Traditional Irish Soda Bread

5 from 3 votes

Traditional Irish Soda Bread is possibly the easiest, fastest bread to make. No yeast, no mixer, no rising - just a bowl, a rubber spatula and a few measuring utensils and in about 10 minutes or less you have a delicious loaf of bread ready for the oven.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Irish

Keyword: Traditional Irish Soda Bread, soda bread, easy to make

Servings:

Calories: 188kcal

Author: Helen S Fletcher

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (280 grams)
1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour (245 grams)
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup currants or raisins
1 tablespoon caraway seed
1 teaspoon orange rind
2 cups buttermilk

Instructions

If using raisins instead of currants, soak them in hot water. Squeeze them very dry when using. Grate the orange rind and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Combine both flour, the salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
Add the currants or raisins to the dry ingredients. Rub them together with the flour. The currants may take a bit more effort to separate them if they are stuck together.
Mix in the caraway seed and orange rind into the rest of the ingredients.
Pour the buttermilk over and using a rubber spatula with a folding motion, combine the buttermilk and dry ingredients completely.
Lightly flour your work surface and shape into a ball. Place on the parchment paper.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until a tester comes out clean.
Cool the bread on a rack.
The bread may be stored at room temperature in a plastic bag for several days or it can be frozen for longer storage. Thaw it on the counter. Refresh in a 350°F oven, wrapped in foil with a hole left at the top for about 20 minutes.

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour.

Be sure to use buttermilk or if that is not on hand, substitute milk by remove 1 tablespoon milk for every cup and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar. Let it sit while the rest of the recipe is prepared. As it sits it will curdle which is fine.

For a basic loaf, just omit the currants, caraway seed, and orange rind.

Although the dough may be made with only all-purpose flour, it will not have the depth of flavor as that made with part whole wheat flour.

If using raisins instead of currants, be sure to soak them in very hot water while the rest of the ingredients are gathered. Squeeze them very dry before adding them to the flour. Mix them in as for currants.

Make sure to use baking soda not baking powder.

I don't cut a cross in this bread as is traditional because the loaf becomes mis-shapen no matter how shallow the cut.

Nutrition