Irish Bread

I got this Irish Soda Bread recipe in an old church cookbook. It is more like a tea bread than your typical Irish Soda Bread.

A church member made this recently, and I thought it was delicious. Not a dense Irish Soda bread like you normally see. Its more like a tea bread. The ratio of flour, baking powder and raisins is also a lot different than a lot of recipes.

Why are there so many variations of Irish Soda Bread?

Almost every family in Ireland has its own recipe for Irish Soda Bread, hand-written and tucked away in an old cookbook. In the 1830’s there were four ingredients that made up Irish Soda bread. Soft wheat flour, salt, baking soda and sour milk (buttermilk is more commonly used today). Since yeast wasn’t readily available, the combination of baking soda and buttermilk acted as the leavening agent, causing the bread to rise. The soft wheat flour was better for quick breads.

Many Irish families lived in isolated farm areas with no access to ovens, and soda bread solved this problem too. The bread was cooked in three-legged iron pots or baked on griddles over open hearths. This gave the bread its famous hard crust, dense texture, and slightly sour tang.

The unique texture of soda bread is a result of the reaction between the acidic sour milk and baking soda, which formed small bubbles of carbon dioxide in the dough.

The shape of soda bread is also steeped in tradition. The Northern regions of Ireland divide their dough into four triangular shapes, with each triangle cooked on a flat griddle. The Southern Irish regions bake their loaves in a classic round fashion and cut a cross on top of the bread. This was done for superstitious reasons, as families believed a cross on top of the bread would “let the fairies out” or ward off evil and protect the household.

The method of cooking soda bread is very quick, and it was usually made every two to three days and eaten with the main meal. The traditional way to eat soda bread is to break off a piece, split it and slather it in creamy Irish butter.

Caraway Seeds

Today’s traditions add raisins, caraway seed and honey. If you are using Caraway Seeds, make sure they are fresh. Last years seeds won’t do!

No two soda breads are ever the same, and you’ll find all sorts in bakeries, from brown soda bread filled with grains, to more modern crusty white loaves made with flavorings like treacle, Guinness, cream of tartar, orange zest, oats, herbs or walnuts.

It’s amazing how many different recipes there are for Irish Soda Bread. I think it may have to do with the different regions of Ireland.

Ballymaloe Cooking School Cookbook

In researching for this posting I found Shirl Gard’s Baker Sweet Maker blog. She has a ton of information on the many types of the Irish Soda Bread’s and even mentioned a cookbook by Darina Allen “Ballymaloe Cooking School Cookbook“, which I have added to my cookbook library. This cookbook is LOADED with Irish recipes!  She mentions breads called “Spotted Dog” which are individual Irish Soda breads. Or “Striped Cat” which are breads filled with chocolate chips instead of raisins. This recipe book is 640 pages and FULL of Irish recipes! It’s like a Joy of Cooking or Fanny Farmers cookbook only for Irish recipes. I can’t wait to get started making some of these great Irish recipes!

Back to the Irish Bread recipe…. When I say this recipe literally takes a few  minutes to throw together I mean “a few minutes”!

This recipe is super easy to make:

You just combine all ingredients into a bowl.

Mix together.



Place in a greased loaf pan.

Bake in a greased loaf pan for 45 minutes. Cool and enjoy.

If your in the mood for a tea bread that has the flavors of Irish Soda bread, this is for you!



Long Loaf Pan

Note: I used a 12″ x 4-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ long loaf pan because i love that it is longer and skinnier than your standard sized loaf pan . A standard sized loaf pan will also work perfectly.

Cutting this bread is a breeze even when it fairly warm as the outside edges are crispy just like traditional Irish Soda Bread.

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