Irish Soda Bread is an easy quick bread to fill the bread basket with. It mixes up effortlessly and bakes up beautifully.
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We are creatures of habit in these here parts. Once I find a theme meal that works for us, we tend to stick to it.
Tamales on Christmas, appetizers for New Years, and …. wait for it…. Irish Stew on Saint Patrick’s Day.
Neither my husband nor I care for corned beef, so we avoid that American ritual and go to something simple: a hearty beef stew.
Oh sometimes, we mix it up. I might make this Guinness Beef Stew. Or a Shepherd’s Pie. But we almost always have Irish Soda Bread and Dubliner Cheese.
My kids eagerly look forward to these side dishes. The Dubliner is a little bit of a splurge, but Costco usually has a fair price on it.
The soda bread is super easy to mix up. It goes great with the Irish stew—and there are rarely leftovers.
What makes soda bread different?
Soda bread is different from regular bread in that it doesn’t use yeast. Instead, it is lightened by baking soda. Combined with the acid in the buttermilk, the baking soda creates small bubbles in the dough.
What does soda bread taste like?
Soda bread tastes a lot like a large biscuit. It’s not light and fluffy like yeasted bread, but has a tight crumb, dense texture, and a firm crust.
What is the best way to eat Irish soda bread?
Irish soda bread is delicious with butter or cheese. It’s also tasty for dunking in soups and stews.
How do you make Irish soda bread from scratch?
Irish soda bread is super simple to make!
- Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Stir in the oil and buttermilk. Stir until a sticky dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it three or four turns.
- Place the dough on the parchment and pat it into a 6-inch round.
- Cut an x in the middle of the loaf.
- Bake for 25 minutes. The crust will be brown and make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
- Cool the bread before slicing.
How to make this good and cheap:
You know I don’t typically want to make something if I can’t make it good as well as cheap. Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of flour and butter can help keep the price down.
- Buttermilk is one of the pricier ingredients in this recipe, and it rarely goes on sale. Consider making your own buttermilk to save money.
- Buying in bulk – It’s rare that I would buy small bags of flour. I also have gotten into the habit of buying cases of flour from Bob’s Red Mill or VitaCost so that I always have baking supplies on hand.
How I make this recipe easy:
This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.
Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
More Good Cheap Eats for St Patrick’s Day
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Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and salt. Add the oil and buttermilk. Stir until a sticky dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough lightly and shape into a 6-inch round. With a sharp knife, cut an X in the top of the dough.
- Place the round on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. The crust should be brown and will give a hollow sound when thumped.
- Enjoy warm with butter or a bit of cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally posted on March 16, 2011. It’s been updated for content and clarity.
Michelle
So glad to see this recipe! Just today I checked to make sure I have everything for Shepherd’s Pie. I think I’ll add the Soda Bread to the menu 🙂 Than kyou!
Mrs. Sarah Coller
We made this tonight and it was wonderful! Thank you so much…everyone really enjoyed it! Hope you’re having a happy day! This week’s Homemaking Linkup is up and I would love to have you join, if you haven’t already.
Blessings,
Mrs. Sarah Coller
DL
My firstborn son was born on St. Patrick’s Day and even came to us with red hair! I am so excited as all my children and grandchildren will be coming over after church to celebrate this son’s birthday. As he really enjoys beef stew, your recipe may be just what I have been looking for to serve for dinner.
When this son was younger we did a “green eggs” and ham breakfast one year. I used a bit of food coloring to color the eggs, but I must say it really wasn’t a winner.
Samantha
We’ve made this recipe a handful of times in the past week- YUMM-O!!! I now just tell my daughter to “make bread.” I made chicken noodle soup, so when we made the bread tonight I added some Green Goddess seasoning (from Penzey’s- lots of dill) and a smidge of sugar. It was a nice addition, considering chicken noodle soup is not complex or spicy.
Jessica Fisher
Interesting variation! Gonna have to try spicing it up a bit. My big boys (12 and 15) can make it all on their own, so I, too, say “go make bread.” Love it!
JessieLeigh
Just made my very first loaf of Irish soda bread– I only tried a nibble, but it tasted good! I used all whole white wheat (because it’s what I had ;)). Looking forward to having some Dubliner cheese alongside a fresh loaf on Saturday!
AllieZirkle
YUM! I doubled this recipe last night. I baked it on my silpat as I didn’t want it crispy crunchy as my hubby & older daughter are in braces. They gave this recipe rave reviews! I’m thinking of making a recipe into biscuits as 1/2 my family won’t eat foods cut into triangles. Seriously. haha
Allie
Hattie
We had Irish soda bread (my recipe came from a Taste of Home issue, and includes caraway seeds and raisins), fried potatoes, and a egg-sausage-mushroom-cheese breakfast casserole dish. It was a St Patty’s Day brunch for dinner.:) We watched Darby O Gill and the Little People, and ate brownies with M&Ms for dessert. We’re making shamrock cookies tomorrow, even if it’s a day late.:) The desserts may not be authentically Irish, but they’re yummy.:)
Christy
I linked a little golden layer cake – the kind you find at the end of a rainbow!
Kristin S.
It’s been a fun day! We started with green pancakes (which sort of turned blue when they cooked). Now we’re following your exact recipes for Irish Stew and Irish Soda Bread! Looking forward to a yummy dinner! Thanks!!
Sarah @ The Pajama Chef
when i was growing up, my spring break was always over st. patrick’s day and we’d go to FL to visit my grandparents. my grandma would always serve corned beef and cabbage, which none of liked, so we’d go to mcdonald’s after dinner on our way back to our condo :)…now it’s my husband’s birthday so we don’t really celebrate st. patrick’s day, though i did make him a grasshopper pie for dessert 🙂 we’re having stir fry instead!
Jacky
I always love finding new St. Pat Day recipes to try each year!
jenna Food WIth Kid Appeal
thanks for hosting, happy st. pats! I plan on getting my kiddos to eat green fruits and veggies today, stop by my post and see how, plus three naturally green healthy recipes.
Nancy Lundy
We don’t have a dinner ritual, but today I sent only green things in my 7-year-old daughter’s lunch – green salad with green Ranch dressing, kiwi, green grapes, pickles, and green lemonade. I can’t wait to hear whether or not she liked it.
Regina
Love that cheese! Hubby doesn’t like corned beef much, so I make a “Guinness steak pie”– double-crusted pie. You throw in some onion & floured steak, a handful of raisins, bit of brown sugar, S&P to taste, and simmer it all in Guinness (add more as needed) for a few hours. Now that I think of it, I should try this in the crockpot! Anyways, toss it in a pre-baked bottom crust, slap another crust on top and cook til the crust is done. It is amazing!
Jenny
We don’t really celebrate or do anything special on St. Patrick’s Day and we are not real fans of Irish food. In fact, when I went to Ireland about 6 years ago, I thought I was going to starve before I got to England! I linked up a “green” recipe using spinach today, however I think it would be great to sub Dubliner cheese.
Adrienne
I developed this simple and ALL NATURAL recipe for dairy-free fudge just this week. It even has alternatives for special diets. It was a great hit at our home. Try it yourself -it is a great way to sneak in a secret healthy ingredient into your diet as well! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day and thanks for hosting!
Liz@HoosierHomemade
I looked for that cheese when I made my fondue and never did find it. Your bread looks yummy!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
~Liz
Susie's Homemade
Gotta have that corned beef and cabbage, right?
janmary, n ireland
Happy St Patrick’s Day from N Ireland 🙂
I can’t link up anything, as here it isn’t actually a day when we traditionally eat anything different! We do eat irish stew sometimes, but not especially today. I have never had corn beef, in fact I didn’t know it was associated with Ireland until I started blogging a few years ago!
We don’t try to catch leprechauns, wear green so we don’t get pinched etc …everyone else seems to do these instead! Hope I haven’t disillusioned you too much 🙁
My kids don’t even have the day off school – but I’ll probably head into Belfast to photograph the parade and share it on my blog later.
Dee
I made my Irish stew a day early since I have a very packed day tomorrow… All I can say is YUMMO!! And the beef is beyond tender! Wish I had had time for Irish Soda Bread, next year for sure!