Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’m almost 70% Irish, and although I recently found that out through a mail-in DNA service, I’ve always known I had to be a good percentage since my paternal grandmother is 100% Irish. I’m an even higher percentage than I thought – but my skin tone and freckles are a giveaway!

Regardless, this holiday has always been one of my favorites, and one of my husband’s favorite’s as well! We’ve always celebrated at local pubs or through local parades or celebrations. Four years ago (which has flown by!), we were lucky enough to go to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day week with some of our closest friends, and it was a blast! We saw and enjoyed the Guinness Factory, local pubs, and saw the creative parades put on in the streets of Dublin. Now that we have a young son, we hope to be able to return to Ireland with him one day, and show him what a beautiful country it is!

As a baker, I can’t go through a holiday without baking a traditional bread, pastry, dessert, or similar. For this holiday, I had to go with Irish Soda Bread. Although it seems to be more of an American tradition, we’ve always enjoyed it, and I love having an excuse to make this (as if I really need one!). The other great thing about this bread is that even though it’s more of a savory bread, it’s in the quick-bread category. That means you just mix, shape, and bake! No extra waiting, no extra steps. It’s easy, but tastes like you spent hours making it and waiting for it to get to the right consistency. It’s a great first bread to try – go ahead, you won’t regret it!

A note on the recipe: it calls for buttermilk, which isn’t something people always have on hand, but please use buttermilk. I buy the dried version in the baking section of my grocery store, which is shelf stable, lasts a long time, and can be used for a variety of recipes. This is the easiest version to have on hand (the instructions are on the side for how to mix the dry version with water to create the volume you need). Otherwise, you can buy regular buttermilk in the cold section. But if you want to make this recipe, definitely use one of these two – it’s important for flavor and texture!

So enough babbling – onto the food!

Crusty Irish Soda Bread

Alex Kornswiet

As a baker, I can’t go through a holiday without baking a traditional bread, pastry, dessert, or similar. For St. Patrick’s Day, I had to go with Irish Soda Bread. Although it seems to be more of an American tradition, we’ve always enjoyed it, and I love having an excuse to make this (as if I really need one!). The other great thing about this bread is that even though it’s more of a savory bread, it’s in the quick-bread category. That means you just mix, shape, and bake! No extra waiting, no extra steps. It’s easy, but tastes like you spent hours making it and waiting for it to get to the right consistency. It’s a great first bread to try – go ahead, you won’t regret it!

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Servings 1 Loaf

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup flour to finish at the end
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter softened
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup raisins

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. If using a cast-iron skillet, place this in the cold oven and let it heat up with the oven.
• In a large bowl, add 4 cups flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. Add softened butter to the flour mixture, and mix in by hand – squeezing the ingredients together lightly until the butter is incorporated.
• In a small bowl, mix together the buttermilk and egg.
• Make a well in the flour/butter mixture, and pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Mix together until a sticky dough starts to form.
• Add the raisins, and continue to mix until the dough comes together. Add the last 1/4 cup of flour to help the bread come together completely. You want to be able to create a ball of dough that isn’t too sticky, but isn’t too dry. Try not to over mix, as it makes a harder bread. You should be able to press into the dough without it sticking to your finger.
• Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven (using oven mitts), and carefully, lightly oil the pan. I use avocado oil for this, as it has a higher burn temperature, but olive oil should work well too.
• Shape the dough into a rough, round shape. Place it in the center of the hot skillet, and score it. To do this, cut a large X shape across the entire top of the bread – this will allow air to escape and allow the entire bread to cook evenly.
• Using oven mitts, place the skillet back into the hot oven. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees F without opening the oven. Cook for an additional 20-25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
• Remove the skillet from the oven, and immediately (carefully) remove the bread from the skillet and place it on a wire rack to cool. If you don’t remove it, the crust on the bottom with start to softened from the hot pan.
• Let cool and enjoy!

Notes

*I recommend using a 10″ cast-iron skillet for this bread – it’s what allows it to be crusty on the bottom, as well as the top! If you don’t have this, you can use a larger pan or sheet pan, but the bread may spread out a bit more and won’t be as crusty.

Note: The recipe calls for buttermilk, which isn’t something people always have on hand, but please use buttermilk. I buy the dried version in the baking section of my grocery store, which is shelf stable, lasts a long time, and can be used for a variety of recipes. This is the easiest version to have on hand (the instructions are on the side for how to mix the dry version with water to create the volume you need). Otherwise, you can buy regular buttermilk in the cold section. But if you want to make this recipe, definitely use one of these two – it’s important for flavor and texture!

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SERVING: Remove the skillet from the oven, and immediately (carefully) remove the bread from the skillet and place it on a wire rack to cool. If you don’t remove it, the crust on the bottom with start to softened from the hot pan. Let cool and enjoy!

 

STORAGE: Store securely in plastic wrap, or in a sealed plastic bag. Enjoy within 1-2 days for the freshest taste and texture.

 

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If you make this recipe, remember to tag me on Instagram @bread_andbreakfast, and use the hashtag #breadandbreakfast