Did you know that Irish Soda Bread is made without yeast? Irish Soda Bread rises because of baking soda, thus the name.
St. Patrick’s Day is coming up soon and all of us will embrace any Irish ancestry we can find in our lineage, even if we have to go back many generations to find it. My husband and I both have Irish ancestors. He comes from a noble line; my ancestors are Black Irish.
For us, St. Patrick’s Day is a day to pass on a little of our heritage as well as celebrate the life of St. Patrick.We read books about St. Patrick and read St. Patrick’s prayer at dinner. You can find aFree Printable St. Patrick’s Prayer here.
For dinner, we serve Corned Beef and Cabbage which is not a traditional Irish recipe, but it is a recipe that our Irish ancestors created and enjoyed after arriving in America.
This Irish Soda Bread recipe makes a lovely addition to Corned Beef and Cabbage, but it is so easy to make that it is a great bread recipe for whenever you want to quickly make bread without yeast.
Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 Tbsp butter, cold
1 cup raisins
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1¾ cups buttermilk
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper – alternatively, you can use a cast iron pan.
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
With two knives or a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is mixed in well then mix in raisins.
Create a well in the mixture and pour in your egg and buttermilk. Stir the dry ingredients into the liquid slowly with a wooden spoon until it is solid enough to kneed.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and kneed together to form a ball, careful not to over-kneed the dough. The dough should remain somewhat shaggy looking. If you are using a sheet pan the more circular the better as the bread will spread out a bit while baking.
Transfer the dough to your sheet pan and use a large knife to cut an X into the dough about 1 inch deep.
Bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. If you are using a cast iron pan it will most likely take 55 minutes as it takes longer to heat up than a baking sheet. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.
Remove to a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Printable Recipe for Irish Soda Bread
Print
Irish Soda Bread Recipe
An easy Quick Bread recipe that does not require yeast to rise.
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Keyword Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 55 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Author Alea Milham
Ingredients
4cupsflour
4Tbspsugar
1tspsalt
1tspbaking soda
4Tbspbuttercold
1cupraisins
1large egglightly beaten
1¾cupsbuttermilk
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper - alternatively, you can use a cast iron pan.
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
With two knives or a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is mixed in well then mix in raisins.
Create a well in the mixture and pour in your egg and buttermilk. Stir the dry ingredients into the liquid slowly with a wooden spoon until it is solid enough to kneed.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and kneed together to form a ball, careful not to over-kneed the dough. The dough should remain somewhat shaggy looking. If you are using a sheet pan the more circular the better as the bread will spread out a bit while baking.
Transfer the dough to your sheet pan and use a large knife to cut an X into the dough about 1 inch deep.
Bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. If you are using a cast iron pan it will most likely take 55 minutes as it takes longer to heat up than a baking sheet. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.
Remove to a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Thanks to Elizabeth of Frugal Mom Eh! for sharing her recipe with me. This was originally published on February 21, 2016, and updated on March 14, 2021.
Cover and bake until well risen and golden, 45 minutes. Remove lid and continue baking until chestnut brown, with an internal temperature of 210°F (99°C), 12 to 15 minutes longer.
You spent too much time kneading the dough. Baking soda starts to react and release its gas as soon as it comes into contact with the sour milk. Take too long and the gas will escape before the bread is baked.
You're looking for a dough that's soft but not overly sticky or wet, and that holds together enough to make a loaf that can hold its shape on the sheet pan. If the dough is dry and crumbly, add up to 1/2 cup additional buttermilk, a tablespoon or so at a time, until it comes together.
Not preheating your oven long enough will mean thst it isn't hot enough to get a good rise. Make sure the oven is up to temperature before you begin mixing the dough. Using a baking stone for good bottom heat will help your bread rise, but it needs at least 45 minutes to soak up the heat of the oven.
If you've ever tried Irish soda bread and not liked it, don't go running off yet! Chances are good that the bread you ate suffered from one of three common problems: improper amount of baking soda (a gross, salty-bitter taste), over cooking (a dry, chalky texture), or undercooking (a soggy, doughy center).
Your oven is too hot if it is uncooked in the center. Try lowering the temp on your oven by 25F and extending the bake time. Don't put anything on the top of the bread to aid in browning until the last few min. of cooking, and use an instant read thermometer (target temp to pull is 190F).
The Southern Irish regions bake their loaves in a classic round fashion and cut a cross on top of the bread. This was done for superstitious reasons, as families believed a cross on top of the bread would let the fairies out or ward off evil and protect the household.
You don't have to wait hours or overnight for a rise, either. In fact, you don't even need to wait at all: Dough for Irish soda bread can go right into the oven after making.
Irish Soda Bread is the easiest bread you'll make – no proofing or kneading required and the dough comes together in 5 minutes. Soda bread has a soft and tender crumb with a Biscuit-like texture.
What would make soda bread chewy or gummy? Too much liquid added, or it hasn't been baked enough. It should go on the top shelf of the oven and it should be baked for at least 30-35 minutes.
Although soda bread is ideal for serving at room temperature, it is better to serve it warm. The thick and cakey texture of the bread and warm temperature brings out its hearty flavors. If you can't have it fresh from the over at least have it toasted.
This versatile bread works for any meal, but Irish soda bread is a natural for breakfast, whether simply spread with (Irish) butter and jam or alongside that hearty fry-up known as a full Irish breakfast. It's also wonderful with a cup of tea in the afternoon or as a late-night snack.
Irish brown bread has a deep, nutty flavor because of its wheat flour and wheat bran while soda bread uses only white flour. Soda bread is slightly sweet and more scone-like while Irish brown bread is more savory with a tender interior.
Many people enjoy Irish soda bread with a generous spread of butter, which melts into the warm bread, making it even more delicious. However, you can also enjoy Irish soda bread at room temperature or even toasted. It can be sliced and toasted for breakfast or served alongside soups and stews.
Without enough acid to neutralize the soda, the bread will develop a jaundiced, yellow hue and will give off a bitter metallic wang that hangs in your nose and throat. Not appetizing at all, that wang. If you've had soda bread with too little acid it's understandable if you've lost interest.
Bake the bread for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean; the interior of the bread will measure 200°F to 210° on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bread from the oven, loosen its edges, and after 5 minutes turn it out onto a rack to cool.
Irish Soda Bread is a dense bread, similar to a scone, but can easily become dry if overmixed. Quickly add the wet ingredients to a well you've made in the dry ingredients, and mix with your hands or a dough hook until it just comes together.
Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.
(Some recipes call for yeast and kneading, but know this isn't required.) You don't have to wait hours or overnight for a rise, either. In fact, you don't even need to wait at all: Dough for Irish soda bread can go right into the oven after making.
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Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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