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. Buttermilk and cold butter are the secret to its delicious success!
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 is a Quick 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!)
- What’s the texture like? The best Irish soda bread, like this recipe, has a golden brown crust with a dense, tight crumb. The bread isn’t heavy, it’s actually quite tender and soft inside. The crust is nice and crisp when it comes out of the oven and becomes a little chewy on day 2 and 3. It’s so good.
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, honey butter, jam, and/or cheese. The raisins are optional, but Grandma would never let you skip them.
Video Tutorial: Homemade Irish Soda Bread
Overview: How to Make Irish Soda Bread
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.
- Whisk buttermilk and 1 egg together. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in another bowl.
- Cut cold butter into the flour mixture. Like scones and pie crust, cutting cold butter into the flour is a key step. Coating the flour in cold butter guarantees a lovely flaky texture. You can use a fork, your hands, or a pastry cutter. Add the wet ingredients.
- Bring the dough together with your hands. Using a very sharp knife, score the dough. This allows the center to bake.
- Bake until golden brown.
Buttermilk is the Secret
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. If you’re interested, I have plenty more on this topic in my Baking with Buttermilk post (including a DIY buttermilk substitute recipe).
Feel free to Skip the Egg
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.
3 Success Tips
- Don’t over-work the dough. It’s supposed to look a little shaggy.
- Score the top of the dough with an “X” before baking. This helps the center bake through.
- You can bake Irish soda bread on a baking sheet, in a baking pan, or in a cast iron skillet. I recommend a cast iron skillet because it helps guarantee a super crispy crust. Here’s how to keep your cast iron cookware seasoned.
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, Lucky Charms Treats, and shamrock St. Patrick’s Day Cookies, too.
Print
Grandma’s Irish Soda Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Irish
Description
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.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) buttermilk*
- 1 large egg (optional, see note)
- 4 and 1/4 cups (531g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for your hands and counter
- 3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed*
- optional: 1 cup (150g) raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven & pan options: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). There are options for the baking pan. Use a regular baking sheet and line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (bread spreads a bit more on a baking sheet), or use a seasoned 10-12 inch cast iron skillet (no need to preheat the cast iron unless you want to), or grease a 9-10 inch cake pan or pie dish. You can also use a 5 quart (or higher) dutch oven. Grease or line with parchment paper. If using a dutch oven, bake the bread with the lid off.
- Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Set aside. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Mixture is very heavy on the flour, but do your best to cut in the butter until the butter is pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the raisins. Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together until dough it is too stiff to stir. Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, then knead for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared skillet/pan. Using a very sharp knife or bread lame, score the dough with a slash or X about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.)
- Bake until the bread is golden brown and center appears cooked through, about 45-55 minutes. Loosely tent the bread with aluminum foil if you notice heavy browning on top. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
- Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with desired toppings/spreads.
- Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. We usually wrap it tightly in aluminum foil for storing.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled bread freezes well up to 3 months. Freeze the whole loaf or individual slices. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Cast Iron Skillet, 9-inch Round Cake Pan, 9-inch Pie Dish, Dutch Oven, or Baking Sheet with Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Pastry Cutter | Bread Lame | Instant-Read Thermometer
- Baking Pan: There are options for the baking pan (see Special Tools Note above). You can use a lined large baking sheet (with or without a rim), a seasoned 10-12 inch cast iron skillet, or a greased or lined 9-10 inch cake pan or pie dish. I don’t recommend a loaf pan because the loaf may not bake evenly inside. This dough is best as a flatter loaf.
- Buttermilk: Using cold buttermilk is best. Buttermilk is key to the bread’s flavor, texture, and rise. The bread will not rise without it. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute. Whole milk or 2% milk is best, though lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough cold milk to make 1 and 3/4 cups. Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe.
- 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.
- Cold Butter: The colder the butter, the less sticky the dough will be. Make sure it’s very cold, even frozen cubed butter is great.
- Smaller Loaves: You can divide this dough up to make smaller loaves. The bake time will be shorter, depending how large the loaves are. An instant read thermometer will be especially helpful. Bake the loaves until an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
Reader Comments and Reviews
Very slack dough…made it difficult to form loaves…as it was so wet I am making 2 loaves. It does, however, seem to have a good bake. It required hands sprayed with vegetable oil to get where it should be, however is smelling good.
I used craisins and raisins as the sweet and did a sprinkle of raw sugar on the dough before baking.
I will try this again on a day we do not have 100% of Georgia air…environment can be a devil!
Recipe worked perfect. I used a paddle attachment on my kitchen aid to cut in butter and mix dry and rasisins. Then, switched to dough hook and added wet gradually until it came together. Dough was perfect, 2 -3 quick hand kneads and it formed perfect ball. I scored with a bread lame and brushed with a little more buttermilk and topped with turbinado sugar. Nice recipe!
I’ve made this twice, followed it to the letter and it came out great! I was careful to score the bread and used a thermometer for test the center… no issues. The dough is exceptionally sticky even with a great deal of extra flour on counter and hands. I lost a fair amount that stuck to my hands. I may use disposable gloves next time!
Our family and neighbors all loved this recipe. I had watched a lot of recipes on YouTube before choosing this one.
I added an additional half teaspoonful of Baking Soda and I incorporated almost a extra cup of flour to the dough prior to baking. Hands down the most authentic soda bread recipe.
I made this for St Patrick’s Day feast. I’ve had soda bread before, made by other people. I thought I did not like it as it was dry, boring and very dense. I followed the recipe exactly and baked it in a casserole dish for 40 minutes. It was fabulous, moist, tender and flavorful. I’ll make it again often. Next time I’ll use dried cranberries.
This is my all time favorite Irish Soda bread recipe and I’ve been making it with different recipes for years!
I decided to try making it this go without the egg , just out of curiosity… and in error omitted the egg AND the sugar!!! Guess what!
The family (and I ) did not make this discovery until the next day when I was asked to share it. It was absolutely fabulous! Funny how a mistake can work out!
I’ve used currents in place of raisins in Irish Soda bread before with great results! I just made this recipe and I subbed GF flour and Almond “buttermilk” so we’ll see how it turns out!
I made this recipe for a Saint Patrick’s dinner party. It was delicious, and everyone loved it! I followed the directions exactly as written, using the optional egg and raisins. Thanks Sally for the great tip of using a thermometer to test the bread’s doneness. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Can you tell me what the nutritional facts are for this recipe? I just bought a loaf for St. Patty”s Day and I really liked it Looking forward to making this recipe!!! Thank you..
Hi Linda, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I calculated the recipe into my fitness pal since I’m watching my macros. I used low fat buttermilk and the gram measurements (no egg or raisins and used salted butter) here’s what I got,
8 servings / 4.2 oz a serving-
Calories 345
Fat 7.5 g
Carbs 57.8 g
Protein 10.8 g
Sodium 556.7g
Sugar 6.5g
Hope that helps!
I have never left comments for online recipes, even for recipes that have become staples in our home. But had to do it for this one. Tried ISB at restaurants, bakeries, etc and didn’t see the appeal, kinda blah…until now. This recipe was easy, detailed notes a huge help and the finish project was FABULOUS!! Per the notes left out the egg for a lighter quick break and didn’t do the raisins. Even used my thermometer to check for doneness. The measurements in cups and grams helped too! Used my scale and had like two dishes to clean. Baked it in the cast iron pan for 50 minutes, and it was delish! My family ate the entire loaf, sadly no leftovers. Thank you for sharing this recipe and the story behind it. I will think of your grandma every time I make it. SBA never disappoints!
Excellent recipe. I made for the first time for St Patrick’s Day meal. I used the egg, raisins and cooked in a cast iron skillet. It was a hit and I will make again. Thank you Sally for all the tips and options.
I made this last night for St. Patty’s Day and it was a huge hit. I added one more tablespoon of sugar, which was perfect, but other than that I followed the recipe including the baking temperature of 425 degrees.
I wonder if those that had a more wet dough that would not form, if they used milk soured with vinegar? While that substitution technically activates the baking soda, it is a completely different consistency than real buttermilk, I used 4 cups of flour and real buttermilk (which is thick) and I was worried there wasn’t enough moisture. However, my pictures looked mostly the same as the author’s so I forged ahead. The bread came out beautifully and I followed another’s advice and wrapped the bread in a tea towel to take it to my friend’s house (in a plaid tea towel!). It was so good and this recipe is a keeper! It was also very pretty.
I made this recipe twice this week. It is soooo yummy and the loaves came out perfect each time! I added 2 TBLS fennel seeds, increased the salt to 2 tsp and sugar to 1/3 cup. I also added decorator’s sugar to the outside of the loaves after I scored them. My family gobbled this up so fast! This recipe is a winner! Thanks so much for sharing this with us <3
The final product was delicious despite 2 things I probably should have done differently. I think my butter cubes were too small to start (the recipe didn’t specify size and I made them small, the way I would for my raisin biscuits) so the butter was smaller than pea-size after cutting it in. Then I added the buttermilk a little at time to start and it was going well until I dumped the rest in all at once and it was too much. I wound up having to add a lot more flour after (literally) pouring it out of the bowl. I baked it in my 10″ cast iron skillet and checked it for doneness at 45 minutes. It probably would have been fine at 40 minutes. It was very good, nice and crispy on the outside and tender inside. Next time I’ll start with larger butter cubes and not dump the rest of the buttermilk in!
I love this recipe and have made it many times and with different kinds of dried fruit. It is always so good! I was wondering if you can suggest any spices to add a boost of warm flavor. I saw where someone added caraway seeds but I will wait to hear from you! Thank you!
Hi Lisa, You can certainly add any spices you would like depending on the flavor profile you are hoping for. We’ve made it with some cinnamon and even a small dash of nutmeg and it was delicious!
So happy to learn this recipe – just like my grandma used to make!
Easy peasy lemon squeazy! Baked beautifully. Taste amazing. Sally, your recipes always come out wonderful. Not one yet hasn’t been perfect !
I knew this wasn’t going to work out for me as soon as I got to the part that said “Pour crumbly dough out” because my dough was never crumbly, it poured out onto the counter and expanded like a blob nearly dripping onto the floor. I needed about half the weight again in flour to get it to resemble anything close to a ball. I use a kitchen scale so my measurements are precise. Any idea why this happened?
Hi Amanda, this is certainly a loose dough but I’m wondering if the butter you used was too warm/soft and therefore didn’t crumble like it should. Did it become a paste or mix into the flour mixture? You want a nice crumbly and dry mixture before adding the buttermilk.If you decide to try the recipe again, reducing the buttermilk to 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) will help.
This was the best Irish soda bread recipe I have ever tried. I made it exactly as the recipe instructed, including the egg and raisins. I was careful not to overwork the dough. I actually didn’t really knead it. I just mixed it well and turned it a few times using a pastry scraper. I gathered it into sort of a ball, dusted it with flour, made an X on top, and baked it in a 9-inch dutch oven that I sprayed with non-stick spray. I also made a parchment circle for the bottom of the pan. I covered the bread with foil for the last ten minutes to prevent over-browning. It came right out of the pan and was crispy on the outside and moist inside. So delicious, and I can’t wait to toast the leftovers tomorrow. Thank you for this recipe!
I add caraway seeds to my recipe. For the above dough amount — a Tbsp. of caraway seeds would be sufficient. I use even amounts of dark & golden raisins to equal 1 Cup. And I add 2 Tsps. of zested or grated orange peel.
I made a 1/2 recipe and substituted whole wheat flour and it turned out great
I love your recipes, but this one let me down, unfortunately. It definitely wasn’t a dry dough even with extra flour and the center didn’t cook through on 4 separate tries. We tried a pie plate, cast iron pan and a cookie sheet but no luck. They also cooked much longer than 45 minutes. The cookie sheet was probably the closest. I broke off the edges and it tastes pretty good, so extra stars for that.
Hi Tammy, when this Irish soda bread recipe isn’t cooking in the center, it could be because the score wasn’t deep enough. That’s crucial to help the center cook evenly. You can always tent the loaf with foil to prevent the exterior from browning too quickly before the center cooks.
The part of the bread that cooked was great, but a good portion of the bread was very undercooked at 45 minutes. It looked cooked, the color was lovely, so how do you tell if it’s cooked inside? I covered the top as recommended, but would leaving it uncovered have let the middle cook? Anyone else have this problem? (cooked in a skillet, bottom was cooked well.)
Hi Susan, when this Irish soda bread recipe isn’t cooking in the center, it could be because the score wasn’t deep enough. That’s crucial to help the center cook evenly. You can always tent the loaf with foil to prevent the exterior from browning too quickly before the center cooks. For an accurate test, bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads 190°F (88°C).
This recipe was just perfect. In trying not to overwork the dough, I didn’t get the raisins well distributed in the dough. It was the talk of the St Paddy’s Day potluck! It will definitely bake again!
It’s the oven now but it was really sticky even after adding some flour. Anyone else have this happen? Fingers crossed!
same thing happened to me, and it turned out great!
After making the dough can I put in the fridge overnight before baking?
Hi Hallie, for best texture, we recommend baking the bread right away.
I made this bread this morning as a ‘tester’ for one I plan to bring to a ☘️ Party tomorrow. It is delicious but a bit too dense in the center…I was careful not to overwork the dough so I think that my oven may be off…..I’m making it again regardless and plan to have it with Irish butter and pub cheese.
The dough is spreading out instead of staying in a ball?
Hi Joanne, that’s not a problem. The dough will spread as it bakes since it’s quite wet.
Thank you. I am going to try this tomorrow with my high school International Foods Class for St. Patrick’s Day.
Hope it’s a hit, Nikki!
I came here to find this to share because the memory of making this in my high school international foods class had resurfaced. What are the chances that I come here and see this comment!
Hi!
My bread is in the oven currently, and I realized I forgot to score the bread. Will it still taste the same?
Hi Anna! Scoring the bread allows it to expand while it bakes, so the bread may crack open around the sides. It will taste the same!
Took 1 recipe…made 2 loaves…in the oven…looking good! Did this 2x…on to a third!
Can this be made in smaller loaves on a baking sheet?
Hi Nikki, you can divide this into two smaller loaves. The bake time will be less, but we’re unsure of the exact time needed.