Simple Irish soda bread is amazing for so many reasons! From only requiring 4-ingredients to being a no-knead, no-yeast bread that's perfect for beginners! Add the amazing taste from buttermilk and you have an easy bread that everyone will love!
This wonderfully simple white Irish soda bread is delightfully tasty too!!
If you start adding anything, then you have a different bread or tea cake entirely, such as 'spotted dog'. That would be a more accurate name for a soda bread containing raisins.
Nothing against all of the wonderful variations that could be made, but I like to keep my soda bread nice and simple - like the 'Wonder Bread' of that early era in Ireland. So we choose to enjoy our Irish Soda Bread in this white soda bread form. And it is absolutely wonderful!
It's a fantastic bread - if you like buttermilk biscuits, you should enjoy this soda bread for sure!
This golden-crusted loaf of Irish Soda Bread is intended for another fabulous recipe, a sweet Irish dessert that is the perfect use for any dried bread leftovers. This version using our two-day-old Irish Soda Bread takes the usual bread pudding to a whole new level!
We've paired our Irish Soda Bread Pudding (or Bread & Butter Pudding) with a super smooth and rich creme Anglaise flavored with Bailey's Irish Cream for the ultimate St. Patrick's Day dessert!
🥘 Ingredients
Just 4 simple ingredients and you're on your way to the smell of some amazing bread baking! This no-knead, no-yeast bread couldn't be easier, and I've linked to my page for a WHOLE BUNCH of ways to substitute buttermilk!
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 ¾ cups Buttermilk - or see my guide on how to make homemade buttermilk substitute!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for ingredients, amounts & instructions!*
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
Grab your ingredients and a set of deep cake pans for best results! This Irish soda bread is quick and easy to make so you can slather it with butter in no time!
- Prep. Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C) and grease an 8-inch cake pan or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. *I prefer to use a set of the 2" deep cake pans, grease the bottom cake pan and use the second as a lid to simulate the bastible that Irish Soda Bread was originally baked in.
- Combine ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and add the baking soda and salt. Stir to mix with the flour, then make a well in the center of your dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and stir until a sticky dough is formed (even though the dough is sticky, it may be in pieces).
Shape & Bake
- Shape. Turn the sticky dough out onto a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and knead the dough gently (to prevent the gas from escaping). Bring the dough together and shape into a 1 ½ - 2 inch tall disc shape to fit into your 8 inch cake pan (this should be roughly the same size if you are baking on a baking sheet).
- Score. Use a sharp knife to score a cross on the top of the dough (to bless the bread), then poke each of the four corners (traditionally done to allow the fairies to escape, otherwise they will jinx the bread).
- Bake until golden. Cover the cake pan with the second cake pan and bake at 425°F (218°C) for 30 minutes, then remove the top cake pan and finish baking for an additional 15 minutes. The bread will have a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom crust.
- Cool. Turn the baked soda bread out of the cake pan and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack.
*Cover the bread with a tea towel and mist with a spray bottle to keep your bread moist.
**Once your Traditional Irish Soda Bread is day old, it is perfect for making our Irish Soda Bread Pudding!
Break the bread loaf in half and cut into thick slices (or serve as 4-8 torn wedges) to be buttered. This easy buttermilk soda bread is delightful with practically anything!
When I make my Irish lamb stew, this tasty bread is a must-have side. Enjoy!
🇮🇪 More Great Irish Recipes!
- Irish Apple Cake
- Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Irish Oatmeal Cake with Caramel Pecan Frosting
- Irish Soda Bread Pudding
- Irish Barmbrack
📋 Recipe
Traditional Irish Soda Bread (Easy No-Knead, No-Yeast Bread)
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C) and grease a 8 inch cake pan or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. *I prefer to use a set of the 2" deep cake pans, grease the bottom cake pan and use the second as a lid to simulate the bastible that Irish Soda Bread was originally baked in.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and add the baking soda and salt. Stir to mix with the flour, then make a well in the center of your dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and stir until a sticky dough is formed (even though the dough is sticky, it may be in pieces (see video)).4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ¾ cup buttermilk
- Turn the sticky dough out onto a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and knead the dough gently (to prevent the gas from escaping). Bring the dough together and shape into a 1 ½ - 2 inch tall disc shape to fit into your 8 inch cake pan (this should be roughly the same size if you are baking on a baking sheet).
- Use a sharp knife to score a cross on the top of the dough (to bless the bread), then poke each of the four corners (traditionally done to allow the fairies to escape, otherwise they will jinx the bread).
- Cover the cake pan with the second cake pan and bake at 425°F (218°C) for 30 minutes, then remove the top cake pan and finish baking for an additional 15 minutes. The bread will have a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom crust.
- Turn the baked soda bread out of the cake pan and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack. Break the bread loaf in half and cut into thick slices (or serve as 4-8 torn wedges) to be buttered.
Video
Notes
- Irish Soda Bread was originally baked in a Bastible, which is very similar to a Dutch Oven. However, baking soda bread in our Dutch Oven will give the bottom of our loaf a rounded appearance. Instead, we are using a pair of cake pans to simulate the Bastible, and keep a nice flat bottom crust on our white soda bread.
- Cover the bread with a tea towel and mist with a spray bottle to keep your bread moist.
- Once your Traditional Irish Soda Bread is day old, it is perfect for making our Irish Soda Bread Pudding!
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
Peter Joseph Kinslow says
Hello and thank you for a wonderful post on my favorite bread to make and share.
I will have to offer my opinion on traditional Irish Soda Bread. As you have noted "start adding anything, and you have a different bread " and I respect that. However, as an Irish-American, I have heard all of the arguments about whatis a 'real' Irish Soda Bread. Raisins, no raisins, caraway seed, other dried fruits etc.
I have come to the conclusion that "Traditional Irish Soda Bread" is what ever your Irish grandma taught you to make. My grandma taught me how to make Irish Soda Bread 50 years ago and I still follow that recipe 50 years later.
What is important is not the recipe, but sharing a bit of Irish culture and the tradition of breaking bread together is a sign of friendship and we can use whatever our Grandma's recipe to share the Irish way of welcoming strangers and making life long friends.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Peter, anything handed down in family traditions is something to be cherished. Without a doubt, those are my favorite recipes. I totally get what you're saying, just like there are a million ways to bake an All-American apple pie (which isn't really so American) there are a lot of variations to what people consider a true 'traditional' recipe. My reference is more to the original purpose of Irish soda bread being an inexpensive bread needing no special ingredients - things a poor person couldn't have afforded.
Recipes evolve and we love that about them! And any recipe that you make that has its origins in another culture is indeed a way to share in their traditions and honor them. ~ Angela