• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Every Kitchen

Telling food stories, one kitchen at a time

  • Home
  • About Me
    • About Me
    • Life in the Kitchen
    • Kitchen Philosophy
  • Healthy Recipes
    • gluten free
    • lightened up
    • sugar free
    • vegan
  • All Recipes
    • bread and breakfast
    • lunch
    • dinner
    • desserts
    • drinks
    • snacks & appetizers
    • favorites
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Easy Irish Soda Bread

March 5, 2015 by theeverykitchen@gmail.com 4 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

You just need one bowl for this Easy Irish Soda Bread recipe. In about 90 minutes, you’ll want to have the kettle on for a cup of tea and the Irish butter getting soft on the counter, ready to enjoy slice after slice of soda bread.

Easy Irish Soda Bread at https://www.theeverykitchen.com Let’s take a few quiet seconds to look at and adore this loaf of bread. Ahhhh… sighhhh…


It is a thing of beauty. That golden, perfectly cracked top crust.

If I had to pick one carb to eat for the rest of my life, it might be this bread. Although it’s a toss-up between Irish Soda Bread and Aunt Janet’s Cinnamon Rolls.

What I love, I mean <3 <3 <3 LOVE about this recipe, is how easy it is. If you love soda bread, and you’ve ever tried to make it at home, and that experience made you hate soda bread, then this recipe is for you.

Let me give you a little history of me and soda bread:

Easy Irish Soda Bread at https://www.theeverykitchen.com
When I lived in New York, I used to eat at this little Irish diner once a week called Eileen’s Country Kitchen. (2018 Update: I just found out the place CLOSED! Bah!) The food was okay, nothing special, a little pricey maybe. BUT THEY REELED ME IN WITH THE BREAD. I couldn’t. stop. going. back.

A free basket of Irish Soda Bread. Fresh. Soft. Made irresistible with a pat of butter on top. That bread basket would get me every time.

Me talking to me: “Danielle, wait until after dinner to eat that bread. Don’t ruin your supper! Oh my gahhh, but look how fresh it is today. and soft white. and I’m so hungry. It’s just calling my name. Just one. Okay, but where is the food? Should I have a second slice? Okay, have a second slice, but you MAY NOT have any more for dessert. [20 minutes later:] I’m so full, but I need just a little something sweet now. Just ONE bite. or slice. with a little butter…”

Easy Irish Soda Bread at https://www.theeverykitchen.com
Every. dang. time.

So I asked Mary, of Mary’s Celtic Kitchen, could I please have her bread recipe? And I took that little scratch-paper recipe home with me and within a few hours, had my own loaf of Irish Soda Bread in the oven. And an hour after that, I pulled a pretty, albeit lop-sided, round loaf out of the oven. And about an hour after that, I had a raisin-spotted concrete block sitting on my kitchen counter.

Easy Irish Soda Bread at https://www.theeverykitchen.com
But then one of my colleagues made this ↑↑ bread and I NEEDED the recipe. Like, hounded her for the recipe. Mayyyybe got a little aggressive about it. (Just kidding about that last part… or am I?) Her loaf was so perfect. Could this be the answer to my soda bread wishes?

I really think it is. It was so easy to make and turned out perfectly. That first bite took me back to all my evenings sitting in the booth at Mary’s Celtic Kitchen and my internal struggle – to eat or not to eat a bajillion slices?

Easy Irish Soda Bread at https://www.theeverykitchen.com
The crust is crispy and toasted perfectly, sitting right on top of the soft, chewy insides. Sweet, plump red currants. Just a touch sweet, but not too sweet that I can’t eat slice after slice after slice, with that airy baking soda taste. Do you know the taste I’m talking about? It’s light and mellow and addicting and I want to keep eating more bread, so I can taste that taste and figure it out.

Now go put the tea kettle on and eat! The bread is perfect on its own, so eat a slice plain. The bread is also perfect with butter, so eat a slice with butter too. And then, if you’re me, eat all the other slices in the loaf because, ya know, good bread gets old quickly. Wouldn’t want that to go to waste. No way, nuh uh! Must eat it ALL, NOW. Then wash it all down with a steaming cuppa Irish tea.

cat eating bread

KitKat likes it too. She’s just like her momma.

5 from 1 vote
Print

Easy Irish Soda Bread

You just need one bowl for this Easy Irish Soda Bread recipe. In about 90 minutes, you’ll want to have the kettle on for a cup of tea and the Irish butter getting soft on the counter, ready to enjoy slice after slice of soda bread. | Lightly adapted from The Food Network

Course Bread
Cuisine Irish
Keyword bread, irish, soda
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 2 loaves

Ingredients

  • 5 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups red currants may substitute raisins, soaked in water for 15 to 20 minutes and drained
  • 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 large egg slightly beaten

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter 2 (9 x 5-inch) bread pans.
  2. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut in the butter and mix very thoroughly with your hands until it gets grainy. Stir in currants.
  3. Add the buttermilk and egg to the flour mixture. Stir until well moistened. Shape dough into 2 loaves and place in the pans.
  4. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick poked into the center comes out dry. Cool in the pans for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
You just need one bowl for this Easy Irish Soda Bread recipe. In about 90 minutes, you’ll want to have the kettle on for a cup of tea and the Irish butter getting soft on the counter, ready to enjoy slice after slice of soda bread. | theeverykitchen.com

More from my site

  • Paleo Southern Biscuits + Life ThingsPaleo Southern Biscuits + Life Things
  • Fresh Irish Stout BreadFresh Irish Stout Bread
  • Southern-Style Strawberry Buttermilk BiscuitsSouthern-Style Strawberry Buttermilk Biscuits
  • Stout-Soaked Mushroom and Onion Cheddar ToastsStout-Soaked Mushroom and Onion Cheddar Toasts
  • Irish Apple Crumb Cake with Honey Whipped CreamIrish Apple Crumb Cake with Honey Whipped Cream
  • Irish Cream Cupcakes with Pistachio Swiss MeringueIrish Cream Cupcakes with Pistachio Swiss Meringue

Filed Under: bread and breakfast, favorites, holiday dishes, saint patrick's day, snacks and appetizers, sweet breakfast Tagged With: baking soda, bread, buttermilk, currants, irish, raisins, red currants, soda bread

Previous Post: « Spiced Pork Posole
Next Post: In the Kitchen with Mom: Classic Pastrami Reuben »

Reader Interactions

Lemon Feta Chicken Sliders

The secret to my recipe for Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey's Buttercream is to reduce the stout first to give you a deeply malted and moist crumb. The frosting adds just enough excitement without stealing the show and the end result is a cake you can't resist eating... even for breakfast! | theeverykitchen.com

Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream

My recipe for Sheet Pan Salmon, Bok Choy, and Sweet Potato Noodles takes only 20 minutes, start to finish. Tender, buttery, perfectly prepared salmon will make you salivate before it melts in your mouth. | theeverykitchen.com

Sheet Pan Salmon, Bok Choy, and Sweet Potato Noodles

Toasted Pistachio Orange Biscotti is well-balanced with citrus notes. Toasty, a-little-bit-salty pistachios really steal the show. This recipe pairs well with a large pot of coffee. | theeverykitchen.com

Toasted Pistachio Orange Biscotti

Rum Pumpkin Praline Pie is the perfect combination of light and boozy, sweet and salty. A store-bought crust makes this recipe practically effortless. #boozy #pie #dessert | theeverykitchen.com
Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip with Candied Pecans is the perfect appetizer recipe for all your fall gatherings. It takes just 10 minutes to prep and makes enough to feed a crowd. #glutenfree #appetizer #holidayrecipe | theeverykitchen.com
Easy Oven Tandoori Chicken has a sweet and smoky slow heat. The flavors may be complex, but the recipe is quite easy! #paleo #glutenfree #sugarfree | theeverykitchen.com
Make breakfast healthier, tastier, and more satisfying with simple swaps. Sweet Potato, Kale, Mushroom Hash features cholesterol-free corn oil. #ChooseMazola | theeverykitchen.com
The best thing about this recipe for Air Fryer Falafel Burgers? Toss up between that crisp crumb and the tender, hot chickpea exploding inside. | theeverykitchen.com

Comments

  1. Michael Heelan

    March 5, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    Made this as a kid for a school culture project. Didn’t look nearly as good as this. Enjoy!

    Reply
    • Danielle

      March 5, 2015 at 5:04 pm

      I AM enjoying it… too much of it! Thank you for the compliment!

      Reply
  2. Nancy

    March 5, 2015 at 9:09 pm

    Danielle,

    I love Irish Soda Bread, especially right out of the oven with butter and a cup of tea!!! I have made Irish soda bread every year as well as Brown Bread (yum). I’m going to use your recipe this year and I will let you know the results. Of course, I’m not as good a baker as you, so it may turn out a little different!!! xxooo

    Reply
    • Danielle

      March 6, 2015 at 6:55 am

      5 stars
      I’m sure it will turn out great! Do you have an easy recipe for Brown Bread? I might love Brown Bread even more than I love soda bread… but have failed at all my past attempts!! Can’t wait to hear hour your bread turns out!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Food Advertising by logo
Food Advertising by logo

About Danielle

Danielle is a registered dietitian and the story teller behind The Every Kitchen. Three things that inspire her: Her parent's kitchen table, the way food nurtures relationships and nourishes souls, damn good chocolate chip cookies. EVERY KITCHEN has a story and Danielle shares them, one kitchen at a time. Read More…

Food Advertising by logo

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework