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    Home » Recipes » Breads » Irish Soda Bread Recipe

    Irish Soda Bread Recipe

    Published: Mar 15, 2020 Modified: Feb 14, 2022 by GG

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    Irish Soda Bread
    Nursey School Irish Soda Bread is so easy to make that even a three year old can put it together, with a little help, of course! An easy recipe for St. Patrick's Day! bread | Irish | easy recipe | dinner
    Irish soda Bread

    Our Irish Soda Bread Recipe combines basic ingredients in one bowl for a sweet and delicious quick bread. This soda bread is made with milk making it a recipe using basic kitchen ingredients you have on hand.

    Best Irish Soda BreadRecipe in a basket with slices and butter

    Best Irish Soda Bread Recipe

    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.

    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!

    cover of nursery school cookbook

    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!

    I make commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

    Be sure to visit the Swirls of Flavor Amazon Storefront for GG's personal kitchen recommendations!

    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
    Whole round loaf of easy Irish Soda bread recipe

    How to make the best Irish soda bread recipe

    Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below

    1. Preheat your oven to 325F and spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
    2. Combine flour, sugar, raisins, baking powder, caraway seeds, salt and baking soda.
    3. Add milk and egg stirring until a dough forms.
    4. Wet hand with cold water or coat them with cooking spray, then shape dough into a round loaf.
    5. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes.
    6. Using a serrated knife, cut 1/2-inch deep “X” into the top of the bread. Brush top with melted butter.
    7. Bake until loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about an additional 30 minutes.
    8. 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 orang zest into the bread dough

    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 foil.
    Homemade Irish Soda Bread with slices and butter

    Ingredients for soda bread without buttermilk

    • flour
    • granulated sugar
    • raisins
    • baking powder
    • caraway seeds, optional
    • 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

    Saint Patrick's Day Recipes 

    Four recipes for Saint Patrick's Day dinner

    Guinness, brown sugar and horseradish mustard combine in your slow cooker and flavor your corned beef. Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Guinness Reduction cooks on it's own during the day for an easy Saint Patrick's Day dinner you can come home too!  

    Give your cabbage a face lift this Saint Patrick's Day with our Roasted Cabbage Wedges With Bacon recipe! Wedges of cabbage are seasoned and oven roasted to tender perfection, then sprinkled with crumbled crispy bacon and fresh parsley leaves.

    Colcannon With Kale And Leeks is an updated twist on the traditional Irish mashed potato recipe. Cabbage is replaced with the super food kale and buttery leeks flavor this creamy Irish potato dish.

    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 in basket
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    1.88 from 8 votes

    Irish Soda Bread Recipe

    Our Irish Soda Bread recipe combines basic ingredients in one bowl for a sweet and delicious quick bread. This soda bread is made with milk, and without buttermilk, making it a recipe using basic kitchen ingredients you have on hand.
    Course Breakfast, Brunch, Snack
    Cuisine Irish
    Keyword best Irish soda bread recipe, easy Irish soda bread, quick bread
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
    Servings 12
    Calories 295kcal
    Author Gwynn Galvin

    Ingredients

    • 4 cups flour
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 1 cup raisins , dark and/or golden raisins
    • 1 Tbs. + 2 tsp. baking powder
    • 1 Tbs. caraway seeds , optional
    • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
    • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
    • 1 1/2 cups milk
    • 1 egg , lightly beaten
    • 2 Tbs. butter , melted

    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
    Storage
    • 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.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 295kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 198mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 3mg
    First Published: March 16, 2013... Last Updated: February 14, 2022 for better readability and user experience

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    About GG

    Gwynn Galvin, known to many as GG, is the creative and talented chef and nutritionist behind Swirls of Flavor. Gwynn is an award-winning culinary professional with over twenty five years of recipe development, food styling, test kitchen management and culinary innovation experience. Gwynn's passion is gathering people around the table with her simple real food recipes to savor the moments together.

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    GG, owner and creator of Swirls of flavor website

    Hi there, I'm Gwynn, the creator of Swirls of Flavor. Welcome to my kitchen where delicious memories are made. My passion is bringing people together through food. I create easy, family friendly recipes made with fresh, simple ingredients. So come on in and gather round the table. Let's Cook, Share and Savor the Moments together.

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