Irish Soda Bread is one of the easiest types of bread you can make at home. All you need are pantry staple ingredients and a craving for fresh, warm, melt-in-your-mouth home-baked bread.
This recipe was originally published in Feb of 2019, but I just updated it with clearer directions and new photos!
This traditional Soda Bread is as easy to make as it is delicious. It’s melt-in-your-mouth, back-away-from-this-everyone-else because I’m going to eat the whole pan good. Bonus – it’s baked in a cast iron skillet, which, somehow always seems to make food taste a little bit more special. Let’s dive in!
How to Make Irish Soda Bread
Whisk together your dry ingredients first. Then, cut your butter into the flour mixture. If you don’t have a pastry cutter you can use forks or your hands – just be sure the butter is broken down into pea-sized pieces and is coated in the flour.
Once you have a crumbly mixture, stir in the raisins. Then, make a well in the center and pour in the egg + buttermilk that have been whisked together. (See my note in the recipe below about a buttermilk substitution.)
Stir the ingredients together until you have a stiff, shaggy, slightly sticky dough. (Try saying that 5 times fast, heh!)
If the dough is too sticky to handle, add up to 1/4 cup additional flour. Gently knead the dough on a floured counter for 30 seconds, and shape into a ball. Place into a well-greased pan, score an “X” in the bread with a knife, and bake!
That’s it. This Irish Soda Bread is so worth the time and effort. I mean, there’s not that much time and effort involved, but even if you aren’t someone who would normally make homemade bread, I beg you to try this! It’s just too good to pass up. And, it’s the perfect place to begin if you haven’t tried baking bread with yeast yet.
What to serve with Irish Soda Bread:
Irish Soda Bread is fabulous as part of any meal! You can enjoy it with your morning tea or coffee, with butter slathered on, and even a bit of jam. Or, you can pair it with something like an irish stew for lunch or dinner.
What does Soda Bread taste like:
Soda Bread has a mild flavor and tastes similar to a biscuit. It has a nice crisp, craggy top and is soft and fluffy inside. It’s perfect for slathering with butter, or dunking in soup or stew.
Make sure to enjoy warm, with plenty of butter slathered on. There’s nothing quite like a warm slice of home-baked bread! Happy baking.
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes:
Mom’s Irish Stew – Classic Irish Stew is simple to make but incredibly delicious!
Guinness Chocolate Cake with Brown Butter Frosting – A rich, chocolate cake made with Guinness and brown butter, topped with the creamiest frosting.
Bacon Cheddar Chive Scones – These scones are loaded with cheddar cheese, smoky bacon, fresh chives, and creamy salted butter.
Beer Braised Short Ribs with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes – A restaurant-quality meal you can make at home. They’re surprisingly easy to make and pair perfectly with fluffy cheddar mashed potatoes.
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Easy Skillet Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour or sub 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 and 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup salted butter 4 tbsp, or 57 grams)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 large egg
- 1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk See note
- butter, for brushing on top + serving
Instructions
- Prep: Generously grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet or another oven-safe baking dish of similar size. (I used butter and a little cooking spray on top of that.) Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Make the dough: Add the milk to a glass measuring cup, and whisk the egg into the milk. Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Cut the cold butter into chunks (that are about tablespoon size) and use a pastry cutter (or clean hands or a fork) to cut the butter into the flour mixture until crumbly. You should have pieces that are pea-sized and smaller. Stir in the raisins. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk and egg mixture. Stir gently until a sticky dough forms. Dump the dough onto a floured counter and gently knead it for 30 seconds to smooth it out. Don't over knead it! If it's too sticky to work with, add up to 1/4 cup more flour. Gently shape the dough into a round loaf and set in the greased pan. Use a knife to score an "x" on top of the bread.
- Bake: Bake for 36-40 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bottom. A toothpick inserted into the center of the bread shouldn't pull out any wet dough.
- Serve + Store: Brush with a little butter when it comes out of the oven (optional, but delicious). Enjoy warm!Cover leftovers tightly with foil once cooled and store at room temp for 2-3 days. This is best enjoyed the first day - but to give it back some of it's fresh-baked crispness, reheat slices in the toaster.
Notes
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