I was recently “commissioned” to make a loaf of Irish soda bread for a competition this past week hosted by the Senate Armed Services Committee. My loaf was entered on behalf of the Joint Staff. The loaf ended up placing second. However, my loaf won the people’s choice award. Even the CMC Commandant of the Marine Corps, approved!
You can see he’s almost smiling, coming from a guy that never smiles, that’s your seal of approval right there! Additionally, notice the quantity of my loaf at the end of the event compared to everyone else’s.
Anyway, that’s the backstory to this soda bread. On to the recipe, provided you’re reading this at all.
Soda Bread Notes
The baking soda and buttermilk react to create air bubbles which provide the leavening for this bread. This fact is to emphasize that you need buttermilk here. I seldom keep buttermilk on hand but you can make your own easily. For this recipe, add the juice of one lemon to a measuring cup and fill it to 420 ml with regular milk. Skim milk can be used but the higher the fat content the better. Next, stir to combine and set in the fridge to keep cold while preparing the rest of the ingredients. If you would prefer a savory soda bread, see recipe here.
Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cubed butter to the flour mix and crumble into small pieces using a pastry cutter or your fingertips. Pieces should be roughly the size of a pea or smaller. Add the raisins and lemon zest to the mixture and stir to combine. Next, add the buttermilk and fold with a spatula until a rough dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and mix until all the flour is incorporated into the dough. Knead for 30 seconds and then form into a rough ball shape. Add flour to the mixture if the dough is too sticky to handle.
Shaping and Baking Notes
The goal is to add as little flour as you can to keep the texture light. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. I recommend stacking two baking sheets on top of each other. This is to protect the bottom of the loaf from getting too well done. A cast iron pan works really well here. Once the dough is on the pan, make two deep cuts in the bread, almost cutting it into quarters. This helps the center of the loaf get fully cooked.
Place in the oven for 40-50 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The loaf will be done when the internal temperature of the bread is 195 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, the bread will be golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean.
Next, remove loaf from the oven and let the loaf cool in the pan for ten minutes then transfer it to a wire rack. Serve warm with butter. The loaf is best eaten the day of but will last a day or two stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
Classic Irish Soda Bread
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet (2 stacked baking trays can also be used)
Ingredients
- 420 ml Buttermilk (1-¾ cups)
- 531 grams all-purpose (AP) flour (4-¼ cups)
- 38 grams granulated sugar (3 tbsp)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 70 grams Unsalted Butter, cold, cut into pieces
- 150 grams raisins (1 cup)
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
Soda Bread Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cast iron pan or baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the butter into small cubes and put back in the fridge to keep as cold as possible.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar. Whisk to combine.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture and using your fingers, crumble the butter until pieces are small, around the size of a pea.
- Add the lemon zest and raisins to the flour mixture and stir to combine
- Pour the buttermilk into the flour mixture and fold the dough with a spatula until dough is shaggy and roughly holds together.
- Turn the mixture out onto a floured work surface and knead until all the flour is incorporated. Add flour if dough is too sticky to work with.
- Shape dough into a rough ball. Place on the prepared cast iron or baking sheet.
- Using a bench scraper or knife, make two large cuts in the dough to almost divide the ball into quarters. Press the pieces back together gently and place in the oven to bake.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden and center of loaf is cooked. If you have an instant-read thermometer, the internal bread temperature will be 195 degrees Fahrenheit when cooked.
- Let cool in the pan for ten minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm with butter
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