St. Patrick's Day Irish Soda Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between Irish bread and Irish soda bread? ›

Irish brown bread has a deep, nutty flavor because of its wheat flour and wheat bran while soda bread uses only white flour. Soda bread is slightly sweet and more scone-like while Irish brown bread is more savory with a tender interior.

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.

Irish Soda Bread is a dense bread, similar to a scone, but can easily become dry if overmixed. Quickly add the wet ingredients to a well you've made in the dry ingredients, and mix with your hands or a dough hook until it just comes together.

Although soda bread is ideal for serving at room temperature, it is better to serve it warm. The thick and cakey texture of the bread and warm temperature brings out its hearty flavors. If you can't have it fresh from the over at least have it toasted.

How to Eat Irish Soda Bread. This versatile bread works for any meal, but Irish soda bread is a natural for breakfast, whether simply spread with (Irish) butter and jam or alongside that hearty fry-up known as a full Irish breakfast. It's also wonderful with a cup of tea in the afternoon or as a late-night snack.

Make sure you are using the correct amount of baking soda in the recipe. Too much or too little can result in a crumbly loaf. It's also possible that your oven wasn't hot enough when you baked the 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.

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.

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.

You're looking for a dough that's soft but not overly sticky or wet, and that holds together enough to make a loaf that can hold its shape on the sheet pan. If the dough is dry and crumbly, add up to 1/2 cup additional buttermilk, a tablespoon or so at a time, until it comes together.

How to tell when Irish soda bread is done? ›

Bake until golden and cooked through.

The most traditional doneness test calls for thumping the hot bread in the center to hear if it's hollow-sounding.

Yes, you do not have to put raisins in Irish Soda Bread. You can leave it plain, add dried cranberries, or the nontraditional (but delicious) choice of chocolate chips. If you do use a dried fruit, I recommend soaking them in warm water for about 20 minutes to allow them to absorb the water and plump up.

Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough). You want to work it just enough so the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-work the dough the bread will end up tough.

Irish Soda Bread Best warm and slathered in butter! Tends to stale quickly, within 24 hours. Keep wrapped in kitchen towel on counter and slice and freeze after 24 hours.

What is soda bread? Soda bread is a type of quick bread which takes its name from the baking soda (or, sodium bicarbonate) that is used as a leavening agent instead of the traditional yeast. Traditionally, soda bread is made using flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk.

The primary difference between a sourdough and a normal bread is that while a regular bread is kneaded with packaged yeast, sourdough bread is leavened with Lactobacillus bacteria and wild yeasts.

Irish soda bread has a couple of other names, too: When we attended a class at the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, they made this loaf and called it a Spotted Dog. It's also called white soda bread, American Irish soda bread, or fruit soda bread.

Irish soda bread is a dense and tender quick bread with a subtle tangy buttermilk flavor.