Soda bread
soda bread
Buttermilk and bicarbonate — a loaf you can have on the table in an hour, scored with a cross.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: soda bread.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Irish soda bread is soft wheat, buttermilk, baking soda, a little salt, barely mixed, baked as a round with a deep cross. Brown soda uses wholemeal. Raisins make it a tea bread some houses refuse to call soda bread. This is the plain one.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour450 g
- Milk, buttermilk, or milk plus 1 tbsp vinegar400 ml
- Baking soda4.9 ml
- Salt4.9 ml
- Sugar (optional)4.9 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat oven to 200°C. Mix flour, salt and baking soda. Buttermilk, a light mix into a shaggy ball.
8 minStep 2
Round on a tray, deep cross. Bake 35–40 minutes until the bottom sounds hollow.
40 min
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.
Substitutions
White flour → Half wholemeal
Brown soda. A little more buttermilk.
Tips
- Overmixing makes a bullet. Shaggy is correct.
- Eat the same day. It stales like soda bread.
History & culture
The loaf next to stew and smoked fish. Soft wheat and a pot oven made chemical leavening the habit.
19th-century bicarbonate plus buttermilk. Faster than yeast when fuel was dear.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: Infrogmation via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Home%20made%20Irish%20soda%20bread%2C%20New%20Orleans%2017%20March%202024.jpg
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Soda bread take?
55 min all in — 15 min prep, 40 min cook. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 8 loaves. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
How much sugar?
1 tsp (optional) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
White flour → Half wholemeal. Brown soda. A little more buttermilk.
Any tips from this recipe?
Overmixing makes a bullet. Shaggy is correct. Eat the same day. It stales like soda bread.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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