Traditional Irish Soda Bread

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Irish soda bread here in the U.S. almost always has a lot of sugar, raisins and caraway seed.  Although some traditional Irish soda breads do have the seed, they are not sweet, but rather savory breads.  Goes great with Irish Coddle or Potato Soup!

 Here’s What you Need:

• 3 cups flour (you can use gluten free flour without adjusting anything else)
• 2 Tablespoons of white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• ½ cup melted Irish butter (regular will work, but Irish is better) – plus 2 Tablespoons for the top
• 1 egg
• 1 ¼ cup buttermilk  (you can also use ¾ cup buttermilk and ½ cup Irish stout beer)

 Here’s How you Do it:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients well.  Beat the egg and add it and the buttermilk to the flour.  Gently mix.

Still in the melted butter, mixing well, but not over mixing.

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The dough will be VERY sticky – DO NOT TRY TO KNEAD IT!  Like muffin dough, the more you mix it, the tougher the bread becomes.

Turn the dough out into a bread pan or, as I used, a round ceramic casserole pan.  Keep it round if you can.

Carefully pour the last 2 Tablespoons of melted butter over the top and put into the oven.

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Bake for 30-40 minutes – checking at 30 for doneness (put in a knife – if it comes out clean, it’s done).  You can rub a little butter on the top while it’s still hot – but just a little!

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Carefully remove from the pan and allow to cool before serving.

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Serve with Irish Coddle or Irish Potato Soup ^[14]!

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Print ^[8]

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Course: baking, bread

Cuisine: Irish

Keyword: bread, irish, st patricks day, traditional

Servings: 1 loaf

Author: HelenFern

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 2 Tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup PLUS - 2 Tablespoons (for the top) melted butter (Irish butter is the best)
• 1 large egg
• 1-1/4 cup buttermilk (You can also use 3/4 cup buttermilk & 1/2 cup Irish stout beer)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix the dry ingredients well.  Beat the egg and add it and the buttermilk to the flour.  Gently mix.

3. Stir in the melted butter, mixing well, but not over mixing.

4. Turn the dough out into a bread pan or, as I used, a round ceramic casserole pan.  Keep it round if you can.

5. Carefully pour the last 2 Tablespoons of melted butter over the top and put into the oven.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes – checking at 30 for doneness (put in a knife – if it comes out clean, it’s done).  You can rub a little butter on the top while it's still hot - but just a little!

7. Carefully remove from the pan and allow to cool before serving.

Recipe Notes

The dough will be VERY sticky – DO NOT TRY TO KNEAD IT!  Like muffin dough, the more you mix it, the tougher the bread becomes.

Leave me a comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts –