Irish Soda Bread Recipe
With all of the Irish pubs in Chicago and the consequent massive amounts of Guinness and Jameson consumed, I should be some sort of leading expert on Irish food by now. The fact is, I’ve never had soda bread in the traditional sense before.
The base recipe is probably similar, but the brown bread served with Irish beef stews in this, the city that dyes its rivers green, always has raisins. The addition of dried fruit makes a spotted dog or spotted dick, an appropriately named Irish soda bread variation.
That being said, add a handful of raisins to the following recipe and you get a spotted dick.
Unfortunately, I was giggling like an idiot while writing that.
To get the right texture and tenderness in your soda bread, use coarsely milled whole wheat flour with a low protein content. Here are a few options, in order of desirability:
- Irish-style whole wheat flour
- two parts whole wheat pastry flour to one part coarsely ground wheat flakes, as suggested in the original recipe
- graham flour
- stone ground whole wheat pastry flour
- traditional whole wheat flour
recipe adapted from Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes
Bread Baking Day #18: Quick Breads hosted by Fun & Food
Irish Soda Bread Recipe
makes one round loaf, about 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams coarse whole wheat flour 1 3/4 cups 8.0 225 pastry flour 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp 2.6 75 baking soda 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 tsp sugar (optional) 1/2 tsp powdered milk (optional) 4 tsp buttermilk, room temp 1 cup + 2 tbsp 9.3 262
Directions:
Preheat Oven 475ºF / 245ºC
Prepare a sheet pan lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Mix Dry Ingredients
Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk
until thoroughly mixed.
Pour the buttermilk and mix using a rubber spatula
only until thoroughly moistened, taking care to
prevent over-mixing. The dough should be sticky but
not runny.
Pan Deposit the dough onto the lined sheet pan. Roughly
shape into a round by cupping the dough with lightly
floured hands while rotating. Start from the sides of
the dough towards the bottom, palms up, repeating as
necessary.
Lightly dust the top of the shaped loaf with flour.
Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough about
3/4 of the way through into 4 equal sections.
Bake 475ºF / 245ºC for 15 minutes. Rotate the sheet pan and
immediately lower the heat to 450ºF / 230ºC. Bake for
another 15 minutes, until the ridges are well-browned.
To Serve:
Irish soda bread is best eaten the day it is made. Serve with butter, marmalade, jam, honey, or cream cheese.
Is Irish soda bread supposed to look like a four-leaf clover?
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March 13th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Your Soda Bread looks perfect! Mmmhhh, with some homemade jam….
Cheers,
Rosa
March 13th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Wow, and WOW, and WOW..p.s. is that a silk pad you are using? Gosh this looks fantastic, and it is homemade, you are SOOOOOO talented, you truly are!!!
March 13th, 2009 at 5:59 am
Unfortunately, I began giggling like a maniac too. So I guess that means fortunately, you’re not the only one? I don’t know if I’ve ever put fruit in my soda bread, so yours looks just perfect.
March 13th, 2009 at 7:31 am
I’m 75% Irish, and St. Patrick’s Day was always a celebration with my family. But, I’ve never made Irish soda bread! Yours looks delicious.
March 13th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Love this dark, whole wheat version. Never have tried a soda bread w/ ww flour.
March 13th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I’m still giggling. I’ve never had fruit in my Irish Soda Bread either. I fell in love with this bread in culinary school actually. Don’t see much of it here in Atlanta, but then I’m probably not looking in the right places. As usual, a wonderful post! — Asata @ Life Chef
March 13th, 2009 at 9:25 am
I’ve never eaten or made soda bread. It seems so easy I should try it.
Btw Jude, I was wondering if you knew the BBD theme this month is “Quick breads”?
March 13th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I didn’t know that about the raisins and the name… Yes, I’m giggling. I’ve seen that strange version in the can in the store, but I assumed it was a steamed pudding sort of thing.
The bread looks great, and it’s nice to see a recipe that isn’t as enriched as most I’ve read.
March 13th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Jude so creative bread recipe impossible to not turn out gorgeous!
Fresh just made and with some cream cheese must be superb.
Cheers!
Gera
March 13th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I’ve never had soda bread, despite there being 4 Irish pubs within walking distance of my house. Four!!! Cleary, I am missing something here.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I would love this bread straight out of the oven with a really cold glass (pint) of Guiness. What more could a person want.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
This is going on the table for St. Patrick’s Day – it looks beautiful….delicious, too.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Your bread looks delicious. Try adding an egg sometime. It makes it richer. The cross is to let the fairies out did you know?
March 14th, 2009 at 5:29 am
hmm i haven’t had soda bread before but am sure it’s delicious. and butter and marmalade jam sounds good to me too!
March 14th, 2009 at 6:20 am
It’s beautiful. Still, I love it plane.
March 14th, 2009 at 9:56 am
I suppose the four leaf clover resemblance is there
I’m surprised to see the addition of powdered milk in there. And I thought Westerners never had any problem with straightforward dairy! (Maybe handed down from a war generation?)
March 14th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Nice addition of the whole wheat flour, looks wonderful.
March 14th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
ha–i couldn’t help but giggle myself just reading about spotted dick.
great bread, jude, and happy early st patty’s day!
March 14th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Gee I did not know you are in Chicago, how did I miss that? I’ll be back in a few weeks. Going to L2O for my birthday.
Your soda bread looks wonderful. Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
LL
March 14th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
That is one gorgeous loaf of bread. I love how you scored it, too. I can just imagine how tasty this would be with a big, thick shmear of cream cheese. I’d do another mile on the treadmill just for that.
March 14th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I love the sound and the look of this soda bread. I’ve been searching out possible recipes and hoping I get a chance to bake it before Tuesday. I’ll put this on the short list (along with Dan Lepard’s), but not sure I’d add the raisins
So beautiful!!
March 14th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Thanks for giving me the giggles, Jude!
Awesome looking bread, as always.
March 15th, 2009 at 3:40 am
Wow, that looks like a mountain ready to be scaled! Well done and I too also have a giggle when I hear Spotted Dick, Cockfosters and Tooting (tube stops)
March 15th, 2009 at 7:50 am
That looks amazing! And thank you for the info on the flours… very helpful!
March 15th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Your bread and some nice cheese and I will be a happy camper.
March 15th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Great looking soda bread!
March 15th, 2009 at 10:47 am
A four leaf clover soda bread- Can you get a more perfect St. Patrick’s Day food? Looks great!
March 15th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
YUM – that bread looks so hearty and delicious!
March 15th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
That is one beautiful loaf of bread! It wouldn’t make it long out of the oven before I’d completely slather it in butter . . . Kerrygold, natch!
March 15th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
gosh, that looks really tempting Jude! thanks for a lovely entry:)
March 16th, 2009 at 5:41 am
I usually bake my own every year, but I bought some instead and was so disappointed! Thanks for the recipe. I still have time:)
March 16th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Jude – this is a wonderfully delicious looking bread recipe. I don’t know how you do it. Yummylicious.
March 16th, 2009 at 10:36 am
[...] Traditional Irish Soda Bread [...]
March 16th, 2009 at 11:18 am
We’re also soda bread newbies. It looks like it’s tasty. The raisins would be a nice addition too to sweeten it up!
March 16th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I love how dark it is! I have only made white ones. I will definitely try a dark on this year.
March 16th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
wonderful! How i would love to bite into this.
I’m always afraid to come here and fine these lovely bread recipes. But, since a couple of months I know of my son’s allergies and now I can’t even think of trying out these. Not that they look as easy to me. I don’t have a good hand at it. Somehow since then I have totally lost interest in baking breads. I think have to summon up some courage to bake gluten free.
March 16th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
i guess, i’m not the only one giggling here reading about spotted dick
D i’ve never had irish soda bread before. i honestly thought the bread itself had soda! LOL.
March 16th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Excellent recipe and great tips. I’ve only got traditional whole wheat on hand but still worth a shot. Great tips too, I’m unsure why I don’t make it here more often!
March 16th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Your soda bread is lovely. I would giggle, too, if I wrote “spotted dick.” I’m very mature that way:)
Like my soda bread w/caraway seeds. Mmmm.
March 16th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
This is quite the loaf of soda bread. I needed this a couple of days ago — I went non-traditional with mine this year, but yours has me wanting the real thing. Great recipe!
March 16th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
What a lovely idea and your soda bread looks exactly right. In fact they isn’t that much soda bread available in Dublin last time I was there and had to make it myself. Great simple recipe also.
March 17th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Girl Japan, it’s a beat up silicone mat.
Aparna, thanks for letting me know. I had just submitted it for bread baking day.
Lori Lynn, that’s a damn nice birthday dinner. Have fun!
PG, must be so challenging to bake gluten-free things. Good luck if you ever decide to get into it!
Thanks everyone!
March 18th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Irish soda bread was on my list of things to make yesterday until I decided it would be easier to just go over to a friends house for dinner instead of cooking the whole meal myself
. I’ll keep this recipe in mind for next year.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:00 pm
That looks really good! Recently found that King Arthur Flours has a flour that they call wholemeal and recommend for brown bread.
May 5th, 2009 at 6:08 am
The “cross” on the top of the bread is to let the fairies out… part of the Irish folklore! http://irishbaker.blogspot.com/2006/12/sign-of-cross.html
October 13th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
im going to make this for a social studies report on ireland ill tell you guys about it and how good/bad it was after the report this friday kk so thats all oh and whish me luck
-not provided
October 13th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwoooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
July 6th, 2011 at 10:38 am
Just a little input from Dublin! Brown soda bread should never have raisins/fruit in it, they only go into white, which is sweeter. And we never call any bread Spotted Dick, that’s strictly an English thing! They’re simply brown or white sodas.
The BEST thing to eat this with is salted real butter. Delicious! Oh, and if you find the crust is too hard when it comes out of the oven, cover it with a damp tea-towel for half an hour, it’ll soften it right up.
Loving your blog, btw.
March 19th, 2013 at 3:12 pm
Great recipe! I started with Odlum’s Irish Whole Meal Extra Course, which is avavlable on line at a reasonable price. I then added 1/2 cup wheat germ and increased the buttermilk by 1/4 cup. Turned out perfect! And to answer your question: “Is Irish soda bread supposed to look like a four-leaf clover?” The answer is no. The 4 leaf clover is not Irish, the Shamrock with 3 leaves is Irish, used by St. Patrick to teach the Trinity. The shape on top of the bread is obviously to allow it to rise w/o bursting but also said to be a cross so as to bless each loaf. 4 leaf clovers are an American thing, not Irish.
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