at room temperature and reheat as noted above.
Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups (354.88 ml) buttermilk*, (you may need as much as 2 cups)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add about 1 1/4 cups of the buttermilk to the flour mixture, working it into a shaggy dough with clean hands.
- If the dough seems too dry, add more buttermilk until a sticky dough is formed.
- Knead the dough a few times (being careful not to overwork it), then transfer it to a baking sheet and pat it to a thickness of about 1 1/2-inches.
- Score the dough in a criss-cross pattern with a floured knife, and puncture each of the 4 quarters with the tip of the knife.
- Bake the soda bread for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then turn the oven temperature down to 400 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes.
- Turn the bread upside down and continue to bake at 400 degrees for another 5 minutes.
- Tap the loaf with your fingertips- it should make a hollow sound and be golden brown and crusty.
Tested this recipe for an upcoming event. It came out perfect.
Is it possible to add sugar and cinnamon into the dough? If so, how much of each do you recommend?
So happy to hear that! I would think so, I’d start with maybe 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and see if that suits your taste. Good luck!
I made it today and had it this evening. Easy and good. Love this bread. If I wanted to add cheese, do I make any changes to the ingredients
I don’t think you’d have to- just add in the cheese! Good luck!
can you put this in a loaf pan instead on a cookie sheet just wondering
Probably, but it may impact the bake time.
Question… can I make this with my KitchenAid using a dough hook?
I prefer to do it by hand- it’s more traditional and it prevents overworking the dough. But feel free to play around!
Super easy to make and turned out perfectly. Dough is very sticky to work with which makes it easy for me not to over knead…lol (I hate gooey hands). My family loved it. I make homemade breads about 2-3 times monthly.
I found full fat sour cream and water is an ok substitute for buttermilk (3/4 cup sour cream + 1/4 cup water) if you need one
Your recipe and story are very good, thank you. The next time I go over to the Olde Sod, I’ll give the chefs a visit. I always spend a day or two in Cork.
I know it’s a spelling error, it’s Paddy not Patty.
Wow– such an easy recipe to follow, and the bread turned out perfectly! Thank you so much for sharing this 🙂
I miss Ireland so much! Their bitter (and dairy in general) is worlds better for sure! Even compared to Canada. Thanks for sharing! Glad you got such a great trip before the world shut down
Potentially dumb question from a non-baker…. When turning the heat down to 400 mid-bake, do you take the bread out too???
No the bread should stay in the oven until it’s fully baked. Good luck!
My mother always cooked soda bread on top of the stove in a skillet, which she would have learned from my Irish grandmother.
What is ‘all purpose’ flour?
We have Plain flour, Self Raising flour and Bread flour (stronger)
You would want to use plain flour. In the US we call it “all-purpose.” If you need metric measurements, click the button just below the list of ingredients. Good luck!
We’ve moved on over here. In England we use degrees Celsius and either fluid ounces or millilitres.
A cup can be all sorts of sizes!
However, I may give this a try🙂
I know, we are so behind the times here in the US! But you can switch everything over by clicking the “metric” button just below the list of ingredients.
A cup is a standard measurement here in the U.S. & I happen to disagree with Allie. Just because we didn’t adopt the metric system doesn’t mean we’re behind the time.
I’m in total disagreement with Gerry. We tried adopting the easiest way to measure in the late 70s – I was in school when it happened. Couldn’t tell you how elated I was! But nah, parents complained it was too hard. Parents.
Thank you for including the metric!