by Holly
Irish soda bread recipe is quick, easy, and the perfect accompaniment to any Irish meal like Irish Lamb Stew or corned beef and cabbage. It’s a delicious and slightly dense bread perfect for dipping in soups or even Beef Stew.
Irish Soda Bread can be made with white flour or as in this recipe, wheat flour as well. Raisins or currants can be added if you want a bit of sweetness! Fresh-from-the-oven bread on the table in less than an hour!
Irish Soda Bread History
Irish Soda Bread originated in the 1800s, when baking soda was first introduced to the Emerald Isle. A simple recipe, soda bread was made from what cooks readily had at hand: sour milk and soft-wheat flour that was common at the time, which produced denser breads. Irish kitchens traditionally had open hearths, and soda bread was cooked over the fire on griddles or in iron pots.
The dough was, and still is, formed into a flattened round disc, and marked with a cross.
Today, cooks use buttermilk instead of sour milk, and that’s what our traditional Irish soda bread recipe calls for. However, you can use sour milk if you have it, or you can make your own sour milk, if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand. Here’s how:
- Mix one cup of milk with one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice
- Stir, and then let stand for 5 minutes before using.
How to Make Irish Soda Bread
Irish bread is a quick bread that is leavened with baking soda instead of yeast. The dough takes just a few minutes to prepare, no waiting around for hours for it to rise! The smell of this bread baking in the oven is wonderful and homey.
- Place dry ingredients in a bowl
- Add an egg and buttermilk a little at a time, stirring and kneading until smooth
- Shape into a circle, cut a ½ inch X in the center and bake until golden brown.
The dough produces a dense, crusty loaf, perfect for cutting into wedges and serving with traditional Irish dinner, Chicken Stew or soup. Or, just serve it with some honey butter!
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Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk or as needed
- 1 egg
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Add egg and half of the buttermilk. Stir to combine. Continue adding buttermilk a little bit at a time while stirring just until dough holds together.
Form into a 9" circle with the dough and cut a cross shape 1/2" deep into the top.
Bake on a parchment lined pan 45-50 minutes or until lightly browned and hollow sounding when tapped.
Recipe Notes
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Serve with Lamb Stew.
This Irish Soda Bread Recipe has been adapted from The Cross Cookbook, an old church cookbook written with a typewriter. The submission was made by Sr. Ida Mary.
Sources of information for the history of Irish Soda Bread: Irish Central, Wikipedia
