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!!
Marisa F. Stewart
Just wanted to let you know that I tried out the bread yesterday. Our daughter was going to come over for lunch and I didn’t have any bread. We’d made some soup so I thought of something that would be quick and easy. You were so right and the taste was amazing. Good thing I had the foresight to buy buttermilk earlier in the week. The recipe is a keeper.
Homemade & Yummy
I am so happy you came back to let me know how much you enjoyed this recipe. It is a quick and easy way to get fresh bread in no time.
Rachel
This recipe is the perfect bread recipe for me! So simple yet delicious. LOVE that it doesn’t require kneading, yeast and rise time! Thanks for posting!
Homemade & Yummy
Yes is so easy and so delicious. A great way to enjoy fresh baked bread any day of the week.
Veena Azmanov
Baking my own bread sounds so perfect. Love your recipe and thanks for making it so simple and easy and tasty too.
Homemade & Yummy
This is such a super easy recipe, great for having fresh bread without all the time involved.
Lindsay Cotter
There is nothing like the aroma of freshly baked bread! This one looks really easy to make!
Homemade & Yummy
I know…that aroma is the best.
Toni
This would be a great addition to our menu for St. Patrick’s Day!
Homemade & Yummy
YES, the perfect bread to celebrate the day with.
Anna
I always wanted to bake my own bread but never had the courage to do so, as the recipes usually look quite complicated. This one is so easy and straight forward! I think I’m gonna give it a go, thank you so much for sharing it!
Homemade & Yummy
Honestly, you will master this THE FIRST TIME!! Enjoy!!
Annemarie
Let out the fairies/let out the steam, the same thing, right? 🙂 I do love homemade bread and a simple quickbread like this is the perfect way to get my fix when I don’t have time to let the dough rise! The only hard part is waiting for the bread to cool enough that I can cut a slice.
Homemade & Yummy
Well “let the fairies out” is a fun little tidbit of information….and makes for a good story!! Waiting for the bread to cool is the HARDEST part for sure.
Dana
I haven’t made bread in so long and now I’m totally hankering for it. Nothing beats homemade bread! I love how simple this recipe is. Four ingredients, not too involved—I’ll be making this asap!
Homemade & Yummy
YES…easy and delicious. I could make this EVERYDAY!!
Traci
Why do I not make Irish soda bread on the regular?! It’s so easy, and rewarding, and you get BREAD when all is said and done. Great recipe you have here. May I say that I love the butter addition to make it richer. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Homemade & Yummy
You are welcome. Hope you give this super easy and totally delicious recipe a try. You will be a master bread baker the first time.
Marisa F. Stewart
I like to think of myself as an expert in bread baking AND eating. What I’ve neglected to make is a great Irish Soda Bread. Your recipe does sound super simple and your slashes on top are beautiful!! Having homemade bread at the table makes any meal extra special. I’m printing out your recipe and making it tomorrow!!
Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY…I love how quickly this recipe comes together. Not to mention it is darn delicious too.
Mimi
I am happy to have as many quick bread recipes as possible because I make bread often, and so I want the whole process to take as little time as possible. There is nothing else like homemade bread!
Homemade & Yummy
It is a great way to have fresh baked bread on the dinner table any night of the week.
April
Homemade bread is everything. I can’t imagine having a meal without bread, especially if it is homemade. It has that flavor, taste and smell that are unbeatable!
Homemade & Yummy
I could make a meal out of bread alone…ENJOY!
Trish Bozeman
Gloria, THANK YOU for this! I tell myself every year that I’m going to get into making bread. But it just always seems too intimidating. I’m bookmarking this to make for St. Patrick’s Day this year and I’m so glad it’s an easy one!
Homemade & Yummy
YOU will be a master the first time you bake this bread. ENJOY!
Maman de sara
Bread with no rising time, woo hoo very interesting!
Homemade & Yummy
Give it a try and see. I know you will love the results.
Tracy
No yeast? No kneading? Bread in no time? Yes! This is so dangerous though – I could eat a whole loaf of bread, it’s my weakness! So I’ll need to make sure I have someplace to bring this delicious bread so I don’t eat it all!
Homemade & Yummy
Yup, I know the feeling. I could make a meal of bread ALONE!!