Irish Soda Bread

Here's an awesome recipe for Irish Soda Bread.  It's not the most attractive bread, but it tastes fantastic.  Lightly sweetened with a very tender crumb, it's absolutely delicious all by it's self, toasted with jam, or plain with a healthy schmear of Irish butter (our favorite way to eat it).  There's no yeast in this recipe, so it can be made in a fairly short amount of time.  Just bring a stick of butter to room temperature, then mix everything together, shape, and bake.  That's it - give it a go.

Start with flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Whisk together well.

Add softened butter.

Mix and smoosh the butter and flour together until it looks like this.

Add egg and buttermilk - stir, stir, stir.

When the dough looks like this, pour it out onto a clean, flour-dusted surface.

Knead for just a minute or two until you can form a round ball of dough about 2 inches tall.

Use a bench scraper to scrape away all the excess flour.

You can strain the excess flour through a sieve - throw away the clumpy bits.

Place the dough on a greased sheet pan.

In a heat proof container, combine butter and buttermilk.

Gently melt them together.

Brush the loaf well with the butter/buttermilk mixture.

Use a very sharp knife to cut an "X" into the top of the bread.

Bake for about 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool completely on a cooling rack.

When the bread has finished cooling, slice it with a serrated knife.

We love to eat this bread with Irish butter.  If you've never tried it, you must - it's out of this world!

This bread is also excellent toasted and served with jam.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• my favorite measuring cups https://amzn.to/2uyd0CR

• my favorite measuring spoons https://amzn.to/2JS1DQo

• stainless whisks https://amzn.to/2V5XKbZ

• stainless sieves https://amzn.to/2FGUz3L

• professional baking set https://amzn.to/2FCbSmz

• my favorite bread knife https://amzn.to/3IDXOba

• Irish butter https://amzn.to/2WBQ3dF

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Irish Soda Bread

makes 1 loaf

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 1 egg

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and grease a sheet pan.

2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Using a spoon or your fingers, add the softened butter and mix until combined.

4. Add the egg and buttermilk; combine until a shaggy dough forms.

5. Dust a work surface with flour and knead the shaggy dough for a minute or two until you can form a ball; place on greased sheet pan.

6. Gently brush 2 tablespoons of buttermilk on top and cut an “X” design with a serrated knife.

7. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

adapted from allrecipes