Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread and it’s many variants use sodium bicarbonate instead of yeast as a leavening agent. This means you get a quick bread without all of the rising times. Yes, your bread will be a bit denser than a fluffy yeast-based bread but it’s still delicious and so fast!

Some Tips and Pointers

• If you prefer, walnuts could be substituted for the pecans as well as whatever dried fruits you’d like.
• Make sure to score the top to better control the expansion of the loaf during baking. If you’re out of buttermilk you can use 1 3/4 cups milk mixed with two tablespoons of lemon juice.
• You could make a totally plain version of this bread but I added dried cranberries, orange zest, golden raisins and toasted pecans.

Steps to Make Irish Soda Bread

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine cold buttermilk, 1 egg and zest from 1 orange. Give it quick whisk. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together. Add in diced butter. Mix for about 1 minute or until the butter has incorporated. 
2. Pour in the buttermilk mixture on low. Mix until just combined. 
3. In a bowl, toss the raisins and cranberries with bit of flour to coat. 
4. Add in pecans, raisins and cranberries. Stir for 5 seconds.
5. Plop the very wet batter onto a floured surface. Give it a light kneading. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Score an ‘X’ on the surface. Bake for about 45 min to 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

If you’ve tried this soda bread then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!

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Irish Soda Bread

A delicious and SUPER-fast yeast free bread filled with dried fruit and toasted pecans.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Irish

Keyword bread, fruit and nut bread, irish soda bread recipe, yeast free bread

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 10

Calories 85 kcal

Author John K.

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

For the Bread:

• 1 ¾ cup buttermilk 414mL, cold
• 1 egg
• Zest from 1 orange.
• 4 cups flour 480g
• ¼ cup granulated sugar 50g
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda 9g
• 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt 9g
• 4 tablespoons butter 57g, cold, diced
• ½ cup chopped pecans 63g, toasted
• ½ cup dried cranberries 60g, dried
• ½ cup golden raisins 75g

Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Bread:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, combine cold buttermilk, 1 egg and zest from 1 orange. Give it quick whisk.

3. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.

4. Add in diced butter. Mix for about 1 minute or until the butter has incorporated.

5. Pour in the buttermilk mixture on low. Mix until just combined.

6. In a bowl, toss the raisins and cranberries with bit of flour to coat.

7. Add in pecans, raisins and cranberries. Stir for 5 seconds.

8. Plop the very wet batter onto a floured surface. Give it a light kneading.

9. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

10. Score an ‘X’ on the surface.

11. Bake for about 40 min until a skewer comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

• If you prefer, walnuts could be substituted for the pecans as well as whatever dried fruits you'd like.
• Make sure to score the top to better control the expansion of the loaf during baking. If you're out of buttermilk you can use 1 3/4 cups milk mixed with two tablespoons of lemon juice.
• You could make a totally plain version of this bread but I added dried cranberries, orange zest, golden raisins and toasted pecans. 

Nutrition Facts

Irish Soda Bread

Amount Per Serving (28.4 g)

Calories 85 Calories from Fat 13

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 1.4g 2%

Saturated Fat 0.3g 2%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.5g

Cholesterol 5mg 2%

Sodium 113mg 5%

Potassium 75mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 16g 5%

Dietary Fiber 0.7g 3%

Sugars 6g

Protein 1.9g 4%

Vitamin A 1%

Calcium 2%

Iron 4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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