Homemade Irish Soda Bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes    
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12

Irish soda bread is a delightful, rustic quick bread that rises thanks to baking soda instead of yeast. It boasts a gentle, buttery flavor, and you can choose to make it with or without currants, giving it a hint of sweetness if you like. Either way, you’re sure to fall head over heels for it! This recipe is perfect for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or simply enjoying any day of the year.

About Irish Soda Bread:

Authentic Irish soda bread is a delightful homemade treat that resembles buttermilk biscuits or scones. In Ireland, it’s simply referred to as “soda bread” since, well, it’s already there, no need for extra words! This bread is leavened with baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda) rather than yeast. The lovely woman who taught me the ropes of making soda bread, 🍞Moira, shared that this is how traditional soda bread has been made for centuries.

Here’s a fun tidbit: I spent some time studying in Virginia, County Cavan, Ireland, back in the nineties, where I first met Moira. She mentioned that while the flour used has evolved over the years, many Irish folks stuck with the softer white flour because making soda bread was so affordable, rather than switching to the newer hard wheat varieties. The classic ingredients for Irish soda bread include flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt, maybe even a sprinkle of caraway seeds if you’re feeling adventurous!🍞🍞🍞🍞

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (145 grams) currants
• 3 cups (420 grams) bread flour
• 1 cup (125 grams) cake flour
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar, optional
• 2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking soda
• 1 teaspoon (6 grams) kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cold
• 1 1/4 cups (310 milliliters) buttermilk cold

Directions:

Rehydrate the Currants:

1. Soak the currants in 1 cup of very hot tap water for 20 minutes.
2. Drain the currants well using a fine-mesh sieve and set them aside.

Prepare the Irish Soda Bread Dough:

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Lightly spray a 5-qt cast-iron Dutch oven with non-stick baking spray. Crisscross two 3-inch-wide strips of parchment paper inside the pot. Set it to the side while you prepare the dough. 
3. *See notes for baking without a Dutch oven.*
4. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to toss the bread flour, cake flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, kosher salt, and baking powder together for 1 minute or until well combined.
5. Next, shred the cold butter into the dry ingredients.
6. Use your fingers to break the butter into smaller pieces and coat it with the dry ingredients. The mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal when you're done.
7. Toss the drained currants into the butter-flour mixture until they are coated in the flour. 
8. Add the buttermilk to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
9. Use your hands to mix the buttermilk into the ingredients until it forms a very thick dough.
10. Scrape the dough onto your countertop and fold it over 2 times or until it holds together. If the dough is not holding together, add a 1/4 cup more buttermilk. 

Bake, then cool the Irish Soda Bread:

1. Press the dough into the prepared pan. Use a bench scraper or knife to mark a cross on the surface of the dough.
2. Bake the Irish soda bread uncovered in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 40 minutes. The loaf should sound hollow when you thump it and be a golden brown color.
3. Remove the pot (or pan) from the oven and cover the pot with its lid. You could drape a clean kitchen towel over the loaf if you baked the bread in a cake pan. 
4. Cool the bread, covered, for 20 minutes. 
5. Slice the warm loaf and spread salted butter or your favorite jam over the slices.

Tips & Notes:

• Start soaking the currants before measuring out the rest of the ingredients. By the time you're ready to start, they will be soft.
• Currants that aren't rehydrated become harder and chewier when you start baking them.
• The parchment paper in the pan isn't a must, but it does help remove the baked loaf from the pot later. 
• Cold butter is essential in this recipe because you want it to hold its shape after mixing it with the dry ingredients.
• Remember that once you add the buttermilk, your clock starts ticking. The baking soda reacts, and the longer it takes to get into the oven, the shorter your loaf will be. 
• Don't overmix the dough, or your bread will become tough as it bakes.
• You can sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cake flour over the loaf before baking for a prettier loaf after baking. 
• Covering the loaf after removing it from the oven softens the crust of Irish soda bread slightly. If you like the texture of a really crisp crust, you can skip that step.

Swaps and Substitutions:

• Use a 9 or 10-inch cake pan or bake the loaf free-form on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper instead of using a cast-iron Dutch oven.
• Use 4 cups (or 550 grams) of all-purpose flour instead of the bread and cake flours. The bread's texture will be more crumbly with the substitution.  
• Replace the buttermilk with an equal amount of plain Greek or regular yogurt, sour cream, or kefir. 
• Replace the currants with cranberries, raisins, or sultanas (golden raisins), or omit the fruit completely.  

Storage Instructions:

• Transfer leftovers to an airtight container.
• Store the bread at room temperature for 3 days. 
• Reheat slices in the toaster to give them that freshly baked flavor. 

Freezing Instructions:

• Allow the loaf to cool completely.
• Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and then in a freezer storage bag.
• Freeze the bread for 2 months. 
• You can thaw the frozen loaf at room temperature, then slice and reheat using your preferred method.