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
Sorry, this was not good. I wish I’d read the comments sooner, both for adding more sugar and forming two loaves.
WOW- first time making Irish soda bread. SO delish! Will be making this more often and not just on St. Pattys! Followed recipe as is and used a scale for flour (:
I’m getting a late start today on baking my bread. Oh, well. Better later than never. I was wondering if you chopped up your raisins so they would disperse throughout the dough better and not sink to the bottom? Or is that even a problem with the raisins and this recipe?
Hi Mary, This dough is dense enough that sinking raisins hasn’t been a problem. Hope you love it!
This bread was a delicious addition to our Irish dinner. I will definitely be making this again soon! Thanks for sharing your dear Grandma’s recipe:). I love the added history behind the recipe.
I would like to add caraway seed…how much though? One or two tablespoons?
Hi Doreen, 1 Tbs should be enough, but you can definitely add more if you prefer!
Not sure what went wrong. After 50 minutes still not cooked after hour same result after hour 10 outside hard inside too doughy and undercooked. Disappointed
Hi Jen, are you cutting the slit into the bread deep enough? See if you can cut it deeper so the center bakes properly. Don’t be discouraged if your bread is taking longer. Bread bakes taller in smaller pans, which means it could require more time. If the bread begins to brown before the top center appears cooked, tent it with foil so it can bake a little more evenly.
Hi! If you haven’t already, I also recommend checking the temp in your oven with an oven thermometer. My oven runs cool. It will tell me it’s at temp but will be much cooler. I need to let my oven continue to heat up for about another 15 mins before it’s truly preheated. Never would have realized that without a thermometer. Lots of frustration and ruined goodies until I discovered this. Best of luck!
I do not need a large loaf – can I cut the recipe in half?
Also I was hoping to bake while my corned beef was in the oven. Could I bake at 325 for longer?
Thanks~
Hi Kathleen, You should be able to cut this recipe in half for a smaller loaf. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but we recommend sticking with the stated baking temperature for best results. Let us know how it goes!
LOVE THIS RECIPE!! i tried this out for st.patrick’s day and it turned out absolutely delicious! it came together in less than half an hour and tasted fabulous!! i didn’t include the egg because i didn’t have one and i baked it on a baking sheet lined with silpat mat! thanks so much for sharing!!
Reminds me of the Irish soda bread my aunt was famous for – used to love going there and getting a piece slathered in butter! I followed the instructions and it turned out perfectly this St. Patrick’s day. My family loved it. Thank you for another amazing recipe Sally! Happy Heavenly Birthday to your Gran too.
This is a really good recipe. Loved the picture of grandma with her gardening gloves off to the side.
I think using the dough hook would probably overwork the dough. You can use the food processor, or grate the butter (frozen butter).
This dough needs to come together quickly like scones.
I think you could run into an issue with the buttermilk reacting with the baking soda. By the time you thawed it out prior to baking there may not be much energy left in it, and if it deflates you’ll get a dense bread. Perhaps you could switch to baking powder if you want to freeze the dough, since heat will rise it?
At any rate, the fun is in trying it out.
I measured everything meticulously and my dough was very wet. I had to add a bunch of flour to get it in a reasonable shape. HELP. don’t think I’ll be baking soda bread again.
Oooo, don’t give up on your soda bread. It’s such a yummy bread to enjoy. At what altitude are you baking ? That could play in to it. Sometimes making a well in the center of your flour mixture can make a difference too.
I am trying it and also found it to be far too wet, even though I weighed all ingredients and followed recipe exactly. Had to add a LOT of flour and it was still too wet to actually shape.
I made this yesterday for friends who were celebrating St. Patrick’s day. I used my toaster convection oven and did it a bit longer at a slightly lower temperature and it was fantastic! I just did it until the toothpick came out clean. I used the tinfoil strategy to keep it from over browning. I hadn’t baked in years so this was very encouraging! Moist and flavourful. Thanks!
My Nana would add caraway seed to this recipe and top with a coarse brown sugar. Yum.
This recipe is pretty good, the only thing I changed was I soaked the raisins in sherry before adding them! The recipe makes a larger loaf than we’re used to though and we had to put ours back in the oven because the center wasn’t done. Next time I’ll split it into two loaves before baking.
I’ve now made this soda bread twice. The first time I thought it would go into the trash since I forgot to cut the butter in before mixing in the buttermilk but forged ahead anyway…. success! I cut the butter into very tiny pieces and cut/folded them into he dough and it turned out great! Second go ‘round just out of the oven and smells incredible. I did it correctly this time but divided the loaf into 2 loaves, baked about 35 min as suggested by others. Cast iron skillet 1st time and baking sheet with silpat second time. Bottom line, delicious! Moist, tasty, easy recipe – far better than store bought. Thank you.
Help!
After 2 failed attempts at Irish Soda Bread,
I’m asking for advice. Middle uncooked both times even with extended baking times.
What are possible reasons?
Thank You
Hi Teri, are you cutting the slit into the bread deep enough? See if you can cut it deeper so the center bakes properly. Don’t be discouraged if your bread is taking longer. Bread bakes taller in smaller pans, which means it could require more time. If the bread begins to brown before the top center appears cooked, tent it with foil so it can bake a little more evenly.
Hi Angela,
I just made this wonderful recipe with King Arthur white Whole Wheat flour because it was all we had in the house and it was fantastic! My family just devoured most of the loaf, hot out of the oven, for St. Paddy day breakfast.
I increased baking soda to 1/2 Tbsp and used an organic buttermilk. Also increased sugar to 4 Tablespoons sugar.
I cooked the loaf in an oversized cast iron pan, at temp and time given in recipe. It came out nice & crispy on bottom, but not burnt. Perfect results and absolutely delectable!
Just out of the oven & smells divine; what a big beautiful loaf! Recipe is very similar to Ina Garten’s, which is delicious. I baked it at 375 degrees for an internal temperature of 200 on my instant read thermometer. It took about 45 minutes on a parchment lined sheet pan and resulted in an evenly browned loaf, no need to cover it.
Cannot wait to share with Irish born neighbor. Thanks for a great recipe.
We have an egg allergy in our family, so I was thrilled to find your recipe. It was absolutely delicious without the egg. My daughter insisted on dried blueberries instead of raisins, so I made two loaves. I followed another commenter’s advice and baked for 35 minutes. They were perfect!
This was the best recipe for Irish soda bread! Thank you for sharing a beloved recipe! I followed the recipe exactly and used currents instead of raisins. I baked it in a 12 inch iron skillet and was a bit concerned that the bottom was too dark but it was perfect! Moist, not dry and great great crunchy crust! My dough was very sticky and I was afraid of adding too much flour to the sticky dough when kneading and shaping it. How much flour approx do you recommend when kneading/shaping the dough! I just sprinkled enough flour on my board and hands to prevent it from sticking to the surface but it was pretty sticky. Thanks!
Hi Brieana- I have a wheat allergy and made this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 Baking Flour – left out of the egg as this flour tends to be richer on its own. It came out delicious!!! Texture was perfect and it browned lovely. I used my cast iron skillet in the oven. Couldn’t get enough compliments. Some family actually preferred this version over the second regular loaf that I made : )
Beautiful recipe! I made it this morning. I live in Ireland so I subbed a bit of wholemeal flour and the texture and taste is amazing.
So excited to try this tomorrow…QUESTION – Any tips for this recipe at elevation? I am in Denver and still trying to figure out how to bake in this city 🙂 Thx !
Thanks for the response Lexi! I did do some adjustments for elevation in Denver – kept temp the same, added 2 extra tablespoons buttermilk and the egg…also did raisins. Baked in cast iron. Bread was perfect – not dry at all, and baked for the 45 minutes. Thanks for a great recipe…will definitely make this my go to!
I made this recipe. I substituted one cup barley flour for one cup white. And add dry cranberries. Yum.
Can I use a bread pan? If not I have a round cake pan is this okay? I also have a 9×9 glass dish! What one would be best out of the three??
Hi Brittany, of those options I recommend the round cake pan.
I made this recipe this evening because I want to try this easy recipe without yeast. I used 4 cups levels and add a coconut & almond flour for the 1/4 cup substitute and I followed the rest of the recipe with egg and raisins, bake @ 400 for 45 minutes and I used cast iron pan. When I try a slice of bread it’s absolutely tasty and moist.recommended to my friends. I even share to my Irish ☘️ neighbor after baking and he loves the moist bread. Thanks for this easy recipe without rising the dough.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day ☘️ .
Hi, can you detail about the best way to store the bread once it’s baked? Like plastic wrap, tinfoil, container? I don’t want soggy bread… But I don’t want dry bread either… Thoughts? I definitely let it cool completely of course!
Hi Vera, we always wrap it in aluminum foil for storing. Yes, let it cool completely before covering/storing.
Delicious! Just out of the oven and it’s wonderful. I am taking some in to share at work tomorrow – suggestions on best method for storing overnight?
Hi Jenne, I’m so glad you tried this bread recipe. For storing, lightly covering it with foil is great. You can tightly wrap it for longer storage, too.