Soft & Sweet Irish Soda Bread

Beginner friendly, this soft & sweet Irish soda bread is one of the easiest bread recipes you will ever make. Simply mix together the ingredients, shape your loaf by hand and it emerges from the oven with the perfect crumb – no yeast or rise time required!

This untraditional version of Irish soda bread has a scone-like texture created with the addition of butter and requires just 10 minutes of hands-on prep time to make. Using simple pantry staple ingredients, it’s cooked in a dry cast iron skillet then sliced and served up with lots of butter and honey.

What is Irish soda bread?

Irish soda bread is a yeast-free quick bread that gets it’s rise from baking soda and buttermilk.

This fresh take on traditional Irish soda bread is made with a combination of raisins and dried cranberries and lightly sweetened with brown sugar. It’s dense yet soft with the most incredible crusty exterior. And because it doesn’t require any rise time, you can have it baked up for breakfast or afternoon tea in an hour.  

Here’s everything you’ll need to make it

• Bread flour
• Dark brown sugar
• Baking soda
• Kosher or fine sea salt
• Butter
• Buttermilk (see note to make your own)
• 1 egg
• Raisins
• Dried cranberries

Do I need a cast iron skillet?

Not at all, you can bake it in any oven-safe baking dish or even a Dutch oven, uncovered to allow air to circulate.

Delicious served still warm from the oven, this Irish soda bread is even better the next day grilled or toasted with butter. For a savoury take, try my Irish Soda Bread with Aged Cheddar!

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Irish Soda Bread

This soft & sweet Irish soda bread has a scone-like texture created with the addition of butter and requires just 10 minutes of hands-on prep time. Beginner friendly, this untraditional version is made with raisins, dried cranberries and brown sugar and is one of the easiest bread recipes you will ever make!

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Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:40 minutes mins

Keyword: bread, Irish soda bread

Servings: 1 loaf

Equipment

• 4 Qt mixing bowl
• Measuring set
• Box grater
• 10-inch cast iron skillet
• Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

• 3 cups bread flour
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons cold butter
• 1¼ cups buttermilk see note to make your own
• 1 egg whisked into the buttermilk
• ½ cup raisins cleaned and separated
• ½ cup dried cranberries cleaned and separated

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC).
• In a large mixing bowl combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry cutter or box grater, cut or grate the cold butter into the flour then gently stir until distributed throughout.
• Make a well and pour in buttermilk and egg and stir or mix by hand just until the ingredients begin to come together. Fold in raisins and dried cranberries and keep turning the dough until it starts to look a little sticky and stringy.
• Pull dough out onto a floured surface and, using floured hands, fold, turn and shape it into a ball.
• Score the top of the loaf with an ‘X’ to allow even heat distribution, then place into baking dish or cast iron skillet and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and it sounds hollow when you knock on it. Remove from oven, transfer to cooling rack then slice once it’s cool enough to handle.

Notes

Flour: I like to use a hard wheat unbleached bread flour to get a good crusty, chewy loaf. Hard wheat or ‘strong’ flour is made from hard wheat kernels and is a little more dense and higher in protein than other flours. This recipe will also work well with other bread or all-purpose flours although results may vary in terms of both texture and appearance.

Egg: The addition of an egg alters the texture by making the bread a little more dense and hearty. Omitting it will result in a slightly lighter, fluffier loaf.

Don’t have buttermilk? Simply add 1 tablespoon + ¼ teaspoon white or cider vinegar to 1¼ cups milk, stir and let sit for 15 minutes until thickened.

Storage: Irish soda bread will keep in a well-sealed bag on the counter for up to 3 days or sliced, wrapped tightly and frozen it for up to 2 months.