Super Simple Irish Soda Bread

This easy Irish soda bread requires only 5 minutes of hands-on time to stir together flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, one egg, buttermilk, and butter. It emerges from the oven with the perfect crumb. No yeast used! Ready in 1-hour. Video guidance below! ☘️☘️☘️☘️

I was all set to complicate Irish soda bread by making a yeasted version when I started looking into its history and discovered that the soda — the baking soda — is perhaps the most traditional part of the bread, much more so than butter, sugar, eggs and raisins, in fact, which likely entered the equation when the bread crossed the pond.

Inspired by that article, I made a traditional loaf of soda bread with flour, salt, buttermilk, and baking soda, leaving out the yeast. And while it was perfectly edible, I found myself missing the richness of eggs and sugar —missing the scone-like texture created by the addition of butter…what can I say, I’m American!

And so here, I’ve added a bit of the riches back in: one egg, one tablespoon of sugar, and a couple of tablespoons of melted butter, which produces a loaf that resembles a giant biscuit, especially delicious toasted and slathered with softened butter and marmalade.

No yeast? No problem! If you like easy bread recipes, look no further.

This post is organized as follows:

• Irish Soda Bread, Two Ways
• Sourdough Discard Irish Soda Bread
• Cast Iron Skillets & Other Baking Vessels
• Homemade Buttermilk
• Irish Soda Bread in 4 Simple Steps

Irish Soda Bread, Two Ways

There are two recipes below, one that calls for 100% all-purpose flour and one that calls for a mix of whole wheat, all-purpose, and wheat germ, the latter of which produces a slightly denser but no less delicious, chewy, tangy loaf. Each dough takes about 5 minutes to mix together and each will be ready about an hour later.

Can I use Sourdough Discard in this Irish Soda Bread Recipe?

Yes! To do so, replace 50 grams of the flour and 50 grams of the buttermilk with 100 grams of discarded sourdough starter. See notes in the recipe box for precise proportions. I made a video of how use sourdough discard in this Irish Soda Bread recipe here:

Here’s another favorite sourdough discard recipe: Sourdough Flour Tortillas.

Do I have to use a Cast Iron Skillet?

No. Any oven-safe, 8- to 9-inch baking dish (such as a pie plate) will work here. A shallow dish is best to allow air to circulate. You could even use a rimmed sheet pan.

Homemade Buttermilk

In quick bread recipes (and others) that call for baking soda, some sort of acid is required to react with the baking soda to allow it to leaven the bread — this is why the buttermilk is essential. Can’t find buttermilk or don’t have it on hand? Make it yourself! Here’s how to make 1.75 cups of buttermilk for this recipe:

1. Place 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice in a 2-cup liquid measure.
2. Fill cup with milk (2% or whole is best) until it reaches the 1.75-cup line.
3. Let stand for five to 10 minutes. Stir. Use as directed.

Here’s another favorite quick bread recipe that calls for both buttermilk and baking soda: Mrs. Myers’s Banana Bread.

Irish Soda Bread in 4 Simple Steps

• 1. Whisk together the dry ingredients.

• 2. Add the wet ingredients: a mix of buttermilk, melted butter, and egg.

• 3. Form into a ball using floured hands, transfer to a cast iron skillet (or other similarly sized baking vessel), and score:

• 4. Bake until golden.

When cool enough to handle, slice it up.

Slather with butter or orange marmalade.

Love this Argyle Cheese Farmer buttermilk:

This is the soda bread when made with a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour as well as wheat germ:

Whole grain soda bread, sliced:

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