EASY IRISH SODA BREAD

Irish Soda Bread – Easy and delicious

This bread is a fun, easy alternative to corn bread, biscuits or french bread.  I like to serve it with a creamy soup, chill or beef stew.  We like to make it for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner. Don’t be scared off by the the word bread, it is very easy to make and does not require any yeast or risings…you have to love that!

For this bread you pretty much just dump all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a dough hook.  It is so easy!  This recipe makes 1 large round of bread.  You can also separate it into 2 smaller loaves. It does expand in the oven, so give it plenty of room on your baking sheet.

Comfort Food!

The texture of this bread is crumbly and thick, kind of like biscuits or corn bread.  You can make it savory or sweet, depending on what you brush on the outside.  My family likes cinnamon and sugar on the outside, but you can do a garlic brush for a savory option.

Make your own buttermilk.

This recipe calls for buttermilk, which is not something I keep on hand.  You can make your own buttermilk with just 2 simple ingredients, that I do always have around, milk and vinegar.  2 teaspoons of vinegar for every cup of milk, stir and let sit for 5 minutes.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!  Share your pictures with me…I think this such a great looking bread.

Enjoy!

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Irish Soda Bread

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

50 mins

Total Time

1 hr 5 mins

 

Irish soda bread is a delicious, fun alternative to biscuits, corn bread or french bread.  Goes great with soup, chill and stew.  Easiest bread you will ever make.

Course: Bread, Comfort Food, Side Dish

Cuisine: Irish

Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk, divided *you can make your own with milk and vinegar. Directions below.
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Fahrenheit. 

2. In your mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, 1/2 cup soft butter and baking powder. Next, add 1 cup *buttermilk and egg.  

3. Mix for just a few minutes, until ingredients a well combined and the dough isn't sticking to the sides of your bowl.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a little to form a ball.

5. Place dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup *buttermilk with 1/4 cup melted butter.   Brush loaf with this mixture, then cut a big X in the top of the loaf.  

7. Bake in your preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick (or skewer) inserted in the center comes out clean.  If the top is getting too brown, cover loosely with a piece of tin foil.

8. For a sweet flavored crust you can brush the bread every 15 minutes with the buttermilk/butter mixture and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  For a savory crust, you can add garlic, rosemary or any of your favorite herbs to the buttermilk/butter mixture and brush it on every 15 minutes through the bake.

9. *To make your own  buttermilk, stir together 1 cup milk and 2 teaspoons vinegar or lemon juice.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  For this recipe, you need 1 1/4 cup of buttermilk so use 1 1/4 milk and 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar.