Best Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I want to share my favorite and totally foolproof recipe for delicious Irish Soda Bread. It is so yummy that it would be a shame to enjoy it only once a year. This easy to make bread is ideal for Sunday breakfast…all year round!

You can whip together this bread in about one hour. It is truly as simple to make as it looks. The only tip I want to give you is that you should avoid over-kneading the dough. You want this bread to be flaky and air helps that. If you over-knead the dough, you will punch out the air and be left with a brick. It will be a delicious brick, but it’s not the way my Irish Grandma intended.

Best Irish Soda Bread Recipe

All you need is one large bowl and ingredients that you probably already have in your home. If you don’t have buttermilk, use cream and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. This Irish Soda Bread is so flaky and buttery, and the raisins (optional) add a touch of sweetness. This recipe has been adapted from allrecipes.com. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup sweet (unsalted) butter softened
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 to 1 cup of raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (or you can use regular cream with juice of half a lemon)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and butter. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an ‘X’ into the top of the loaf.
3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

Put all the dry ingredients into one bowl

Mix with a pastry blender or two forks

Blend in the butter

Add one egg

Add the buttermilk

Blend all the ingredients and add raisins

Transfer to a surface and knead dough until it forms together, add more buttermilk if needed

Place it on a greased baking sheet and put in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean

My son Jackson took this picture. I almost didn’t include it because of the pile of artwork under the easel behind me. But, this is my life and my daughter loves to paint. A lot.