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Irish soda bread is the kind of no-fuss, deeply comforting recipe that belongs in every baker’s repertoire. With no yeast, no kneading, and just a handful of simple ingredients, it comes together in minutes and bakes up into a beautifully golden loaf with a tender, biscuit-like crumb. Whether slathered with butter and jam or paired with a hearty stew, this rustic bread is as versatile as it is delicious. Plus, it stays fresh for days—if it lasts that long! So, if you’re craving homemade bread but short on time, this classic Irish soda bread is your perfect solution.
Bake traditional Irish soda bread with this wonderfully simple recipe. Ideal for any occasion, try a thick slice today and enjoy fresh, homemade goodness in every bite.
Hearty dishes you might enjoy include beef short rib ragu, Irish potatoes and corned beef fusion tacos, and pork chop and rice casserole.
Why You’ll Love It
Authentic Irish recipe: Bring a taste of Ireland to your dinner table. With its interesting history, soda bread is a talking point. According to Irish folklore, the cross we make in the top of the bread lets the fairies out! It also serves the purpose of allowing the bread to bake evenly all the way through.
Such a versatile option: Whether you pair it with bread and jam, serve it along an Emerald Isle inspired soup or stew, or simply enjoy it warm from the oven with plenty of Kerrygold Irish butter, you’ll find soda bread goes with anything and everything.
You don’t need yeast: Unlike yeast bread recipes, there’s no yeast required for Irish soda bread. So, if you want fresh bread but you’re out of yeast, you can make perfect soda bread!
It’s a quick bread: You don’t need to let the dough rise for hours before baking since you aren’t using yeast. You can have this bread ready to serve in one hour.
Easy Irish Soda Bread Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
All-purpose flour and whole wheat flour: Make sure it’s spooned and leveled, for a precise measurement.
Rolled oats: I like to add rolled oats to the top of the bread. They don’t really do a lot in terms of added flavor but they do make the bread look appealing.
Buttermilk: Adds a tangy, creamy taste and also adds acidity to the loaf to break down the gluten and keep the bread tender and moist. Sour milk would work too if you have whole milk that is slightly past its best. You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1½ tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup and adding enough whole milk to make it up to 1½ cups. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes and proceed with the recipe.
Baking soda: To achieve the perfect light yet chewy soda bread texture.
How to Make the Best Irish Soda Bread
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Prepare the soda bread dough: Combine the flours, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk into the flour mixture and mix to achieve a shaggy dough.
Shape the dough: Shape it into a ball and then use a sharp knife to cut an X in the top.
Bake the soda bread: Brush buttermilk on top of the loaf and bake until golden brown. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
Substitutions and Variations
One type of flour only: The base recipe for Irish soda bread can be altered to use all white or all whole wheat flour although using all of one or the other will change the amount of buttermilk that is needed. The amount of buttermilk will vary based on the type of flour. For example, a flour with a lower protein content would require less buttermilk.
Optional add-ins: Consider adding ingredients such as sultanas or golden raisins, cranberries, caraway seeds, or chopped nuts to the base bread recipe.
Serving Suggestions
Main course: Enjoy a bowl of traditional Irish lamb stew or even a smoked ribeye steak. This beef stew is also really good, or you could go the whole hog with corned beef, potatoes and cabbage for a St Patrick’s Day feast!
Side dishes: Serve Irish soda bread on the side and perhaps also green goddess salad.
Desserts: Finish up with an indulgent Irish cream coffee or shamrock shake.
How to Store Soda Bread
Store: Like most baked breads, Irish soda bread is best eaten on the day it’s baked. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If it becomes stale, you can make toast with it.
Freeze: Irish soda bread can be frozen for up to one month.
Thaw: Thaw it on the counter.
Top Tips
Cover the bread: Cover the bread for the first 20 minutes of baking as this helps to trap any steam and will form a really good crust. If you don’t have anything suitable with a lid, you could cover the bread with a large upturned baking pan or some aluminum foil instead.
Add steam: The baking pan with boiling water creates an initial burst of steam that will greatly improve the texture of your bread. You can skip this step if you want to as it is not essential.
The dough should be sticky: The dough appearance will be shaggy and sticky to the touch. Don’t be tempted to add more flour. This is a sticky dough that doesn’t feel nice to work with but do your best to shape it as best you can. I flour my hands and the top of the bread to prevent sticking.
Don’t overwork it: Avoid over-working the dough and avoid kneading it into shape. You don’t want the gluten to get tight so it’s really best to handle the bread as little as possible.
Ensure a dark crust: Uncovering the dough for the last 25 minutes of baking time will give your bread a lovely dark brown crust.
Easy Irish Soda Bread FAQs
The notion of soda bread wasn’t invented in Ireland but rather created by Native Americans who used a natural form of soda called pearl ash in lieu of yeast. Soda bread first appeared in Ireland in the 1800s and iterations of it became popular during the potato famine. Traditional recipes for Irish soda bread use a combination of white and whole wheat flour for a sturdy loaf that can be served with sweet condiments such as jam or slathered in butter and dipped into a cozy bowl of Irish stew.
I used a bread cloche to make the soda bread as I bake bread often and get good use from it. The enamel cloche achieves a thick crust with a light inside. It works in much the same was as a Dutch oven. A third option is to use a cast iron skillet to make soda bread.
Although eating freshly baked bread straight from the oven is extremely tempting, it is best to allow it to cool. The internal crumb of the bread firms up during the cooling stage making it easier to slice and will give the optimum texture. If you’ve ever experienced “gummy” textured bread it is probably because you cut into while the bread was still warm.
Best Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Irish Soda Bread
Equipment
- Dutch Oven or Bread Cloche or Large Skillet
- Whisk or Danish Dough Whisk
- Serrated Knife Large
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ Cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¾ Cups whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 Teaspoon baking soda, heaped
- 1 Teaspoon sea salt flakes
- 1 ½ Cups buttermilk, plus 1 Tablespoon to glaze
- 2 Tablespoons rolled oats, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450ºF. Line the bottom of a Dutch oven, bread cloche or cast iron skillet with parchment paper. Ready a deep baking pan on the lowest shelf of your oven – you will use this later to incorporate steam in your oven.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flours, baking soda and salt. Use a regular or Danish whisk to give the ingredients a good mix so that they are aerated and fully combined.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk.
- Use the whisk or a wooden spoon to mix the buttermilk into the dry ingredients. The ingredients will naturally pull away from the sides and bottom of the bowl and form a shaggy ball of sticky dough. The mixing process should be brief. Stop mixing as soon as the ingredients are combined and don’t mix further.
- Boil a kettle.
- Generously flour your work surface and turn the dough out on to it. Sprinkle some flour on your hands and on top of the dough. Use your hands to form the dough into a smoother and more even ball shape. Don’t knead the dough.
- Sprinkle some flour on the parchment paper you prepared earlier then transfer your dough on to it.
- Use a large, serrated knife to cut a deep cross into the top of the dough ball.
- Brush the top of the dough with a tablespoon of buttermilk then sprinkle over the oats if using.
- Place the Dutch oven into the oven on the middle shelf and put the lid on. Carefully fill the deep baking pan you readied earlier halfway with boiling water and immediately shut the oven door.
- Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 390ºF and bake uncovered for a further 25 minutes.
- If you have an instant read thermometer, the internal temperature of the bread should be 212ºF. The bread will be dark golden brown and should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for one hour before cutting into thick slices and serving.
Notes
Add steam: The baking pan with boiling water creates an initial burst of steam that will greatly improve the texture of your bread. You can skip this step if you want to as it is not essential.
The dough should be sticky: The dough appearance will be shaggy and sticky to the touch. Don’t be tempted to add more flour. This is a sticky dough that doesn’t feel nice to work with but do your best to shape it as best you can. I flour my hands and the top of the bread to prevent sticking.
Don’t overwork it: Avoid over-working the dough and avoid kneading it into shape. You don’t want the gluten to get tight so it’s really best to handle the bread as little as possible.
Ensure a dark crust: Uncovering the dough for the last 25 minutes of baking time will give your bread a lovely dark brown crust.
Nutrition
This Irish soda bread recipe is so good. It’s a classic Irish soda bread with a dark, crisp crust and a light, moist inside. Pair this homemade bread with jam for a sweet treat or with Irish stew for a savory one. You don’t need ingredients like fresh or dried yeast, lemon juice, baking powder, or anything complicated to make great soda bread. The recipe is easy to follow and you need very few ingredients to make Irish soda bread you’ll crave over and over.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
