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This easy Soda Bread recipe is made with just six ingredients! This slightly sweet, spongy, traditional quick bread dotted with raisins is perfect to pair with any meal and great for St. Patrick’s Day!
There’s something undeniably comforting about homemade soda bread. I always find myself craving it, especially around St. Patrick’s Day. This holiday is filled with Irish martinis, Irish coffee, and green beer, so it deserves a classic Irish soda bread to go with it! If you’re looking for an easy, foolproof recipe, this is it.
Why You’ll Love This Irish Soda Bread Recipe
- Ridiculously easy to make. No kneading, no waiting for the dough to rise. Just mix up a few simple ingredients, pop it in the skillet, and bake. Fresh, warm bread with minimal effort? Yes, please!
- Sweet, spongy, and studded with raisins. This bread has a light sweetness and a soft, spongy texture, with juicy raisins in every bite.
- Foolproof for beginners. Even if you’re not a seasoned baker, this recipe is straightforward and forgiving.
What Is Soda Bread?
Traditional Irish soda bread gets its name from the fact that it’s made with baking soda for leavening, instead of yeast. The baking soda reacts with buttermilk to make a perfectly fluffy and moist bread loaf.
The original quick bread is made without eggs, butter, and sugar, too! For the sake of practicality, I’ve brought some of these ingredients back into this soda bread recipe. We’re making user-friendly, delicious bread that tastes just as sweet and spongy as the original.
What You’ll Need
To make your next, most favorite Irish soda bread recipe, grab the following basic ingredients. I’ve included some notes and substitutions here, but for the full amounts and complete instructions, please scroll down to the recipe card.
- Flour and Sugar: All-purpose flour is perfect, as is white granulated sugar. Avoid self-rising flour when making soda bread from scratch, as this kind of flour already has leavening agents.
- Baking Soda and Salt: Baking soda is the key ingredient in this skillet bread recipe. This is what helps the bread to rise in place of yeast. You’ll also want to mix in a pinch of salt to enhance the flavors.
- Eggs: Adding eggs gives the bread structure and extra richness as it bakes up in the skillet.
- Buttermilk: The acidity in the buttermilk reacts with baking soda to help this bread rise. If you don’t have buttermilk, never fear. It’s easy enough to make your own by following my homemade buttermilk recipe.
- Raisins: I add raisins to this recipe, but they’re totally optional—it just depends on whether you prefer a sweeter or more savory soda bread. Some people like to add caraway seeds for extra flavor, so that’s another great option!
How to Make Soda Bread
This is a great recipe for a classic quick bread that comes together fast! The dough is a bit sticky, but don’t worry—that’s exactly how it should be. Just grab an oven-safe skillet lined with parchment paper, and in 5 minutes, you’ll have everything ready to bake!
- Mix the ingredients: First, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk and eggs until combined.
- Combine the wet and dry Ingredients: Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, then add the buttermilk mixture. Use a wooden spoon to stir everything together, and be careful you don’t overmix! Finally, stir in the raisins.
- Bake: Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined cast iron skillet. Bake your soda bread in a 350ºF oven for 50 minutes, or until the top of the loaf is golden brown. If you like, before you pop it in the oven, use a serrated knife and cut a deep cross on top of the dough.
- Let it cool: Leave the bread to cool in the skillet for a few minutes once it’s out of the oven. Afterward, transfer the round loaf to a wire rack and let it cool completely. Slice it with a sharp knife and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Use fresh baking soda. Check the dates on your baking soda before you start, making sure it’s not expired, or over 6-12 months old. The fresher the better!
- Don’t overmix the dough. Whatever you do, don’t overmix the dough ingredients – this can “deflate” the air pockets in the dough, resulting in a dense, low, chewy loaf.
- If your soda bread comes out dry. This could be because you added too much baking soda or not enough buttermilk. It could also be because your oven isn’t hot enough. Be sure you’re budgeting enough time for it to preheat.
- Skip the raisins. I’ve heard from a few sources that soda bread with raisins is the “Americanized” version, made sweeter than the original. If I know I’ll be pairing it with warm soup or stew, I’ll ditch the raisins and go the more authentic route. The choice is yours! You could even make it citrusy by mixing in a tablespoon of orange zest.
Serving Suggestions
A warm slice of traditional soda bread is delicious on its own, smeared with butter or strawberry jam and served with a cup of tea. It’s also perfect to eat with soups, stews, and chilis. Try it alongside a bowlful of cabbage soup or Irish Guinness beef stew. There’s nothing more comforting!
This super-easy bread recipe is also one of my favorite things to make around St. Paddy’s Day. We get really into it, enjoying thick slices alongside my Dublin coddle or corned beef and cabbage. I’ll even lightly toast slices of soda bread to serve at breakfast with corned beef hash and eggs.
Proper Storage
- Store at room temp: Keep the bread airtight at room temperature, either tightly wrapped or in a container. Homemade bread tends to dry out quickly, so it’s best to enjoy it the first day or two after baking, but it will still last 3-4 days when stored properly, but it won’t be as fresh.
- Freeze it: Wrap the bread loaf tightly in plastic wrap, plus a layer of foil, and keep it frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw the bread at room temperature before serving.
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Skillet Soda Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1¾ cups buttermilk
- 1 cup raisins, optional
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a 10-inch cast iron skillet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl; whisk them together until thoroughly combined.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk until thoroughly incorporated.
- Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture; stir with a wooden spoon just until combined. DO NOT overmix. Stir in the raisins.
- Bake. Transfer the prepared dough to the lined skillet. Score a cross on top of the dough and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let it cool. Remove the soda bread from the oven and let it rest in the skillet for 5 minutes. Remove it from the skillet and transfer it to a rack to continue to cool.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Perfect soda bread!
Thank you so much! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! ๐
I have to watch my sugar consumption for medical reasons. The recipes on this site are way too sweet. I made this today – probably for the 4th time – cutting the sugar to 1T less than 1/2C and the raisins to about 3/4C.
So that those who read this fully understand, I use white whole wheat flour (designed to be measured as if it were white but contains whole wheat flour). That could make a difference in taste and texture.
It is excellent bread! The only reason I couldn’t give it 5 stars is that I have had to make it several times to figure out how to adjust the sugar.
Thatโs not the fault of the person that posted the recipe. She doesnโt deserve only four stars because you had to make adjustments.