The Best Irish Soda Bread Recipe Ever (2024)

Even St. Patrick might have been tempted to overstay his welcome for a piece of this

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It seems everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Grocery stores sell out of corned beef, and pubs are crawling with patrons drinkingGuinness and forking down celebratory dishes like shepherd’s pie. But the most popular, and one of the oldest traditional foods out of the Emerald Isle, may be Irish soda bread.

Like many traditional breads from around the world, Irish soda bread is made with the mostbasic ingredients: flour, salt, soured milk and baking soda. It’s customary to carve the shape of a cross with a knife across the top before baking, and in Ireland the bread was shaped differently depending on theregion — in the south it was a round loaf, and in thenorth it was more of a flat rounded disk cut into four equal triangle shapes. The bread is usually served with a meal, rather than eaten as a dessert, but in North America it ismost popular as a breakfast food, or something to enjoy with coffee or tea in the mid-morning or afternoon.

While you can find Irish soda bread in many bakeries and grocery stores, it’s easy to make, and Aleteia English’s editor-in-chief, Elizabeth Scalia, claims to have the best Irish soda bread recipe ever, and blogger Deacon Greg Kandra claims it is true!

Scalia calls Irish soda bread “a delicious butter-delivery system” and is happy to share her mother-in-law’s famous recipe withAleteia readers. (Her Italianmother-in-law, mind you.) So grab your pint of Guinness or a cup ofIrish Breakfast tea and pull out your measuring cups.

Maria Lucia’s Irish Soda Bread

4 c sifted flour
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 c sugar (traditional or coconut palm sugar, which will darken the bread)
1 c raisins (traditional, or dried cranberries)
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 cupsbuttermilk (or soured milk)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. In large bowl, mix dry ingredients together. In separate bowl, mix butter, eggs and buttermilk. Stir wet ingredients into the dry. Fold in raisins or cranberries. Form into round shape and carve a cross on the top. Place in a2 quart pan (like a Pyrex) because it works the best. Bake for 1.25 hours.

Note: If you use coconut palm sugar, a reportedly healthier sweetener than white sugar, you will get the same degree of sweetness, but the bread will be browner.

As you place the bread in in the oven, or as a grace just before eating it, pray the prayer of St. Patrick:

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

I bind to myself today

The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:

I believe the Trinity in the Unity

The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today

The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,

The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,

FAQs

Is there a difference between soda bread and Irish soda bread? ›

Sweeter Soda Bread

On this side of the Atlantic, what we call "Irish soda bread" is more rich and sweet, usually studded with raisins and caraway seeds. These cakey, scone-like loaves often include eggs and butter for tenderness and more flavor.

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Can you over knead Irish soda bread? ›

Barely any kneading is necessary, but if you overknead it, it makes for a pretty tough bread. Start by mixing the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar together. Dice up the cold butter and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers.

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Why is my Irish soda bread so hard? ›

You might have added too much baking soda or baking powder or used self-rising flour. If your bread's texture is dry: You might have added too much baking soda, too little liquid or not baked it at high enough temperature. If your loaf has big holes, lumps or dark streaks.

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Why is my Irish soda bread gummy? ›

And finally, don't immediately cut into the Fast Irish Soda bread when you pull it out of the oven. Although this bread is best served warm, cutting into it too quickly will turn the bread gummy.

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Do people in Ireland eat Irish soda bread? ›

Soda bread is a type of bread that uses baking soda instead of yeast as a leavening agent. It is a traditional bread in Ireland and has been a staple food for many Irish families for centuries.

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What do Irish people call soda bread? ›

In Ulster, the wholemeal variety is usually known as wheaten bread and is normally sweetened, while the term "soda bread" is restricted to the white savoury form. In the southern provinces of Ireland, the wholemeal variety is usually known as brown bread and is almost identical to the Ulster wheaten.

Why is my Irish soda bread raw in the middle? ›

Your oven is too hot if it is uncooked in the center. Try lowering the temp on your oven by 25F and extending the bake time. Don't put anything on the top of the bread to aid in browning until the last few min. of cooking, and use an instant read thermometer (target temp to pull is 190F).

Should you refrigerate Irish soda bread? ›

Tightly wrap your leftover bread and place it in an airtight container. There's no need to refrigerate. As for how long soda bread lasts: Irish soda bread tends to dry out faster than other breads. The bread will be good for 3-4 days or up to three months if frozen.

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How do you know when Irish soda bread is done baking? ›

The most traditional doneness test calls for thumping the hot bread in the center to hear if it's hollow-sounding. A more foolproof indication is temperature; the loaf will register 200°F to 205°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted in the center of the bread.

How dry should soda bread dough be? ›

The oldest recipe for soda bread, widely syndicated from Ireland's Newry Times in 1836, says the dough was "as soft as could possibly be handled...the softer the better." Thirteen years and 180 miles down the road, the Waterford Times described it as "wetter than pie crust, too stiff to pour, but not stiff enough to ...

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What do you do if your Irish soda bread dough is too sticky? ›

If your dough is too sticky and it's impossible to work with you can add some extra flour, just a little at a time. Make sure you weigh the extra flour you add and then you'll be able to adjust the recipe correctly the next time you bake.

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Why is Irish soda bread called soda bread? ›

In the United States, "Irish soda bread" generally means a somewhat sweet white bread made with eggs and butter and studded with raisins and caraway seeds — the "soda" in the name comes from the baking soda (or "bread soda" in Ireland) used to leaven it instead of yeast and kneading.

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What makes Irish bread different? ›

The chemical magic between baking soda and an acidic substances was a discovery made by many scientists, but the unique combination of flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk eluded many of them but eventually it became the recipe of the daily bread in Ireland in the second half of the 19th century.

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What is the flavor of Irish soda bread? ›

Irish soda bread is a dense and tender quick bread with a subtle tangy buttermilk flavor. Some people think it tastes like beer bread, but I think it tastes more like a scone or a biscuit. It tastes fantastic on its own, slathered with a little butter and jam, or “fancied up” with additional ingredients.

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