Easy Soda Bread | Traditional Irish Recipe

Easy Irish Soda Bread is the recipe to make for the upcoming Saint Patrick’s Day Holiday. It’s delicious, simple to make, and only uses a few key ingredients. The best part is, you don’t need a stand mixer or a bread machine to make this delicious Irish Soda Bread.

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Easy Irish Soda Bread is perfect for celebrating St. Patrick's Day, and any time of the year! This golden, buttery bread is delicious with hot tea or especially enjoyed with my Irish Cream Coffee recipe. Then you can enjoy my Healthier Shamrock Shakes for dessert. You can also pair this delicious bread recipe with my Dutch Oven Corned Beef recipe.

Jump to:

• Traditional Irish Soda Bread Only Uses A Few Ingredients
• How To Bake This Bread In A Cast Iron Skillet
• Savoury Soad Bread Recipes
• Pro Tip: The Butter Does Make A Difference
• Why Do We Add Buttermilk to Irish Soda Bread?
• The History Behind Soda Breads
• How To Make Easy Irish Soda Bread
• Storage Is Key To Keeping Irish Bread Fresh And Delicious
• 📖 Recipe
• How To Bake This Bread In A Cast Iron Skillet
• 💬 Comments

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Only Uses A Few Ingredients

Easy Soda Bread is the perfect bread recipe for Spring and it could not be more simple to make.

You’ll love this deliciously rich buttery bread. Spread with some butter and fresh jam and you’ve got yourself an easy breakfast or snack.

All you need for this delicious bread recipe is:

• Flour
• Buttermilk
• Butter (Grass-fed Butter is the best option for this recipe)
• Egg
• Baking Powder
• Sugar
• Sea Salt

You can mix everything in one bowl and you don’t have to use a stand mixer which makes this Irish Soda Bread recipe super easy.

How To Bake This Bread In A Cast Iron Skillet

There are two different ways to make this phenomenal quick bread recipe. Bake it in the oven or bake it in a cast-iron skillet. The great thing about using a cast-iron skillet is the skillet makes the bread a bit crispier and frim but doesn't take away any of the moisture.

Here are easy-to-follow instructions for using a cast-iron skillet. I recommend purchasing a 10-inch skillet.

Instructions for making this divine bread in cast iron.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a 10" UNGREASED cast iron skillet in oven to heat.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter or margarine with a pastry blender.
• Stir in the caraway seeds and currants. (optional)
• Stir in just until combined ½ cup buttermilk and the egg.
• Turn dough out on a floured cutting board. The dough will be sticky. With floured hands knead the dough a few times until able to form into a disc shape.
• Carefully remove the hot cast iron skillet from oven and lightly grease with butter. Place the round ball of dough into the skillet.
• In desired, cut an "X" into the top of the loaf using a toothpick. Brush the top of loaf with the remaining buttermilk. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and hollow when tapped.

You could make this delicious bread recipe for your St. Patrick’s Day feast! Pair this bread with some delicious Corned Beef & Cabbage and you’ve got the perfect Saint Patty’s Day dinner!

More Saint Patrick's Day Recipes

Irish Cream Latte | St. Patrick's Day Classic

Easy Corned Beef & Cabbage

Healthier Shamrock Shakes

Savoury Soad Bread Recipes

Irish Recipe For Soda Bread, this savory Irish recipe can be made with Irish butter for an authentic Irish treat!

Pro Tip: The Butter Does Make A Difference

My favorite butter and the only one we use in our house is Kerry Gold Grass-fed Butter. Kerry-Gold is an Irish butter and there is nothing quite like it! I highly suggest using it in this recipe and using Irish Butter for all of your baking needs. Yes, it does make a difference, one you can taste!

Where Can I Purchase Grass-fed Butter?

You can find traditional Irish Butter or Grass-fed butter at your local grocery store. You can find Kerry Gold Butter for a super good deal at your local Costco.

Why Do We Add Buttermilk to Irish Soda Bread?

Soda Bread recipes are traditionally made with butter and buttermilk, not plain milk. Soda Irish Bread is always made with buttermilk. You can make Irish soda bread without buttermilk. If you chose to leave our buttermilk, there are a few things to note.

The Irish bread will not have that famous tang to it. The soda bread will have more of a sweet taste to it.

You could turn this bread up a notch and add currants or raisins to it. I will be updating the photos for this recipe and will be adding raisins to the updated version for an even sweeter soda bread Irish recipe treat!

There is no need to use yeast in Irish Soda bread as we use baking soda instead. Why do we use baking soda instead of years? Read on below.

The History Behind Soda Breads

In Ireland, The "soft wheat" varieties are the only wheat that can grow in Ireland's climate and it doesn't make good yeast bread due to a lack of gluten.

Back in the 1800s when bread soda (baking soda) was first introduced people didn't have ovens. They would bake their bread in a "Bastible" (a giant cast-iron pot with a lid that would sit over coals over a fire.

Baking soda is not perishable (it lasts for years in our pantries) and it was cheap then and is still relatively cheap now. The buttermilk came from the cows people had in their back yards. Thus Irish Soda Bread was born!

A cheap way to make really good bread for the entire family!

We love Saint Patrick’s Day in our house. Not only because I’m part Irish, but also because of the delicious food, you get to eat! Do you guys celebrate this glorious holiday? Saint Patrick’s Day is such a fun and meaningful holiday. I even got Shamrock running shoes to celebrate this year!

How To Make Easy Irish Soda Bread

I know that bread recipes can be super intimidating to make, but they certainly don’t have to be.

I always suggest starting off with an easy bread recipe like Irish Soda Bread and then working your way up to something more complicated like Sourdough.

This is a great beginner baker's bread recipe because you combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and then knead the dough on a floured surface for a few minutes, and bake it in the oven. That's it! It really is a simple bread recipe to try.

You can use bread flour for this recipe, but I use traditional flour. Either works well for making the dough for this bread.

Irish bread is usually enjoyed in the states in the month of March, but this is a recipe you can make all year long! For its richness in taste and its savory notes, it's the perfect bread recipe to be enjoyed alongside any dinner recipe.

Give my Irish Soda Bread recipe a try, you won’t be sorry.

Storage Is Key To Keeping Irish Bread Fresh And Delicious

Since this recipe uses fresh buttermilk, you want to make sure to store any leftovers in the fridge or freeze it. I suggest wrapping it in wax paper and storing the bread in a glass, airtight container. Don’t make the mistake I did of leaving it out overnight. The bread will spoil if you do that.

Let me know if you make my delicious Irish Soda Bread recipe, I can’t wait to hear how turns out!

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📖 Recipe

Thank you for stopping by Fitty Foodlicious, a website dedicated to sharing lasting, family recipes, anxiety tips and tricks, and healthy spirited mental wellness. My goal with this site is to let you know you are not alone. You can cook anything you put your mind to, and as my Italian Grandmother used to say, "Mind Over Matter" and "A good meal with a good friend, can cure almost anything!" Please don't hesitate to reach out. You can contact me at my About Me page or find me jaunting around on Instagram. Cheers! You can purchase my cookbook below

About Genevieve

I’m a spitfire Italian Irish lass who adores spending time outside with my dogs as much as humanly possible. I hope you find inspiration on this site for healthy living, mental wellness, and delicious desserts. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and get comfy. I love hearing from readers, please reach out and let’s chat. You can find out more about me here.