Irish Soda Bread recipe is a type of quick bread that uses baking soda for leavening. This 5 ingredient homemade bread recipe is delicious, comforting, and can be on your table in under an hour!
Irish Soda Bread
This easy bread recipe is popular throughout Ireland. In America we often make this bread to go with our St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
Soda bread is wonderful! It has a dense texture, and has a slight tang to the flavor, almost like sourdough, but not as strong (this is from buttermilk).
This yummy homemade bread recipe is done in under an hour because you don't need to use any yeast. So no waiting for the dough to rise.
Irish Soda Bread is so simple to make! Here are the easy steps to create a wonderful loaf of this bread:
You can use plain all-purpose flour to make this bread. It's nice to be able to use ingredients that are easy to find.
Sift the dry ingredients together. Then sift a second time. Since this is a dense bread, this helps keep it from being too dense.
Add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients and quickly mix them together to form a soft dough.
You'll need to work fast as the baking soda is already reacting to the other ingredients.
Gently knead the dough, but only for a short time. You don't need to work this dough very much.
If you knead it too much the bread will be too heavy. If you don't knead it enough it won't rise properly.
Form the dough into a round loaf that is a few inches thick (Grandma would say as thick as your fist.).
Place the dough on a lightly floured baking sheet.
Use a floured knife to cut a cross in the top of the dough. Then quickly get it into the oven to bake. Be sure the oven rack is positioned near the top.
Bake for 30 minutes, then take a peek. If you think it is done, take the loaf out of the oven and rap your knuckles on the bottom of it. If it sounds hollow, it is done.
Immediately wrap the loaf in a tea towel to keep the crust from getting too hard.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
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If you make this easy Soda Bread recipe, please leave a comment below with a star rating. I would like to know how you liked it!
Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Sugar optional
- 2 cups Buttermilk
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450° F and set the rack to the highest position (as long as it has at least 4 inches clearance).
- Lightly flour a baking sheet. Set aside.
- In a wide mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and sugar. Then sift again.
- Add the buttermilk and mix into the flour, working quickly (I use my hands).
- Knead the dough gently. Not too much, so it doesn't toughen. Too little kneading and it won't rise enough.
- Form a round loaf about 3-4 inches thick.
- Use a floured knife to cut a cross in the top.
- Immediately put into the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
- The bread is done when tapping on the bottom with your knuckles sounds hollow.
- Remove the loaf of bread from the oven and immediately wrap with a tea towel to prevent the crust from getting too hard.
Nutrition
Resources to Make this Homemade Bread Recipe and More
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Kay says
This is such a delicious bread. My husband wants me to make it more often because it is soft, but not too soft. Great recipe!