Recipe for Best Irish Soda Bread

Are you looking for an easy recipe for best Irish soda bread this St. Patricks day? You should try making this simple and traditional recipe!

This recipe for best Irish soda bread uses four simple and traditional ingredients and makes the texture of the bread super soft and spongy. It tastes incredible if you slather some butter on top or dip it into some hearty chili, stove top beef stew or chicken noodle soup.

Reasons you'll love this recipe

• EASY: This Irish soda bread is simple to make with just a few basic ingredients.
• QUICK: This soda bread recipe doesn’t require any yeast so you don’t have to wait around for the bread to rise. Eliminating the yeast makes this bread recipe very quick compared to most bread recipes. You also don’t need to knead the dough a lot, in fact its better if you don’t!
• TRADITION: This is a traditional Irish soda bread because it uses traditional ingredients including flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. This recipe also marks a cross on the top of the bread; a signature appearance for an Irish soda bread. Apart from potatoes, green beers, and shepherd’s pie, Irish soda bread is one of St. Patrick's Day's most classic and traditional recipes!

Ingredients

• FLOUR: This recipe uses all-purpose flour, but whole wheat flour is also popular in traditional soda bread. Use 3 cups. 
• BAKING SODA: Baking soda will react with the buttermilk in this recipe and help the bread rise. Use 1 teaspoon.
• SALT: Salt will help elevate and enhance the flavour of the bread. Use ¾ of a teaspoon. 
• BUTTERMILK: The buttermilk and baking soda reacting together creates an active agent that helps the bread rise. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can learn how to make your own buttermilk with milk and lemon. Use 1 and a ½ cups.

Kitchen tools to help you

• MIXING BOWL: Use a medium sized mixing bowl to make the dough in. 
• LARGE SPOON: Use a large spoon to combine the dough ingredients. A large wooden spoon works perfect, but you can also just use a larger metal spoon or even your hands!
• BAKING SHEET: All you need is a baking sheet to bake the bread. 
• MEASURING SPOONS AND CUPS: For measuring the ingredients. 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F or 190° C.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. 
3. Create a well in the middle and pour in the buttermilk. 
4. Using a spoon, gently mix the ingredients together until the dough is slightly combined. 
5. Generously flour a surface and roll the dough out onto it. 
6. Gently knead the bread a few times, just until it begins to form a ball. *Do not over knead your bread.
7. Gently transfer to a greased baking sheet and cut a  cross or “X” on the top of the bread. 
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Wait a few minutes before cutting the bread.
   

Recipe Tips

• Generously flour your workstation. To avoid the dough sticking to your workstation (such as your countertop, tabletop, or cutting board), sprinkle a lot of flour on it before you start kneading the dough. 
• Avoid making hard and dry bread. In order to make moist, soft, and spongy soda bread, avoid over-kneading the dough or adding too much flour to it. Sticky dough is a good thing for this recipe!
• Make your own buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can simply make your own buttermilk using milk and lemon. 
• Irish soda bread doesn’t have a long shelf life. This bread is most fresh and should be consumed within the first couple days of making it. 

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