Irish Soda Bread Recipe

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.

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.

Maple Irish Soda Bread

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.

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.

The Best Irish Soda Bread

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.

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.

Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread

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.

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.

Irish Soda Bread (baked In A Dutch Oven)

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.

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.

Classic Irish Soda Bread Recipe

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.

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Welcome to my favorite Irish Soda Bread recipe. I shared this no yeast bread recipe on my blog a few years ago and decided to revisit with fresh new pictures and a video tutorial. This recipe is my grandmother’s. She passed away in 2011, 2 weeks before I started this food blog. I dedicated my 1st cookbook to her. Full of energy and the creator of the best homemade pie crust on earth, she would be in her 90s today. St. Patrick’s Day is her birthday.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe (traditional Brown Bread)

Does the thought of homemade bread send you running for the hills? Sometimes homemade bread feels daunting, but you’re in luck today. Irish soda bread is a quick bread made with baking soda, not yeast. Like my easy no yeast bread, this is a shortcut bread that doesn’t skimp on flavor. (If you want a yeast bread, I recommend my sandwich bread recipe!)

My grandmother’s Irish soda bread contains some sugar, but it’s not overly sweet. It’s a wonderful companion for savory dinners like hearty stew or you can serve it with butter, jam, and/or cheese. The raisins are optional, but Grandma would never let you skip them.

The full printable recipe is below. Irish soda bread dough comes together in about 10 minutes. You need buttermilk, egg, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and butter.

Fresh Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Irish soda bread only requires a few ingredients, including buttermilk. Buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to provide the bread’s leavening. It also adds wonderful flavor! We use buttermilk for the same reasons in my regular no yeast bread, too.

Irish soda bread can be made with or without an egg. 1 egg adds richness and density. Feel free to skip it to make a slightly lighter loaf. No other changes necessary, simply leave out the egg.

If you’re baking for St. Patrick’s Day, you’ll love my Guinness Brownies, Baileys and Coffee Cupcakes, Guinness Chocolate Cake, Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes, and shamrock St. Patrick’s Day Cookies, too.

Easy Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread that does not require any yeast. Instead, all of its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk. This Irish Soda Bread recipe is my grandmother’s and has been cherished in my family for years. It’s dense, yet soft and has the most incredible crusty exterior.

Sally McKenney is a professional food photographer, cookbook author, and baker. Her kitchen-tested recipes and thorough step-by-step tutorials give readers the knowledge and confidence to bake from scratch. Sally has been featured onTraditional Irish Soda Bread recipe – an easy rustic crusty loaf of bread that comes together in 45 minutes, start to finish!

Is Irish Soda bread actually eaten in Ireland? The answer is Yes! A plainer version, (like this one!), is commonly eaten in Ireland.

Low Fat Irish Soda Bread

During the early years of European settlement of the Americas, settlers used soda or pearl ash, more commonly known as potash (pot ash) or potassium carbonate, as a leavening agent (the forerunner to baking soda) in quick breads. 

After baking soda was developed in the US in 1846, breads, griddle cakes and scones with bicarbonate of soda, plus cream of tartar or tartaric acid, became popular in European countries as well.

This recipe couldn’t be simpler! Start by preheating your oven to 450 degrees F. Then, simply combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk, then make a well in the center of the bowl. Add the buttermilk, then use a wooden spoon or a Danish Dough whisk to combine, until a dough forms. Do not over mix.

Simple White Irish Soda Bread Recipe With Video

The dough will be very shaggy, and that is totally normal! Pour the dough out onto a floured work surface, and use floured hand to press the dough together, kneading for a minute. Then use your hands to press the dough into a round boule shape. Using a sharp chef’s knife or a bread lame (linked below), slash a big X on the top of the loaf to let the steam escape.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the dough onto the parchment paper. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the crust is deeply golden brown. Let the bread cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing, then serve warm with salted butter, good cheeses, and jam.

When I first tasted Soda

Traditional White Irish Soda Bread