Irish Soda Bread
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This is an easy Irish soda bread recipe with a 5-minute preparation and no kneading skills required! This yeast-free dough is perfect for beginner bakers and busy families!
Soda bread (Irish: arán sóide) is a traditional Irish bread. The dough for this bread doesn’t use yeast, but bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) which is the rising agent here.
No mixer and no proofing are needed to make a loaf of this brown soda bread. It’s so easy that it makes a great baking project for kids as well.
It is a perfect choice for those who want to try and make homemade bread but are put off by the long process that needs to be followed for yeast based breads. This Irish soda bread is quick to make and tastes amazing!
We love this brown soda bread lightly toasted with butter and homemade preserves (Low Sugar Strawberry Jam is our favorite as well as Mixed Berry Jam).
But because it is not sweet, it goes also well with creamy soups like Zucchini Soup or Potato Leek Soup (which is so easy to make in a pressure cooker!).
How to make Irish soda bread
Wholemeal and all-purpose flour are combined with salt and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. I have a 4.25-quart (4-liter) Mason Cash bowl that I love for making Irish brown soda bread.
It’s wide enough so you can form a dough easily by hands, without having to transfer it onto a worktop. Now that being said, if you end up with a softer dough, it will be easier to shape it into a loaf on a worktop rather than in a bowl.
Now, give all those 4 ingredients a good stir before you add buttermilk. Then, all you have to do is mix everything – start with a wooden spoon and finish it off with your hands.
You don’t need to knead it. You want to shape it into a loaf. Then, place it onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and brush the soda bread loaf with egg wash.
Baking should not take long – only about 30 minutes so you can easily make a loaf of this Irish soda bread on a weeknight.
Tips for making the best Irish soda bread
- Buttermilk can be substituted with kefir or natural yogurt (for example, I sometimes use Instant Pot Yogurt to make this soda bread and you can’t taste any difference). The only difference will be in the dough – buttermilk is thinner so your dough will be softer, while yogurt/kefir dough will be harder.
- I used 2 cups of liquid for 4 cups of flour. If you feel that your dough is dry or hard, don’t be afraid to add a little bit more liquid. This can be because a cup of flour never weighs the same and sometimes you might end up with adding more flour, while other time less.
- If you feel that you added too much liquid, you can knead in some flour.
- Baking time can vary slightly (every oven bakes differently), but count with about 25 minutes (at 400° Fahrenheit/200° Celsius). What you are looking for is a nice golden brown top and if still not sure, you can turn the soda bread loaf upside down and tap it. It should make a hollow sound and the crust should be brown as well.
- Egg is only used to brush the surface of this brown soda bread before baking. This gives it a nice golden color. However, you can omit it, if you prefer.
- Traditionally, you would make a cross with a knife on top of the loaf, but you don’t have to do it. It won’t change its taste.
If you like this Irish brown soda bread recipe, you might also like other Irish Recipes on our blog like Full Irish Breakfast or Irish Colcannon.
Note: This Irish brown soda bread is an old post that has been updated with new photos and detailed instructions with lots of useful tips.
Check out our video for how to make Irish brown soda bread:
Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 grams)
- 2 cups wholemeal flour (260 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups buttermilk , see note 1
- 1 egg for brushing (small)
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit (200° Celsius).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine both flours, salt and baking soda. Give everything a good mix until well combined.
- Pour in buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon until the flour has absorbed all the liquid. Now, use your hands to form a dough. You can do this either in the bowl or by transferring the dough onto a floured worktop (if the dough is thicker, you might need to knead it to come together 2 or 3 times).
- Transfer the loaf onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and brush with egg wash (beaten egg).
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400° Fahrenheit (200° Celsius) for 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown on top and the bottom is hard (brown as well).
- When ready, take it out and let it cool down before slicing.
Video
Notes
- Buttermilk can be substituted with kefir or natural yogurt or unsweetened Greek yogurt. If your yogurt is thick, then you can mix it with regular milk to thin it out a little. You might need more/less liquid. This is because a cup of flour never weighs the same so sometimes you may end up with more flour while other time less. What you are after is dough that is not too thick (a thick loaf would be dry looking and hard to put together) nor too thin (you can’t form a loaf out of it as it spreads all over the baking sheet). That being said, this dough is quite forgiving so don’t worry about how it looks.
- Baking time can vary slightly. This will depend on your oven. I recommend placing the loaf onto the middle rack (avoid the top rack).
How much is 2 cups of buttermilk?
Hi Ann, it’s about 500ml.
Wonderful and easy recipe. The result is amazing. Like a soda bread from Bewleys in Grafton Street 😊
Thanks so much for your comment, Roelof! It means a lot! :)
Can you cut this recipe in half?
I have not done it, but I don’t see why not. You will just get a smaller loaf which might not need as much time in the oven as this recipe calls for. Hope this helps, Winnie.
just returned from Ireland and can’t wait to make this bread to remember the good bread we had there. Is there oatmeal in soda bread sometimes and is whole wheat flour the same as wholemeal flour?
Hi Kelly. Yes, whole wheat and wholemeal is the same. As for the oatmeal, I know some recipes do use it. I don’t.
I love this recipe. The loaf has always turnec out great.
Thanks so much for your comment, Catherine!
I’ve made this recipe half a dozen times in the past two weeks. Tastes very similar to the Dunnes brown soda bread…makes me feel like I’m still on vacation. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
You are welcome, Jessica! And thanks so much for your feedback and rating!
I have bought the ingredients except have bought plain flour instead of all purpose flour – will this make a difference or should I g and try and get some all purpose flour. The other flour is the correct one and I will use baking soda buttermilk and salt. Please help with the plain flour before I start. Thank you so much
Hi Rachel. Plain flour in the UK/Ireland is the same as All-purpose in the US.
Sadly, mine did not turn out as expected. I used rye instead of wheat flour and AP flour. Also no buttermilk so made some with 2% and vinegar.
Prior to baking, it looked like your pic. After 30 minutes, it looked like yours. Unfortunately, after total cooling there was a golf ball sized hole in the middle AND it was not cooked through.
Trying to recover by baking the halves in a 350o oven for 12-15 minutes.
Taste wise, this is wonderful flavour. The cooking time was wrong–either because of the rye (doubt it) or possible the “fake” buttermilk.
Not fair to really give a bad rating BUT I give it a 3 (based on personal results) BUT a 4 for the recipe itself because of my alterations.
I will try again at a later date.
Hi Len. This recipe is tested with with an equal combo of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour. Substituting this with rye flour only will not only change its texture but it can also cause other issues (perhaps like those you mentioned). The best is stick to the recipe!
Beautiful bread and very simple recipe, perfect just like you’d find in any Irish restaurant
Thank you for your feedback, Micheal!