Irish Soda Bread is one of my favorite foods to have around March. I mean, there’s nothing quite like ringing it St. Patricks Day with some dense, chewy, buttered soda bread.
Can I make Irish Soda Bread without Buttermilk?
While most Irish Soda Breads require buttermilk, I have made this version with a buttermilk substitute (because sometimes I just want to make soda bread with what I have at home, dammit!).
To do that I just make a super easy substitute of whole milk and white vinegar!
So while this recipe requires 1 ¾ cups of buttermilk, to make the substitute you can use 1 ¾ cups whole milk with 1 ¾ tbs of white vinegar. Just add the vinegar to the milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
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Irish Soda Bread Ingredients
One of the best things about Irish Soda Bread is that it’s one of the few yeast-less breads. So if you’re a little scared of yeast, or you just want an easy bread to begin your bread journey, this one’s perfect for you!
Flour: We’ll be using King Arthur All Purpose flour for this recipe.
Baking soda: It is soda bread, after all.
Sugar: I just use ¼ cup here. It brings just a touch of sweetness without being overpowering.
Salt: For flavor.
Butter: I use cold, unsalted butter.
Buttermilk: Our buttermilk substitute.
Egg: Just one to add richness.
Raisins: It wouldn’t be Irish Soda Bread without raisins!
Now this is everything I use, but if you’re a fan of caraway seeds you can use a tablespoon or two.
How to Make Irish Soda Bread
This dough comes together very quick, but it can be a little sticky! You’ll be fine, but just wanted to warn you upfront.
Step 1: Preheat the oven (& do some prep).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and add a bit of parchment paper to a cast iron skillet. Set aside.
I also cut my cold butter into cubes and set that aside.
Step 2: Mix your dry ingredients.
Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar to a bowl and whisk to combine. Now add the cold, cubed butter and cut it into the flour. This means you want to incorporate the cold butter by using a cutter or even a fork (or your fingers!) to make sure the butter mixes well into the flour. Now add the raisins and stir to combine.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients.
Now add the buttermilk and egg. Use a spatula to combine everything, noticing that the dough may be a little sticky. This is NORMAL.
Step 4: Form your dough.
Now I like to switch to my hands and dump the dough onto a clean work surface. Using additional flour as needed, sprinkle some onto the dough (this will still be a bit sticky, this is OK!) and form the dough into a big ball as best as you can. Once you’ve made the ball, add it to the parchment paper-lined cast iron pan.
Step 5: Bake your bread.
Now, cut an ‘X’ into the top of the bread with a sharp knife and bake in the preheated oven for ~50-55 minutes. Remove and let sit for ~10 minutes before cutting.
Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 4.5 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 5 tbs cold butter cubed
- 1 ¼ cup raisins
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk *or sub 1 ¾ cup whole milk with 1 ¾ tbs white vinegar
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and add parchment paper to a cast iron skillet and set aside.
- Add the flour, salt, baking soda and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cold butter and cut into the flour, then add the raisins and stir to combine.
- Pour the buttermilk and one egg into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula to combine. The dough will be sticky — this is normal! Now, switch to your hands and pour the sticky dough on to a clean work surface.
- Grabbing a little extra flour, sprinkle some over the dough so that it's a bit easier to work with, and form into a ball. Add the ball to the cast iron and cut a small 'X' shape into the top with a sharp knife. Bake in the preheated over for ~50-55 minutes. Let cool ~10 minutes before cutting in!
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