Grandma's Sweet Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Soft and sweet Irish soda bread made with buttermilk. This recipe is straight from Grandma's recipe tin.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine irish

Keyword bread

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings people

Calories 304kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

Cast iron pan or dutch oven
Cheese grater

Ingredients

16 ounces all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 ounces granulated sugar
4 ounces currents or raisins
1 teaspoon caraway seed optional
2 large eggs room temperature
8 ounces buttermilk room temperature
4 ounces unsalted butter cold
1 tablespoon unsalted butter for greasing pans

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F
Lightly grease cast iron pan with unsalted butter
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl
Grate your cold butter into the dry ingredients
Sprinkle in caraway seeds and currants (or raisins). Mix together to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk.
Add buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon (or your hand) until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Place the dough on your workbench and fold 7-8 and shape it into a ball. Do not over-work the bread or it will be tough.
Dust the surface generously with flour and use a sharp knife to cut an x on top to allow the dough to spread and rise evenly.
Place the dough into the cast iron pan.
Bake for 1 hour and the top is golden brown or the internal temperature reads 190º-200ºF

Video

Notes

You can substitute buttermilk for regular milk plus 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar added

You can also use powdered buttermilk with water

For the best possible results, read through the blog post and recipe to avoid common mistakes.

Use a scale to weigh your ingredients (including liquids) unless otherwise instructed (Tablespoons, teaspoons, pinch etc). Metric measurements are available in the recipe card. Scaled ingredients are much more accurate than using cups and help ensure the success of your recipe.

Metric measurements (grams) are available by clicking the small box under the ingredients in the recipe card labeled “metric”

Practice Mise en Place (everything in it's place). Measure out your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready before you start mixing to reduce the chances of accidentally leaving something out.

Try to use the same ingredients as the recipe calls for. If you must make a substitution, be aware that the recipe may not come out the same. I try to list substitutions where possible.

Nutrition