Easy Irish Soda Bread

5 from 1 vote

Easy Irish Soda Bread

If you're out of yeast but need a crusty artisan loaf of bread, learn how to make bread without yeast with this easy Soda Bread Recipe.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Breads

Cuisine: Irish

Servings: servings

Calories: 289kcal

Author: Mary Bryant Shrader

Equipment

Baking Sheet, Cast Iron Frying Pan, or Cake Pan
Additional options include a Dutch Oven

Ingredients

3 cups All-purpose flour Whole grain flour may be substituted
1 teaspoon Fine ground salt
1 teaspoon Baking soda If using baking powder in place of baking soda, add 1 tablespoon
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk or buttermilk substitute If you are using all whole grain flour, increase buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute) by an additional 1/4 cup for a total of 1 3/4 cups.
2 tablespoons Butter, unsalted and cold See "Notes" below.
2 tablespoons Old-fashioned rolled oats See "Notes" below.
1 cup Dried fruit, optional See "Notes" below.
1 Egg, optional See "Notes" below.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking soda together.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add buttermilk.
Mix the ingredients gently with an open hand until the mixture comes together. (See video.) Do not over mix.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a floured surface.
With a few turns, shape the dough into a round.
Transfer the dough to the baking sheet (or another piece of equipment being used for baking bread).
Flatten dough to 1 1/2 inches.
Take a sharp knife and make a cross on top of the flattened dough.
Next, use the tip of the knife to make four small indentations on top of each quarter of the dough. (See video.)
Add a small bit of water to the measuring cup that held the buttermilk and brush this mixture across the top of the dough.
Transfer the baking sheet with the dough to the middle rack of the preheated oven.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
Transfer bread to a cooling rack and allow to cool before slicing.

Video

Notes

Adding Butter: If you add butter to this dough, add it into your mixture right after you mix the flour, salt, and baking soda. Working quickly, mix in the butter with your hands so that the flour resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized pebbles.

Adding Oats: If you want to add old-fashioned rolled oats to your bread, mix them in along with the flour, salt, and baking soda. If you are also adding butter to this mixture, add the oats after adding the butter.

Adding Dried Fruit: If you want to add dried fruit to your bread, mix them in along with the flour, salt, and baking soda. Toss the dried fruit thoroughly in the flour so that the dried fruit is well coated with the flour mixture. If you are also adding butter to this mixture, add the dried fruit after adding the butter.

Adding an Egg: If you are adding an egg to this bread, whisk the egg with the buttermilk before adding it to the flour mixture.

Find this recipe and video at https://marysnest.com/how-to-make-bread-without-yeast-irish-soda-bread/

For more traditional foods recipes and a guide to build your traditional foods kitchen, get my bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, at https://marysnest.com/my-cookbook/

Nutrition