Irish Soda Bread Recipe

This classic Irish Soda bread recipe couldn’t be simpler! Made with real, wholesome ingredients, and an easy to shape loaf I just know you are going to love it. I love making this Irish soda bread with raisins for St. Patrick’s day and I know you will too!

 

Recipe Updated: The original recipe was baked at 375F and used softened butter and a bit less buttermilk. But I went back and tested it again and found the dough rose higher and had a more tender crumb with these changes.

Get out the butter friend, because you’re gonna need it for this Irish soda bread recipe. What can I say? I am just in love with this recipe. Maybe because it doesn’t require any yeast. Or that it’s super quick to make. And also uses pretty basic pantry ingredients. Basically all the best reasons and why you should be running to your kitchen like NOW.

Irish soda bread is so easy and fun to make I’ve made a few fun variations since first making this traditional Irish soda bread recipe – like this cheddar Irish soda bread, or easy Irish soda bread muffins.

My Irish soda bread recipe is made with a little bit of sugar, so it has a touch of sweetness and is perfect for slathering with that butter you took out. Or maybe some jam? And even though it has a hint of sweetness I still think this would be great for sopping up a hearty Guinness beef stew, if that’s your thing. 

Or hey, I’ll make the bread. You make the stew. And I’ll be right over. Ok but first let’s talk about this bread a bit shall we?

Curious about the difference between Irish soda bread and quick bread? Learn more about the key differences and get tips for baking success in this helpful guide on soda bread vs quick bread.

Ingredients Needed

• All-purpose flour – I used just regular all purpose flour for best texture. For best results I suggest weighing your flour with a scale. If you do not own a scale, then make sure to give this post a read on How To Measure Flour.
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Unsalted butter – I used unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter than you want to reduce the salt in the recipe. Make sure it’s cold so the dough stays in small solid pieces.
• Buttermilk -You can always make your own How To Make Homemade Buttermilk.
• Egg
• Raisins – These are optional, but usually added. I have also added in the past orange zest. Or swapped out the raisins for caraway seeds. Or try adding cheese instead (when I do this I omit the sugar).

How To Make This Irish Soda Bread

Making Irish soda bread is really no hard than making any quick bread recipe really. Like banana bread. It’s all about using a leavening agent. And of course not overmixing. 

Start by pre-heating your oven to 400°F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Or you can also bake it in a cast iron pan so the bread spreads a bit less.

And you can make this bread in your stand mixer all in one bowl. I like to use my paddle attachment. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and give it a stir to combine.

You want to add the cold butter to the dry ingredients. I cut mine up into tablespoons so it mixes in easier. Then mix together on low speed. You want the butter to be broken down into pea-sized amounts.

If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can cut the butter in using a pastry cutter.

Once your butter has been incorporated, add in your raisins.

Now here is where you can have some fun. You can add in raisins like I did, which is pretty traditional. Or try caraway seeds. Even orange zest! I tried them all. My favorite combination was the raisins and orange zest, but this time I kept it simple and just added raisins. But do what works for you!

Then add in your buttermilk and egg into the flour mixture. Buttermilk has to give the bread such great flavor and moisture. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, then you can make your own buttermilk at home.

And that’s it. You just need to simply pat the dough into a round onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper or into a cast iron skillet. The cast-iron skillet method will cause the bread to spread a little less. 

With a serrated sharp knife, cut an “x” into the top of the dough I find a serrated knife is best in order to get a sharp, clean cut into the bread and to help brown the top of the loaf.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown and internal temperature of 190oF. Cool on a cooling wire rack.

You can brush the top with a little bit more buttermilk or a sprinkle of sugar for a bit more sweetness before baking.

Serving Suggestions

This traditional Irish soda bread recipe is wonderful to serve warm slathered with some real Irish butter. Or if you want to mix things up try my cinnamon honey butter or honey butter for a fun twist!

But it’s the perfect bread to serve alongside a hearty winter meal or stew!

Recipe Variations

• Use whole wheat flour. Swap out half of the all purpose flour and use some whole wheat flour instead! I love white whole wheat flour because it still gives a fluffy texture.
• Swap the raisins. Instead of raisins you can use currants or caraway seeds!
• Add some orange zest. I love the addition of zesting an orange into dough.
• Bake in a different pan. Instead of baking on a sheet pan, you can bake in a cake pan or in a cast iron skillet. 

Storage Instructions

Irish soda bread can dry out quickly. So unless you are eating right away (which is what I recommend! With a bit of butter) then you want to wrap it up in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It will stay fresh this way for 3-4 days.
The bread can also be frozen for 2-3 months. Freeze wrapped well or in an airtight container.

Recipe FAQs

More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

You might also like these fun Rainbow cupcakes or my Guinness chocolate cake! Try all of my St. Patrick’s Day dessert recipes!