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Irish Soda Bread with Orange Butter

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a slice of rustic Irish Soda Bread with raisins. This bread is a no-yeast bread and is so quick to make - it has no rising time! It is sweetened with raisins and a touch of sugar.
Course Snack
Cuisine Irish
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 1 loaf
Calories 3394kcal
Author Nina

Ingredients

  • cups all purpose flour + more for dusting raisins and for bench flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter cold, cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 ¾ cup buttermilk cold
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Whisk 4 ¼ cups of the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a knife or your hands.
  • Use a measuring cup to measure out the buttermilk. Whisk in the egg and orange zest.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir the dough with a rubber spatula and add in the remaining ¼ flour, a bit at a time, until the dough is not too sticky.
  • Tip the dough onto a floured surface. With floured hands, knead the dough a few times until it just stays together. Combine the raisins with 1 tablespoon of flour and then knead them into the dough.
  • Gently form the dough into a round and place it onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a very sharp knife and score an "x" onto the top of the loaf.
  • Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. The loaf will be 200°F when done. If the loaf is browning too much, place some aluminum foil on top.
  • The Irish soda bread will last up to 2 days at room temperature wrapped with aluminum foil. It will last for a week in the refrigerator.

Notes

  • For an easy buttermilk substitute, add 1 tablespoon and 2 ¼ teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar into a measuring cup. Fill up to 1 ¾ cup mark with milk. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.  Use 
  • Don't overwork the dough. You want to knead it very gently until it just comes together.
  • The dough will be sticky so use flour on your hands to easily shape it.
  • Score the top of the bread with an "X" shape. This helps the center of the bread bake through.

Nutrition

Serving: 20g | Calories: 3394kcal | Carbohydrates: 608g | Protein: 82g | Fat: 71g | Saturated Fat: 40g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 334mg | Sodium: 3989mg | Potassium: 2479mg | Fiber: 26g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 2388IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 660mg | Iron: 31mg