Soda bread

A rustic round loaf with a craggy crust and a tender, tangy crumb, made without yeast. It comes together in minutes.

Soda bread

Irish soda bread (58 of 68) (cropped): Wheeler Cowperthwaite, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Where it comes from

Soda bread is a staple of Irish home baking. Baking soda reacts with buttermilk to raise the loaf, so no waiting for yeast to rise is needed.

Explore the cuisine of Ireland.

Recipe

Make Soda bread at home

Serves 1 loafTime 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour (or half whole wheat)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 3/4 cups (420 ml) buttermilk, plus a little extra
  • Flour for dusting

How it's made

  1. Heat the oven to 425 F (220 C) and flour a baking tray.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Make a well and pour in the buttermilk.
  4. Mix quickly with your hand into a soft, slightly sticky dough; do not overwork.
  5. Shape into a round about 2 inches (5 cm) tall and set on the tray.
  6. Cut a deep cross in the top.
  7. Bake 15 minutes, lower to 400 F (200 C) and bake 25 to 30 minutes until it sounds hollow when tapped.

Variations

  • Brown soda bread with whole wheat flour and oats.
  • Fruit soda bread with raisins.
  • Soda farls: cooked on a griddle.

Cook’s tip: No buttermilk? Stir 1 tbsp lemon juice into regular milk and let sit 10 minutes.

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About this page

Description and method written by Intercontinental Chef. Home-style method; quantities are a starting point, so adjust to taste.

Photo credit
  • Irish soda bread (58 of 68) (cropped): Wheeler Cowperthwaite, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)