Our Irish Soda Bread Recipe combines basic ingredients in one bowl for a loaf of sweet and delicious quick bread.
This soda bread is made with milk making it a recipe using basic kitchen ingredients you have on hand.
So easy to make, our soda bread without buttermilk will become your go-to recipe from here on. It really is the Best Irish Soda Bread Recipe, in my humble opinion.
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Best Irish Soda Bread
Thirty five years ago, yes, a very long time ago, I came across what would become my absolute favorite Irish soda bread recipe when the oldest of my four sons ventured off to nursery school.
St. Paul’s Nursery School in Montvale, New Jersey, compiled simple recipes in a little cookbook that the three year olds would make together at school with their teacher.
This is where I came across this delicious recipe for Irish soda bread with raisins that is so easy even a preschooler could make it, with a bit of supervision, of course!
I have been making this easy Irish soda bread ever since, with some variations every now and then.
This raisin quick bread tastes delicious warm or at room temperature, with butter or cream cheese.
Feel free to use dark raisins or golden raisins. You can even substitute dried cranberries or currants for the raisins.
For extra flavor, add orange zest to the bread dough. It will be a delicious addition to the recipe!
Irish soda bread made without yeast is a quick bread which means you can just stir everything together and bake! No waiting for the yeast to proof and the dough to rise.
Our soda quick bread is especially delicious the next day, toasted, with a cup of Irish tea for breakfast. Makes me so happy to be Irish!
This recipe is adapted from St. Paul's Nursery School "We like to cook" cookbook.
I still have the original St. Paul's Nursery School "We like to cook" cookbook from over thirty years ago!
As you can clearly see, this sweet little cookbook has spent a lot of time in my kitchen over the years!
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Irish Soda Bread FAQ’s
Soda bread made with milk
Most Irish soda breads are made with buttermilk but this recipe uses milk so you won’t have to run out to buy buttermilk or make homemade buttermilk. I love that you will most likely have all of these ingredients on hand in your kitchen.
What is Irish soda bread?
Traditionally, Irish soda bread is an unleavened bread that is typically dense. Ingredients include buttermilk, flour, salt, sugar and baking soda instead of yeast.
What can I substitute for raisins?
Don’t have raisins? Feel free to substitute any other dried fruit that you have in your pantry, such as:
- currants
- dates, chopped
- dried apricots, chopped
- dried cherries, chopped
- dried cranberries
- dried mango, chopped
- ditted prunes, chopped
How to make the best Irish soda bread recipe
Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below
- Preheat your oven to 325F and spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
- Combine flour, sugar, raisins, baking powder, caraway seeds, salt and baking soda.
- Add milk and egg stirring until a dough forms.
- Wet hand with cold water or coat them with cooking spray, then shape dough into a round loaf.
- Transfer dough to prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes.
- Using a serrated knife, cut 1/2-inch deep “X” into the top of the bread. Brush top with melted butter.
- Bake until loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about an additional 30 minutes.
- Cool on a baking rack. Serve at room temperature, warm or toasted.
Swirls of Flavor Recipe Tips
- Add your favorite dried fruit in place of the raisins
- Chopped crystallized ginger would be a delicious addition to this bread
- Stir orange zest into the bread dough
Make Two Small Loaves
- You can bake this recipe in two 8-inch x 4-inch loaf pans to make two small loaves of soda bread.
- Spray the pans with cooking spray and divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans.
- Bake at 325F for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pans and then transfer the loaves to a wire rack and cool completely.
Storage
- Wrap your soda bread in plastic wrap or in foil
- Homemade soda bread will stay fresh for 3-4 days
- This bread freezes well. Just be sure to double wrap it in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil.
Ingredients
Ingredients for soda bread without buttermilk
- flour
- granulated sugar
- raisins
- baking powder
- caraway seeds
- kosher salt
- baking soda
- milk
- egg
- butter
Quick Bread Recipes
- Homemade Bread Without Yeast
- Bacon Cheddar Bread
- Beer Bread with Roasted Garlic
- Cheese Beer Bread from Jersey Girl Cooks
- Irish Brown Bread Recipe from Everyday Eileen
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Chocolate Chip Mint Brownies is an easy dessert recipe for your Saint Patrick’s Day celebration! Top warm homemade brownies with Andes mint candy, let them melt, then smooth out for an easy one ingredient mint frosting!
Irish Soda Bread Recipe
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Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup raisins , dark and/or golden raisins
- 1 Tablespoon. + 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon caraway seeds , optional
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 egg , lightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons butter , melted
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Coat 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
- In large bowl combine flour, sugar, raisins, baking powder, caraway seeds, salt and baking soda.
- Stir in milk and egg until a dough forms.
- To prevent dough from sticking to your hands, either wet them with cold water or coat them with cooking spray, then shape dough into round loaf.
- Transfer to prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes.
- Using serrated knife, cut 1/2-inch deep “X” into top of bread. Brush with melted butter.
- Bake additional 30 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool on baking rack. Serve warm, at room temperature or toasted.
Notes
Recipe adapted from St. Paul’s Nursery School “We like to cook” cookbook.Swirls of Flavor Recipe Tips
- Add your favorite dried fruit in place of the raisins
- Chopped crystallized ginger would be a delicious addition to this bread
- Stir orange zest into the bread dough
- Wrap your soda bread in plastic wrap and then in foil
- Homemade soda bread will stay fresh for 2-3 days
- This bread freezes well. Just be sure to double wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil.
- You can bake this recipe in two 8-inch x 4-inch loaf pans and make two small loaves of soda bread.
- Spray the pans with cooking spray and divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans.
- Bake at 325F for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pans and then transfer the loaves to a wire rack and cool completely.
