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
I successfully cook/bake frequently. I have followed this recipe twice. Both times it was too dry for our liking. One person suggested I make/bake it in a sourdough version. ♀️
Made this for St Patrick’s day for my mom- she adored it. I doubled the raisins and added orange zest.
Remaking again today with the leftover buttermilk!
It was so delicious- even my soda bread skeptic husband loved it and requested it with butter for dessert
This was downright perfection, Sally! No notes! Didn’t change a thing. Make it and follow her instructions exactly and you’ll be very glad you did! Great texture.
I made this for a St Patrick’s Day dinner and everyone loved it! I’ve passed the recipe onto to several people. I’m going to try it with orange zest and dried cranberries next. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Well my first time was a bit of a flop. I’m going to try this recipe again. I measured, leveled, and followed the directions but mine was very dry from the get go. Flaking apart before I baked it, seemed like not enough moisture. I let it go 55 minutes and next time will cut back to 45 minutes and also soak my raisins for added moisture.
Hi Karen, if you have a kitchen scale, we highly recommend using that to measure the flour – it’s the most accurate way to measure!
This was my first time trying Irish Soda Bread, and I’m sure it won’t be the last! I followed the recipe exactly except I plumped the raisins in boiling water (draining off the excess water after about 20 minutes), and then added them to the batter. I served it with Corned Beef & Cabbage, and everyone loved this scrumptious bread! I baked mine in the lid of a 5qt. stoneware dutch oven for about 50 minutes.
WOW! I just made this and it was out of this world. Thank you!!!!!
So happy with the way this turned out!
It doesn’t look pretty, but it tastes great. And it was a great way to use the buttermilk sitting in my fridge.
My only adjustment was to use currants instead of raisins.
This was so easy! Spectacular! First time I’ve made this and will definitely be making it again very soon. How have I never tried this. Insanely delicious
Followed the recipe to the tee!
Thank-you grandma
Wonderful recipe, thanks so much. I’m tempted to add a bit of molasses to sweeten it up a bit. Any thought as to whether this would enrich the flavor? And, yes, I know it wouldn’t be Irish Soda Bread any longer!
Hi Thomas, we haven’t tried adding molasses here, but let us know if you do!
Love your recipes! How would you adjust the baking time if you were to make 2 small ones instead of 1 big one? Need one with raisins and one without. 🙂
Hi Melissa, 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). Enjoy!
I love Irish soda bread
I followed the directions and got a loaf of bread that is stupendous. Everything about it is great– taste texture, sweetness–with one tiny exception. It doesn’t want to hold together real well; makes toasting it a bit difficult. Not sure if I did something in the mixing/kneading, I’m working with one arm in a sling so didn’t have my usual strength.
Thanks a lot
It turned out amazing surely making this again!
I made Grandma’s Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick’s Day this year and it is the best recipe for soda bread that I’ve ever made. I like the fact that it called for a little sugar which I think added the perfect amount of sweetness. I did add the egg and also the cup of raisins. Absolutely delicious! I will be making it again next year. 🙂
I’m not sure what I did wrong. My soda bread never reached 195 and by the time I gave up on it the bread was over done
Hi Debbie, how was the texture of the dough? Did it seem too wet? If so, it could be that the dough was too wet to bake through. This is a sticky dough, but there are a lot of variables that go into the consistency – there’s nothing wrong with adding just a little more flour to bring the dough into a less sticky and knead-able consistency. Thank you for giving this one a try!
SBA is usually my go-to for baking recipes. However, recipe did not work. The loaf looked gorgeous — rose well, had a lovely crust — but was flat in taste. It wanted to fall apart when sliced (I did add the egg). It was like eating straight flour. I threw the rest if the loaf in the bin.
I think the main trouble lies in the small amount of butter called for (other recipes use a quarter cup force cups flour. But please tell me, what went wrong?
Hi Frances, I’m sorry you had trouble with this one. It sounds like the bread was under-baked. If it’s over-browning on the exterior quickly (since you mentioned the loaf looked gorgeous), try tenting it with aluminum foil so the center can bake without the crust burning. Irish soda bread doesn’t typically use more butter, though you could try adding more.
The Whole Foods near me used to make Irish Soda bread like this in March. Then a few years back they changed to a cakey recipe. I searched high & low for a bread like this & all were too much like cake – too sweet and not crispy. I made this one & it is amazing. I used the egg. I don’t like sweet, but next time I might put in a tiny bit more sugar, but it’s awesome as is.
We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Sue!
I picked up some Soda Bread at Whole Foods and was sorely disappointed. It tasted like oversweetened cake and now reviewinf their ingredients I see they actually used cake mix. I was excited to serve it up with my lamb stew, but decided to cook the stew another day and make my own loaf of soda bread. Its in the oven now, can’t wait to try it. my figers are crossed and full of dough.
Diane
I made this today and husband and I were so delighted with the results. Crisp crust tender inside. Could not believe I made this… Thank you for recipe!
Great recipe! Very easy and comes together very quickly. My oldest has an egg allergy so I omitted the eggs and it was still great! I tried a different recipe last year and it was a bust. This time the Whole family enjoyed! Thank you for sharing your family recipe!
Made it for the first time tonight and it is so good. The flavor and texture was perfect. Thank you for another great recipe
I was so sad when my grocery store was out of Irish soda bread today that I determined I would make my own. Well, I’m never buying grocery store. I sold bread again! This was way better! I’m very easy to make! I baked it in my countertop oven in a cast-iron skillet and it came out great!
50 minutes baking is plenty.
Extra raisins yummy.
I like 4 tbs sugar
Follow the recipe and you’ll have some very tasty “semi-sweet” bread. I baked mine in a 6 quart dutch oven and it came out great.
The bread turned out beautiful and had a soft texture. I divided the 1 egg and used 1/2 for the dough and the the other 1/2 for an egg wash before baking. The bread was perfect at 45 minutes in my oven. Thank you for the tasty recipe.
I couldn’t find my grandma’s hand written recipe this year (middle of house renos), so Googled and stumbled on this one. I made it today, and the recipe is a good one! My only main comments are lack of caraway seeds, which I added (about 3 tsp, add more if you like the flavor), and also this recipe bakes at too high of a temperature; I’ve never seen it baked at 400 F. In my opinion, the loaf in the recipe picture is too baked. I cooked mine at 375 F for about 45 min, covered w foil for about another 5-10, once out popped on a wire rack. My last suggestion would be if you’re going to add raisins, you need to soak in cold water for about 10-15 min, drain them & dry – it’s so you don’t “clumps” of raisins and they spread throughout the mix.
This is apparently the best bread I have ever made! Thank you to your Grandma
Made this today and it was a hit! Love the crispy outside the cast iron skillet makes! Thank you!
This recipe is no good. The proportions are wrong and every time I have made this recipe the dough has been way too soggy. I have to add another cup of flour to be able to move it into the pan and then it comes out hard as a rock. Sally is usually my go-to for recipes but this one is just bad.
Hi Sally! I baked this wonderful Irish soda bread today to have along with our St. Patrick’s Day dinner…it is absolutely delicious! What a wonderful tribute to your grandmother to share it with everyone! I always check your site first when I’m searching for a specific recipe because you include so many helpful tips for successful results. Your homemade pizza dough is a favorite in our home! I use half of it for a savory pizza and the other half is sometimes used for a sweet dessert!