Irish Soda Bread Recipe Joy Of Cooking

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Admittedly, I've never much been into celebrating Saint Patrick's Day in the past. However, this year I just happened to have an Irish food cookbook sitting on my shelf begging for attention (Real Irish Food by David Bowers), and I found an absolutely amazing pair of green Coach flats on clearance the other day, so I'm all set! No shamrocks or green beer around here. I did go ahead and make a batch of Green Velvet Whoopie Pies yesterday though, and let me tell you...they're wonderful.

Classic Irish Brown Soda Bread, for those who aren't familiar, is a traditional Irish quick bread that uses baking soda instead of yeast as its leavening agent. The buttermilk and baking soda react to make this bread rise. It is extremely simple to make...just 5 ingredients, and no rising or kneading is necessary.

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Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.Quick and easy, this Irish soda bread recipe is a classic. Our version is made with flour, baking soda, buttermilk, raisins, egg, and a touch of sugar and salt. Don’t let the simplicity fool you — it’s a real keeper and takes less than 45 minutes.

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Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

It appears everyone has their favorite Irish soda bread recipe. Some with caraway seeds, some with raisins, some with both, some with neither.

The essential ingredients in traditional Irish soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. The acid in buttermilk reacts with the base of the baking soda to provide the bread's leavening. This leavening from buttermilk and baking soda is what gives the bread its name: soda bread.

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

This soda bread is a slightly fancied up Americanized version of the Irish classic, with a little butter, sugar, an egg, and some currants or raisins added to the base. You can bake it in a cast iron frying pan (now that's traditional!) or on a regular baking sheet.

You can also make a simpler version without eggs or currants, with some caraway seeds, or you could turn your soda bread dough into biscuits.

Soda bread dries out quickly so it really is only good for a day or two. It is best eaten freshly baked and warm or toasted. Keep it wrapped in plastic wrap or foil.

Vegan Irish Soda Bread In 45 Minutes

That said, you can make it ahead and freeze it (let it cool to room temperature first). Wrap it tightly first in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. It will last up to 2 months frozen.

Traditionally, bread in Ireland was made in a skillet because the wheat that grew there was what's called soft wheat, which contained less gluten than its counterparts in America. The domestic Irish wheat didn't interact well with yeast and did not rise very well.

Hence, the introduction of baking soda as a leavening agent, which reacts with the buttermilk to form small carbon dioxide bubbles, approximating the chemical reaction of yeast.

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What we consider traditional Irish bread came about because of the Native Americans, who used a sort of wood ash as a leavening agent to make bread without yeast. This method of making bread was introduced to Ireland in the 1830s.

Different types of soda bread are popular throughout Ireland, but all of them are pretty simple, everyday breads. They were found in every household to mop up stews or to enjoy with a cup of tea. The Northern Irish divide their dough into 4 triangles, while the Southerners made theirs round with a cross shape on top. Here in America, we like to put in add-ins like caraway seeds, currants, raisins, or honey. Modern Irish soda breads might contain nuts, orange zest, or even Guinness.

There are only a few ingredients in this soda bread recipe, so it's best if made with real buttermilk. However, there are a few buttermilk substitutions that work well and will still react with the baking soda to make the bread rise. Kefir works especially well, or you can thin yogurt to the consistency of buttermilk using plain milk.

No Buttermilk Soda Bread (vegan & Dairy Free)

You can also acidify milk with lemon juice or white vinegar. Add 2 scant tablespoons to a measuring cup and top with whole milk to make 1 3/4 cups total. Stir and let sit for a few minutes until the mixture curdles, then proceed with the recipe as written.

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2, 000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Cook At Home With Insight

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I love Irish Soda Bread, it is so delicious, yet so easy to make. I wanted to try a new recipe this time and I knew I wanted it to include caraway seeds. I found this recipe at allrecipes.com, it includes both caraway seeds and raisins and sounded delicious. It came out beautifully, all puffed and golden brown on the outside and it is indeed delicious!

The main change I made was to reduce the amount of raisins, from what the original recipe called for, and I think this way, there is the just the right balance between the caraway seeds and the raisins. I also soak the raisins before adding them to the batter, this way the raisins stay plump and juicy while baking.

Classic Irish Soda Bread

Also, note that this recipe calls for sour cream — I use light — thus, the dough is wetter than that of a more traditional Irish Soda Bread.

This Irish Soda Bread with Caraway Seeds and Raisins is perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner, party or other celebration. This beautiful loaf would also be wonderful for a brunch buffet for Easter, or anytime, and is great to take to a potluck.

This Irish Soda Bread with Caraway Seeds and Raisins is wonderful served along side a bowl of Slow Cooker Guinness Steak and Black Bean Chili; it is also wonderful with Crock Pot Apple and Brown Sugar Corned Beef & Cabbage.

Can You Freeze Irish Soda Bread?

A slice of this Irish Soda Bread with Caraway Seeds and Raisins is delicious toasted with a pat of butter, wonderful for breakfast with a cup of coffee or as a snack with a steaming mug of tea any time of day!