This Melt-In-Your-Mouth Irish Soda Bread Recipe Is Ready to Bake in Just 10 Minutes

In the midst of the cold and rainy March weather, the bright glow of St. Patrick’s Day is so welcome. I look forward to my corned beef, cabbage and potatoes every year — but nothing beats a slice of buttery Irish soda bread filled with raisins to top it all off. My family and I always buy several loaves of soda bread from various bakeries and farm stands in search of the best one. This year, however, I decided to try something a little different: I discovered a recipe for Irish soda bread that’s ready to pop in the oven in 10 minutes. The best part? The bread comes out perfectly browned and crisp on top with a delicious and fluffy middle! Keep reading for the simple soda bread recipe along with my home baker’s tips to nail a delicious loaf in no time.

How is soda bread made?

Traditional soda bread contains flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk and, sometimes, raisins. Once these ingredients form a dough, it’s shaped into a round loaf and baked. Although this bread isn’t made with yeast, the reaction between the baking soda and buttermilk produces carbon dioxide that helps the bread rise. This results in soda bread that tastes like a mild biscuit — with hints of sweetness from the raisins. Slices of this bread can be smeared with butter or served with hearty dishes like beef stew or corned beef and cabbage. 

The popularity of soda bread

This bread became a part of Irish cuisine around the mid-1800s as baking soda was more readily available than before. “The chemical magic between baking soda and an acidic substances was a discovery made by many scientists, but the unique combination of flour, salt, baking soda and buttermilk eluded many of them but eventually it became the recipe of the daily bread in Ireland in the second half of the 19th century,” Ed O’Dwyer, founder of Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread, explains.

While baking soda’s accessibility contributed to this bread’s popularity, it’s still beloved because it doesn’t require a lengthy rise time like yeast breads do. This allows you to prep the dough in mere minutes before popping it in the oven. Talk about hassle-free homemade bread!

How to make delicious Irish soda bread

If you want to make your own Irish soda bread this St. Patrick’s Day, try this recipe from the Stay at Home Chef food blog. It contains just 5 ingredients and comes together in just 45 minutes! (For more St. Patrick’s Day fare, try these recipes for Irish corned beef and cabbage and Irish stew.)

Easy Irish Soda Bread With Raisins

Ingredients:

• 3 to 3½  cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1½ cups full-fat buttermilk
• 1 cup raisins

Directions:

• Yield: 1 loaf

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 
2. In large bowl whisk together 2½ cups flour, salt, and baking soda. Add buttermilk and raisins and stir until dough just comes together.
3. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth ball forms. Gradually add more flour as necessary to achieve dough that’s firm and not sticky. 
4. Dust outside with flour and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Use sharp knife to slash one inch deep cross on top of the loaf. 
5. Bake in oven 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack before slicing and serving.

Home baker’s tips for making this recipe

Knowing that my oven is getting a bit old and doesn’t heat up as well as it should, I preheated it to 445°F. If you struggle with the same issue, I suggest getting an oven thermometer and checking the true temperature of your oven. The temperature will dictate how well your soda bread bakes.

Additionally, I found that 2½ cups of flour was nearly the perfect amount as I mixed the ingredients together. When I turned the dough out onto a wooden board, I added about ¼ cup of flour and only lightly kneaded it. (I prefer a very soft bread full of moisture. But if you prefer a bread that’s a little less doughy, add a bit more flour until it reaches your desired consistency.)

My taste test

Biting into a thick slice of this Irish soda bread was heaven! The outside had a deeply satisfying crunch, and the middle was perfectly soft and chewy, with just the right amount of raisins. I’ll admit that the dough was just a bit too salty for me (especially because I topped my slice with a pat of salted butter). In the future, I’ll use one teaspoon of salt instead of two. Now that I know how simple it is to make soda bread, I’ll be whipping up a loaf every St. Paddy’s Day going forward!

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