Easy homemade Irish soda bread is perfect for any day of the week. Dense and soft with an incredible crusty exterior.
No kneading. No rising. No yeast. No waiting for hours! Quick, easy, and delicious. Your house will smell like a bakery.
A traditional quick bread made with simple ingredients. Crusty outside, soft inside, a must-try for bread lovers. Great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with this quick baking soda bread recipe.
Life is busy. My sundried tomato and olive bread takes a little time to make, but worth the effort. Traditional Irish soda bread is the perfect way to enjoy homemade bread using minimal ingredients. Made in a fraction of the time.
When you can make delicious biscuit recipes in a snap, like Gramma’s drop biscuits, life is good. Give these cottage cheese biscuits a try too. So much better than the famous store-bought tinned variety.
So that the heck is soda bread anyway? A quick bread that does not use yeast or require rising time. It produces a dense and moist loaf with a golden crust.
If you are new to the bread-making experience, this easy recipe is the perfect place to start. It does not require any yeast. Instead, all of its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk.
Traditionally the 4 basic ingredients include flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt. It can also be made with a combination of whole wheat flour and regular flour. Some recipes also include the addition of raisins.
I bet your family will like it so much it will become your favourite side. We absolutely love it with tomato crab soup.
With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, it pairs perfectly with this easy corned beef and potato on the stove dinner. A must along side Guinness Irish stew.
Basic Soda Bread Ingredients
- flour
- sugar
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- butter
- buttermilk
How To Make Easy Irish Soda Bread In Minutes
You will be a pro in no time. Full instructions are in the recipe card.
- Place the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the buttermilk.
- Mix with a spatula to combine.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and mix until it forms a ball, adding a little more flour as you work the dough.
- Place on a baking sheet.
- Score and bake.
Suggestions / Recipe Tips
- Do not over-work the dough. It should have an uneven and shaggy appearance. This dough has more of a scone like texture. Add a bit more flour as you work it into a ball.
- Be sure to score the top of the bread before baking.
- Always use cold butter. The colder the butter the less sticky the dough will be.
- If you choose to bake the bread in a cast-iron skillet, add a few minutes to the baking time as it will take a little longer.
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, here are some great buttermilk substitutes.
- Adding the salt on top before baking is optional. Course sea salt is perfect for this.
How long will it last? It will dry out quickly, so it is best eaten the day of baking. For longer use, wrap it tightly or place it in an airtight container. It will last for 3-4 days.
Can you freeze it? Yes, you can. Tightly wrapped it will freeze well for 3-4 months.
Why Is There An X On Top Of Soda Bread?
Depending on where you get your facts, there are lots of legends. People believe the X on top symbolizes:
- to let the fairies out.
- the four corners represent the four provinces of Ireland!
- often said to ward off the devil and to protect the household.
- blessing the bread and giving thanks.
From a baking perspective, cutting the dough lets heat penetrate into the thickest part of the bread. Allowing it to stretch and expand while baking.
What is the difference between Irish soda bread and Irish brown bread?
Soda bread is slightly sweet. Think of a fresh-baked scone. It contains white flour, which gives it a mild flavor.
Brown bread is savory. It contains whole wheat flour, molasses, and oats. It has a nutty flavour.
Baking bread does not have to be time-consuming and complicated. This easy-to-make recipe makes an appearance quite often on our dinner table.
Try this recipe alongside:
- Chunky Chili, the perfect comfort food that will warm you up in a hurry
- Red Wine Lamb Stew takes comfort food to a whole new level of deliciousness. Great for date night.
- Mom’s Pea Soup always needs some great bread for dunking.
Looking For More Quick and Easy Bread Recipes?
- We love Cheezy Cornbread with chili. A must for the cast iron skillet.
- Have some bananas to use up? Basic Banana Bread is always a great place for them.
- Another no yeast option is Onion Bread, perfect for soups, stews, and chilis.
Easy Irish Soda Bread (Baking Soda Bread)
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold butter (cubed)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F and choose your preferred baking pan, sheet or cast iron skillet. I just used a parchment lined baking sheet.
- In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add the butter and mix until crumbly.
- Using a spatula add the buttermilk (not all at once) and mix until moist. The dough will have a shaggy texture.
- Turn dough onto floured surface and blend with your hands until it forms a round ball. Add a bit more flour to make it easier to handle. Try not to overwork it. Flatten with your hand slightly to form a disc about 7-8 inches across.
- Place on baking sheet. Score an X on the top with a sharp knife (about ½ way through the bread.
- At this point, you can top with the coarse salt if you like.
- Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes. Check with a cake tester. The top should be browned, and the bread will have a hollow sound when you tap on the bottom.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool. At this point, I am ready to rip off a chunk!!
Jillian
No kneading, no rising & no yeast – these are a few of my favorite things!
Homemade & Yummy
HAHAHA…YES!! The bread is fantastic too.
Luci
This looks so delicious. It would be great to whip this up when you don’t want to wait for yeast to rise.
Homemade & Yummy
This is perfect for making bread in a quick and easy method.
Danielle
I’ve been experimenting with lots of yeast breads lately, but dislike the time it takes to knead and rise. This looks like the perfect easy recipe for bread! Will be making it this weekend!
Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY….this never lasts long in our house.
Jenna
I love this Irish soda bread. It’s one of the easiest breads to make.
Homemade & Yummy
Yes and so delicious too.
Byron Thomas
When I read the part where you think breaking off a chunk of bread and slathering it with butter is fantastic, I knew we could be best friends. Really, there’s nothing as soothing and as therapeutic as warm, homemade bread. I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where homemade bread was all there way. My mom would make homemade bread twice each week, in large batches. I miss it tremendously! I’m just slowly practicing and perfecting my bread making skills, and I think this easy Irish soda bread would be a great place to start! Thanks for sharing!!
Homemade & Yummy
I KNOW you will master this the first time. ENJOY!
Amanda
Yum — I love how easy and delicious this looks. We always have a St. Patrick’s Day party, and this bread will be perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Homemade & Yummy
Perfect for St. Patrick’s day…enjoy, I know your guests will love it.
Veena Azmanov
I have never made Irish soda bread – sounds yum. The dough looks so pliable and easy to manage. I love how simple and easy this recipe is. Saving for later.
Homemade & Yummy
This is such a quick and easy bread to make. Serves the purpose when you want fresh bread, but are pressed for time.
Erin Kay
Looks so yum! Love soda bread. Bookmarking this!
Homemade & Yummy
This really is sooo easy to make.
Elena
I bake bread quite often but I don’t know how come I’ve never baked Irish soda bread! That’ll be the next bread I bake for sure!
Homemade & Yummy
This is so easy and delicious. Hope you enjoy it.
Karyl | Karyl's Kulinary Krusade
Wow, I had no idea Irish soda bread was so easy to make! There’s nothing like warm bread, straight out of the oven. Whenever I bake bread it’s all I can do to not dive in the second it comes out
Homemade & Yummy
Freshly baked bread is so good. Warm bread and butter is THE BEST!!
Julie
Nothing beats a lazy weekend afternoon baking bread. This looks perfect!
Homemade & Yummy
I know, just something so rewarding when you make it yourself.
Paige
Yum, ”tis is perfect for this time of year hen it’s no too hot to turn he oven on! I really like how easy it looks, and love the thought of slathering a hot piece with butter!
Homemade & Yummy
Yes…fresh hot bread out of the oven with butter is sooooo good.
anne
I love Irish Soda Bread and this looks so easy to make too! I’m going to give this a try.
Homemade & Yummy
Baking bread does not get easier than this.
TaraTeaspoon
It looks so fluffy and moist ! I love any recipe that has “easy” in front of it so looks like this is going in my recipe box !
Homemade & Yummy
Believe me…this is the easiest way to make bread ever.
lauren
I can’t say I’ve actually ever had Irish soda bread, but like you said I also love having a nice hunk of bread to go with a big bowl of soup. The smell of fresh baking bread is one of my favorite smells in the world. I love how quick and simple the recipe is!
Homemade & Yummy
This is my go to recipe when fresh baked bread is a must for any recipe.