Irish Soda Bread
Learn how to make 4 Ingredient Irish Soda Bread in under an hour! This easy no yeast bread is perfect for beginners and pairs perfectly with soups and stews.
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
I always use Kosher salt in my kitchen! If using table salt, start with half the amount and adjust to taste, as it is much "saltier" by volume.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and grease or line a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Alternatively, you can line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt and sifted baking soda.
- Stir in 1 ¼ cups of the buttermilk with a spoon. If the dough is too stiff stir in the remaining buttermilk. The dough will be shaggy and lightly tacky, not sticky. Pour it out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead it until it comes together.
- Shape into a ball and transfer to the prepared skillet.
- Score with a sharp knife about ½ inch deep. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Bump the temperature down to 375°F and bake for another 25 minutes.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Buttermilk Substitute - If you don't have buttermilk, you can make a quick version by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 ¾ cup of regular milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes before using.
- Don't overwork the dough. Unlike yeast bread, you do not want to develop gluten here. Knead just enough to hold its shape, or the bread will turn out tough.
- Sift your flour and baking soda together. Baking soda tends to clump, so sifting it will eliminate the possibility of biting into a bitter spot in your bread.
- Score your bread! Scoring the bread isn't just for looks, it allows the steam to escape, preventing the bread from creating its own spot to release the steam.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!