Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread that does not require any yeast. Instead, all of its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk. This Irish soda bread recipe is my grandmother’s and has been cherished in my family for years. It’s dense, yet soft and has the most incredible crusty exterior. Buttermilk and cold butter are the secret to its delicious success!
Welcome to my favorite Irish Soda Bread recipe. I shared this no yeast bread recipe on my blog a few years ago and decided to revisit with fresh new pictures and a video tutorial. This recipe is my grandmother’s. She passed away in 2011, 2 weeks before I started this food blog. I dedicated my 1st cookbook to her. Full of energy and the creator of the best homemade pie crust on earth, she would be in her 90s today. St. Patrick’s Day is her birthday.
Irish Soda Bread is a Quick Bread
Does the thought of homemade bread send you running for the hills? Sometimes homemade bread feels daunting, but you’re in luck today. Irish soda bread is a quick bread made with baking soda, not yeast. Like my easy no yeast bread, this is a shortcut bread that doesn’t skimp on flavor. (If you want a yeast bread, I recommend my sandwich bread recipe!)
- What’s the texture like? The best Irish soda bread, like this recipe, has a golden brown crust with a dense, tight crumb. The bread isn’t heavy, it’s actually quite tender and soft inside. The crust is nice and crisp when it comes out of the oven and becomes a little chewy on day 2 and 3. It’s so good.
My grandmother’s Irish soda bread contains some sugar, but it’s not overly sweet. It’s a wonderful companion for savory dinners like hearty stew or you can serve it with butter, honey butter, jam, and/or cheese. The raisins are optional, but Grandma would never let you skip them.
Video Tutorial: Homemade Irish Soda Bread
Overview: How to Make Irish Soda Bread
The full printable recipe is below. Irish soda bread dough comes together in about 10 minutes. You need buttermilk, egg, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and butter.
- Whisk buttermilk and 1 egg together. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in another bowl.
- Cut cold butter into the flour mixture. Like scones and pie crust, cutting cold butter into the flour is a key step. Coating the flour in cold butter guarantees a lovely flaky texture. You can use a fork, your hands, or a pastry cutter. Add the wet ingredients.
- Bring the dough together with your hands. Using a very sharp knife, score the dough. This allows the center to bake.
- Bake until golden brown.
Buttermilk is the Secret
Irish soda bread only requires a few ingredients, including buttermilk. Buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to provide the bread’s leavening. It also adds wonderful flavor! We use buttermilk for the same reasons in my regular no yeast bread, too. If you’re interested, I have plenty more on this topic in my Baking with Buttermilk post (including a DIY buttermilk substitute recipe).
Feel free to Skip the Egg
Irish soda bread can be made with or without an egg. 1 egg adds richness and density. Feel free to skip it to make a slightly lighter loaf. No other changes necessary, simply leave out the egg.
3 Success Tips
- Don’t over-work the dough. It’s supposed to look a little shaggy.
- Score the top of the dough with an “X” before baking. This helps the center bake through.
- You can bake Irish soda bread on a baking sheet, in a baking pan, or in a cast iron skillet. I recommend a cast iron skillet because it helps guarantee a super crispy crust. Here’s how to keep your cast iron cookware seasoned.
If you’re baking for St. Patrick’s Day, you’ll love my Guinness Brownies, Baileys and Coffee Cupcakes, Guinness Chocolate Cake, Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes, Lucky Charms Treats, and shamrock St. Patrick’s Day Cookies, too.
Print
Grandma’s Irish Soda Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Irish
Description
Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread that does not require any yeast. Instead, all of its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk. This Irish Soda Bread recipe is my grandmother’s and has been cherished in my family for years. It’s dense, yet soft and has the most incredible crusty exterior.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) buttermilk*
- 1 large egg (optional, see note)
- 4 and 1/4 cups (531g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for your hands and counter
- 3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed*
- optional: 1 cup (150g) raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven & pan options: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). There are options for the baking pan. Use a regular baking sheet and line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (bread spreads a bit more on a baking sheet), or use a seasoned 10-12 inch cast iron skillet (no need to preheat the cast iron unless you want to), or grease a 9-10 inch cake pan or pie dish. You can also use a 5 quart (or higher) dutch oven. Grease or line with parchment paper. If using a dutch oven, bake the bread with the lid off.
- Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Set aside. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Mixture is very heavy on the flour, but do your best to cut in the butter until the butter is pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the raisins. Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together until dough it is too stiff to stir. Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, then knead for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared skillet/pan. Using a very sharp knife or bread lame, score the dough with a slash or X about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.)
- Bake until the bread is golden brown and center appears cooked through, about 45-55 minutes. Loosely tent the bread with aluminum foil if you notice heavy browning on top. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
- Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with desired toppings/spreads.
- Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. We usually wrap it tightly in aluminum foil for storing.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled bread freezes well up to 3 months. Freeze the whole loaf or individual slices. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Cast Iron Skillet, 9-inch Round Cake Pan, 9-inch Pie Dish, Dutch Oven, or Baking Sheet with Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Pastry Cutter | Bread Lame | Instant-Read Thermometer
- Baking Pan: There are options for the baking pan (see Special Tools Note above). You can use a lined large baking sheet (with or without a rim), a seasoned 10-12 inch cast iron skillet, or a greased or lined 9-10 inch cake pan or pie dish. I don’t recommend a loaf pan because the loaf may not bake evenly inside. This dough is best as a flatter loaf.
- Buttermilk: Using cold buttermilk is best. Buttermilk is key to the bread’s flavor, texture, and rise. The bread will not rise without it. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute. Whole milk or 2% milk is best, though lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough cold milk to make 1 and 3/4 cups. Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe.
- Egg: 1 egg adds richness and density. Feel free to skip it to make a slightly lighter loaf. No other changes necessary, simply leave out the egg.
- Cold Butter: The colder the butter, the less sticky the dough will be. Make sure it’s very cold, even frozen cubed butter is great.
- Smaller Loaves: You can divide this dough up to make smaller loaves. The bake time will be shorter, depending how large the loaves are. An instant read thermometer will be especially helpful. Bake the loaves until an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
Reader Comments and Reviews
Sally, do you think this recipe will work with GF flour, without any other adjustments? Thanks!
Hi Debbie, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours, but we’d love to know if you try it!
O my goodness! I made this for my family on St. Patrick’s Day! My family couldn’t get enough. My grandkids kept going back for more. Thank you for sharing your grandmas recipe. It was a huge hit!
We had a belated St. Pat”s dinner tonight. After using the same soda bread recipe for quite a number of years, I decided to try this recipe. I wasn’t disappointed. This is now my new go-to soda bread recipe. It had a nice texture and taste and wasn’t too dry. I did use the egg, and I also froze the butter and grated it in. Very happy with the results. It was a hit.
My soda bread turned out awesome! I add cranberries instead of raisins.
Made this for St. Patrick’s Day and it was a hit. Everyone loved it, including me. Next time I will add just a bit more salt. Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this yesterday in honor or St. Paddy’s day. I was nervous as some recipes add baking powder, some don’t have an egg etc. I liked the idea of the egg to make it a bit richer, but didn’t want it to rise like a biscuit. So I decided on this recipe. The only thing I did to make it easier was that used a grater to grate frozen butter which saved me from “cutting” it in with forks or knives (don’t have one of those utensils that cuts in butter). I still used my fingers to rub it in but it was much easier. It came together beautifully and I baked it in a dutch oven for almost an hour. I used the thermometer to help with knowing when it was done. That was such a help. Thanks for a great recipe – love that Sally provides weight instead of volume. So much more reliable.
This was PERFECT!! For my own personal taste, I might add a little extra dash of salt and a tiny bit more sugar just to bring the flavors out, but I think that’s just my own preference because I always think Irish soda bread in general is a tiny bit bland. Or maybe my raisins weren’t sweet enough. But seriously, this was amazing. I did need to bake it on the longer side, and kind of lost track because I finally stuck my thermometer in it at one point and just followed that. And it didn’t overbake, so the temperature suggestion is right on point. Lastly, please do yourself a favor and it this warm out of the oven with Kerrygold butter (toasted if it’s leftover) with a cup of tea and thank me later.
I agree with Ally.
I measured carefully, and got a sodden mess.
I kept adding flour, so the dough was overworked (even though it was too sticky to knead). I overbaked it trying to reach the 195 degree temp.
It tastes okay but the crust shatters crumbs everywhere when I try to slice it.
Dear Sally,
I made this for St Paddy’s day 2026, it came out so delicious!
This was the first time I made bread and so fool’s proof that even when I lost track of the amount of flour added, I was still able to add a cup of flour after I had already mixed the wet and dry ingredients and kneed it all together. It came out perfect and the raisins are such a nice treat in the bread.
For the last few days, I’ve been cutting a slice, warming it up in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, and adding butter and strawberry jam on top. It’s put such a smile on my face!
Thank you for your recipes! You are my go to site for baking 🙂
We are so happy to read this, Katie!! Thank you so much for trusting our recipes.
Dear Sally,
Bless your Granny’s memory, and you for sharing your family recipe!
We have a lovely loaf that our family has made for St.Patrick’s Day, but this year I wanted to try something different.
I found one from another source with wholewheat that looked interesting, but I was disappointed in the outcome.
Then I thought “look up Sally and see what was on offer”.
What a joy! Your Granny’s recipe yielded a beautiful loaf with a lovely flavour, a perfect crumb, and a delightful crisp crust! It was enjoyed by all.
I baked it on an open sheet for 40 minutes in my oven and it was a great success.
I did not add in the raisins this time, but I will on the next bake to give that a go.
Now I have 2 beautiful Irish Soda loaves to choose from!
Thank you again from a wee Scottish Lass on the Canadian Prairies.
We honoured St. Paddy today in fitting style topped off with your Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Guinness Mocha Frosting, which were shared with a fine Englishman friend!
The UK was well represented today!
“Slainte”!
This was amazing. I added maybe an extra tbsp of floor and probably handled it just a tad too long. So good, and I know it will taste even better next time.
I measured everything with my kitchen scale and still ended up with a gloppy sticky mess. I ended up adding another half cup of flour and still the dough was way too wet to even begin to try to kneed or shape. What did I do wrong? I’m confident that I measured everything correctly.
I’ve made it a few times. It always ends up wet. I don’t bother with the kneading. Turn it out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper, shape it and bake it. It turns out grand. Just like my mum used to make.
I had the same result! Sticky glop.
Same with me – I measured by weight and came out with a hugely sticky dough. I had to add ALOT of extra flour and still
Wasn’t able to properly knead the dough. As Gareth says, I just poured it out on a floured board and shaped it gently in hand. I don’t know, don’t love when that happens.
It turned out so lovely! I made some slight adjustments by using 2% grass fed kefir and shredded the butter into flour mix and it was much easier to get the crumbly crumbly consistency. I also add a tad more butter and kefir than the recipe for a softer dough that I didn’t handle or knead too much. Came out great! Sad I can’t post photos here.
I soaked the raisins in Irish whiskey for a little flavor boost. Great recipe!
Amazing. Simple loved the Irish Soda Bread … I did add a little less than 4 cups more line 3 and half..
I love this recipe & made it a couple of times to share with my friends & neighbors. I baked mine in a dutch oven & the loaf popped out nicely. I even dusted cinnamon & nutmeg on one to spice it up, yum!
Made this evening for St Patty’s Day. My family loved it. Soda bread is a tradition in my family, and I’ll save this recipe because it’s great. I’m in the high desert, and it took at least 20-30 minutes longer than the recipe stated. I used vinegar milk instead of buttermilk. Perfection.
Sally’s recipes rarely disappoint even when converted to gluten free and this one was probably the best yet!
I made a loaf using a good all purpose gf flour blend and it turned out perfect. So good in fact that my Sunday dinner crew declared it to be the best they’ve ever had, gf or not, and took it all home!
I had to make another loaf just to satisfy my craving for more!
Well done Sally (and grandmother)!
Came out awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
This may be the best soda bread recipe I’ve ever tried.
The only negative from the family was that it was a bit sweet despite cutting the sugar. Next time, I’ll use 1 tsp of honey.
This was delicious. I modified, reverse creamed the butter into the dry ingredients, then added the raisins, switching to the dough hook, added the liquids until just blended. Baked at 375, glass pie plate for 45 minutes, a perfect 190 degrees, also used milk and yogurt for buttermilk. I will be making this recipe more often than St. Patrick’s day, thanks Sally !
I rated this 4 stars out of 5 only because mine needed to cook A LOT longer and is still a bit undercooked. Overall, the recipe is so easy and came together so beautifully. I think this is my first time also using a full fat buttermilk, at my local Jewel they usually only have the low fat kind. This soda bread only half baked for me but was so tasty and delicious.
Easy to make and very good. I baked it at 400° in a cast iron skillet, tested it with the thermometer at 40 minutes and it was just right at 195°F. Happy St Patrick’s Day!
This was amazing. I never made Irish soda bread before. I left out the egg and substituted the raisins for cranberries – so yummy. Thank you for sharing this recipe…..
This Irish Soda bread was excellent. Sturdy, but not dry. I didn’t have raisins but had some dried cranberries that I soaked in Grand Marnier first to make sure they were nice and soft. They were awesome in this bread! I baked the dough into 2 rounds on a parchment lined sheet pan. One of the loaves went right into the freezer. I don’t think it will stay there long. I did the full Irish dinner for St. Pat’s day and this soda bread was the best addition. Great recipes Sally! Thanks!
The oven is too hot at 400!
Hi Penny, we find 400 is the best temperature to bake this bread. Could your oven run a little hot?
Just made this. Easy recipe and delicious!
Made this yesterday for a Ladies Brunch celebrating St. Patrick’s Day early. It was a hit, so delicious!! Tender interior with just the right amount of sweetness from the raisins and little amount of sugar. Served your Honey Butter with it. All I can say is “oh my goodness !!!”
I’ve made this recipe a few times. In my more humid Tampa location, increasing the flour to 600 g is just about to the right amount to keep it from being a sticky mess. I also treat it like biscuit dough, so minimize how much I handle it to keep it soft.
Any nutritional info? I am type 2 diabetic so I am mostly concerned with carbs.
Thank you
Hi Daniel, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076