This Traditional Irish soda bread is made with just a few simple ingredients but bakes up into a beautiful, bakery quality loaf.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I’ve tried several recipes for Irish soda bread, and this Traditional Irish Soda Bread is by far my favorite. It bakes up into such a beautiful loaf that I can hardly believe it isn’t a yeast bread.
I was totally shocked at how good this was. Made this yesterday for St. Patrick’s day and was a little nervous by the short ingredient list. No butter? But it was amazing & everyone had more than one piece!
Lindsay
Even better, it’s so incredibly easy to make, especially if you’re impatient like me and don’t want to wait around for the dough to rise.
Seriously, you can have a gorgeous loaf of homemade bread on the table in about an hour, from start to finish.
The trick (or at least I’m assuming it’s the trick) is baking the bread with an inverted cake pan on top. I don’t know what kind of scientific baking magic that inverted pan creates.
I just know this recipe never fails me and I get a beautiful, bakery quality loaf of Irish soda bread every time.
My family loves this bread as much as I do. And nobody needs to know that you didn’t spend hours in the kitchen!
Like so many delicious breads, Irish Soda Bread is the product of a time when fancy ingredients weren’t available or affordable, so it’s made with only the most basic ingredients.
Legend has it that the cross was cut on the top before baking to ward off the devil and protect the household.
Irish soda bread often has raisins or dried currants in it, so feel free to add that if you’d like.
For some reason, I tend to only make this bread around St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s so simple and delicious I really ought to make it more often.
I have made this recipe three times. I have made it for our card group for a St. Patrick’s Day potluck with and without raisins. It was a big hit. Love the crispy crust.
Olivia
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Ingredients
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Buttermilk
Traditional Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually stir in the buttermilk until the dough comes together in a slightly sticky ball.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead gently a few times. Form the dough into a ball and then press into the prepared pan so that the dough resembles a large disk. The dough should reach the edges of the pan, but may spring back slightly.
- Cut an X into the dough with a sharp knife, about 1/4 of an inch deep. Cover the pan of dough with another round cake pan turned upside down.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, covered, then remove the top pan and bake uncovered for about 10 minutes more or until the crust is dark golden brown.
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Nutrition
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123 comments
Oneta
I did not like this at all. It was like a brick.
Shannon
Wonder if you could make this with gluten free all purpose flour? I might try that today.
kelissa
Hello Danelle
i have to said this i love your irish soda i make this bread every st patrick’s day we love it even more it taste so good my family enjoy it
Elizabeth Mulgrew
For once, a bread recipe that comes out looking like the picture – yay! I do wonder, however, if a little more leaven would make it rise just a bit more? Also, my “cross” didn’t spread out either, even though I made sure to cut at least 1/4″ deep. Whenever there is an ethnic recipe posted called “traditional”, there are always people who say that it’s not – that their family has the “real” one. It doesn’t seem to occur to them that these recipes, by definition, have been around for generations and that in that time everyone has made their own version of it. Therefore, one version is as authentic as another. You can take your choice. In this case. even though I’m not Irish, I think this is the original baseline recipe simply because of it’s few ingredients. The Irish historically, whether home in Ireland or here in the US, were often poor people who could not afford a lot of ingredients. Gussie it up all you want but please stop the carping. This an excellent chewy bread – the kind I like!
Mary
I love this recipe! Great for a wee snack with jam. I also have a recipe for Christmas Irish Soda bread. I add some mixed peel and a few currents. Yummy and so easy for breakfast.
Darren k
Been making soda bread for years!! Thus recipe is in the mark. Remember to knead a few times 1st. Make a difference with warm water. Italian seasoning (i use fresh fennel and caraway as well but not much). Add a few cloves mucked garlic. Hell use whatever herbs you like!! Always comes out incredible. Use the toothpick trick if its cooked. If not? Keep it in the oven lol
Genuinely Irish
Coming from an Irish chef this is not our traditional”soda bread”at all!!
Looks lovely and I’m sure it is though haha
Sara
I’ve made this a million times but I used a new butter milk today and I couldn’t get it to form right. It’s in the oven anyway. I just hope it turns out okay…
Arin
Made this for my family last night – the bread was definitely a winner!!
Sue
Can you tell me please is 1 & 3/4 of a cups of buttermilk or 1 3/4 cup of buttermilk I find it easier when it’s in weight measurement but would love to give this recipe a try looks delicious
Leah
Idk if you’re still interested, but it is 1 and 3/4ths cups of buttermilk. So, 1 cup, plus an additional 3/4ths of a cup.
Lena
Awesome recipe, thank you (very simple, comes out perfect each time)! Family keeps asking me to bake again. I’ve made your version twice and will do again tonight. I do add some sugar since I have a teenage boy. I also brush some of the leftover buttermilk on the top before I bake it.
Martin
Danelle, I was wondering what type of flour you used for this. I have been trying to make different breads during the lockdown and this is next on my list.
Hope
Made this today! Just pulled it out of the oven and it’s cooling before we try it! Looks incredible and smells amazing! I rubbed butter on the top and sprinkled with sugar. Can’t wait to try it!
Danelle
I just used regular, all-purpose flour. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe though, so probably most any kind would work.
Rona
This was really good. My husband thought I made a yeast bread. It’s got nice texture. I’d even use it for sandwiches. I gave it to my sister who didn’t want to go to the store because of this Covid-19 & was out of bread & had no yeast. She was so grateful. They love it as much as we do. Thank you for the recipe!
Danelle
Wonderful! I’ve had trouble finding yeast as well.
Gabrielle
Wow! I’ve tried to make bread before, with terrible results, but this came out great! Since we’re in quarantine, ingredients are limited, so not needing yeast was definitely a plus!
Thomas
Look yummy! One of my favorite Traditional Irish soda bread, nice to see your recipe, easy to follow, will cook this for family this weekend. Thanks you!
Jessica Luther
wow. Your food looks very delicious and beautiful. I will make my daughter a small meal. He would love it.
I will contact you after it’s done.
Peter Crouch
My family loves this bread as much as I do. And nobody needs to know that you didn’t spend hours in the kitchen!
M. Retrum
How would you adjust this recipe for high altitude? (5,000 ft.)
Danelle
I am at 4500 feet and the recipes works great for me as written, so you should be good.
eatfrysmith
It was easy and quick, I was able to do it myself. Very delicious and aromatic. My daughter loves it very much
Lori G
I made this bread this evening and it did not disappoint!! It makes a beautiful bread and tastes great!! I will be making this quite a bit!
Tera
Gorgeous bread – delicious! This is the second time I’ve made it and sent the recipe to a friend who is going to make it this weekend.
Jaime P
Hi there I just finished baking this bread. I toasted some dry rosemary and put that with the dry ingredients. Smells amazing and it turned out so pretty. I will taste it in a few hours when family dinner goes down. Thank you for the recipe. It was super easy
Nicole
I love mine with Caraway seeds, how much should I add and would I need to add anything else if adding caraway seeds? Thank you!
Patricia Tompkins
Nicole, 2 tsp caraway seeds. Love mine with both caraway and raisins.
Danelle
I’ve never added caraway…..I honestly don’t know.
Ursula Stevens
We put flax seed meal in with the flour. I’m going to try to toast it.
Ursula Stevens
Best bread ever!! You should try it with plum jam or butter. Looks exactly how it should.
Ursula Stevens
Ursula Stevens [Rebecca’s daughter]
Looks great!! Bottom crust is hard. Really good with butter or jam!!
Robin
Second time making. Enjoyed the first time a lot but still not getting the expected sticky ball that is easily moved for kneeding. Can anyone advise what I might be missing with the mixing or what not? Seems like it mixes very clumpy. Thanks!
Olivia
I have made this recipe three times. I have made it for our card group for a St. Patricks Day potluck with and without raisins. It was a big hit. Last time I made just plain soda bread and my husband said where are the raisins. Have a loaf in the oven now with raisins. Love the crispy crust. In Texas, they don’t know what crispy crust is. I will try other loaves of bread with crispy crusts.
Sorcha MacAonghais
I always use a Dutch oven for my soda bread. It turns out wonderfully. I spray it with cooking spray to keep the bread from sticking.
Emily
I was wondering if you could use a Dutch oven instead of the 2 9” pans? I have the cake pans, I just want to find more bread recipes I can use with my Dutch oven
Peggy
You can, just preheat it with the oven. Then butter (or oil) the pan, proceed as usual.
Gabrielle
Try the Homemade Dutch Oven Bread from Tasty!
westgalady
It works! I mixed in a KitchenAid stand mixer with bread hook and followed the cooking directions using two cake pans. I did not have fresh buttermilk on hand so I substituted 7 TBS powdered buttermilk and 1 3/4 cup water. I used unbleached bread flour. This is a super easy recipe and the taste is perfect.
Lari
What would the conversion be for high-altitude? I have high-altitude flour, but based on other comments that might mess up the recipe. Any guidance? Also, would two 9″ pie pans work the same as two 9″ cake pans?
Danelle
I am at high-altitude (Colorado) and the recipe as written works fine for me. I haven’t tried using pie pans, but I think it would work–there just may not be as much room for the bread to expand, depending on how deep your pie pans are.
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Christy
I haven’t made this yet…but I was noticing some of the comments about it not turning out well. Not sure if this is why…but I learned, the hard way, that you HAVE to spoon flour into measuring cup for breads. You can scoop & pack as you can with some baked items. It can cause it to be way too dense, as some of these have complained about. My understanding is that spooning the flour into measuring cup is a completely different measurement than packed, being that it is powder. Makes sense. And I trusted the bakers who explained it to me.
Christy
I meant “can’t scoop” as you can with other baked items.
Marilee
Wow, was this a success!
Never made it before, but was asked to bring it to a corned beef potluck.
Used a Pyrex casserole dish with a lid. Exact amount of cooking time.
Danelle
So glad to hear that! Thank you!
gul
Mine came out very dense n inedible. .. though it wasn’t raw
gul
Hi! Tried soda bread first time.. didn’t know what to expect as I never tasted it before. But yeah it came out very dense. I substituted milk wi coupla tsp of lemon juice for buttermilk. I inverted a pan larger than the pan I cooked in to cover it. Where do you think I went wrong
Danelle
It’s really hard to say. It is a more dense loaf of bread, but I’m not sure what went wrong.
Michele
Just made this and it came out almost perfect. And I say almost just because I pulled it few minutes early because it was my first time trying this particular recipe and ovens vary. Will leave in for an extra few minutes next time. Great recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂
Danelle
You’re welcome! Thank you. 🙂
Josh
Tried this and mine was a dense flavorless lump! Not sure where I went wrong. :/
Lindsey
OMG I was totally shocked at how good this was. Made this yesterday for St. Patrick’s day and was a little nervous by the short ingredient list. No butter? But it was amazing & everyone had more than one piece! Thank you Danelle for sharing this great recipe!
Danelle
Thanks Lindsey! I was really surprised the first time I made it too. 🙂
Sorcha MacAonghais
Our family recipe is much like this, but only 1 tsp of baking soda and 2 cups of buttermilk. You CAN make this with the milk and vinegar mixture, but actual buttermilk has a much nicer consistency. I tend to add more flour as I’m kneading it (until it feels like a baby’s bahookie, aka bum), which might be why we use 2 cups of buttermilk. I sometimes add caraway seeds, or fruit, but actually, with Irish soda bread, the simpler the better. I’ve made it with both white flour and whole wheat flour. Both turned out well.
James Lewis
This looks beautiful; I’ll be having a go at this very soon. It seems so crazy that people don’t try making this at home, in London a loaf of soda bread is nearly £4 in most bakers; and this has to be healthier.
Danelle
Thanks James. Hope you enjoy it!
Peggy
Tried this recipe today, I was quite pleased. My husband thought it was tasty. I will make this again.
Danelle
Thanks so much Peggy!
Tom
Just made this bread to go with my Irish Stew. Will never make it again. Not a good recipe. All I can say without being nasty.
Robyn
My loaf came out gorgeous and it was so delicious
J'net
I plan on making this with our belated Irish Braised Corned Beef dinner I have in the oven right now…only, I’m going to add some caraway seeds to mine…I hope my bread comes out with this beautiful color!
Amber B
Made this for st Patrick’s day. I’ve made my mother in laws recipe before which is very sweet and delicious but never made it this traditional way. I used this except recipe except that I added about 1/3 cup sugar because I like it with a bit of sweetness. This came out PERFECT. Thank you!!! I will be using this every time!!
Danelle
I’m definitely going to try it with the sugar. That sounds wonderful! Thanks so much Amber! 🙂
Boo
just took bread from oven. Hopefully it tastes as good as it looks. Part of the Irish feast I’m making for my wonderful wife of 42 years.
Beth
Can you use a Cast iron pan with a lid
Peggy
Yes, I do. Just preheat it with the oven. It works great.
Susan
This is in the oven now! I’ve made soda bread many times, but never with a cover, so will be curious to see how it comes out? Wish I could include a picture
Kathleen
happt St Patrick’s Day! Just made it and it’s Fabulous! Thank you .