My Mother-in-Law apparently makes the best Irish Soda Bread. My son Brooks spends weekends sometimes with his grandparents and comes home raving about his Grammy’s homemade bread. Wouldn’t you think he’d like Mom-the-Recipe-Girl’s recipes for soda bread the best? Nope- Grammy has always had his heart won on hers. The funny thing is- I don’t even think she follows a recipe! I’ve never seen one written, but I suppose I’ll have to do some heavy investigating. In the meantime, I messed with Bon Appetit’s recipe for Brown Butter Soda Bread to create my own twist on this bread.
BA’s version was a savory sort. I took the savory out of it and turned it into sweet instead. The bread itself isn’t sweet, but I didn’t want rosemary or other spices mixing flavors with the dried currants that I wanted to add. The most difficult part of this recipe is browning the butter, which takes all of 4 minutes on the stove and is super easy to do. Take the time to brown the butter- it has magical flavors!
The dough is super easy to work with- I mixed in a little whole wheat flour to my recipe. No yeast is involved, and it just pats together into two small loaves.
Cut (score) an X into the tops of the loaves. The “X” allows the bread to expand properly while cooking (and let steam escape). It also provides for a visually appealing look to the surface of the bread. Thanks to The Fresh Loaf for their awesome bread-scoring tutorial!
Brush with a little bit of egg white wash.
And bake until golden and crispy on the outside.
While my bread was baking, I assembled a sweet butter to go with it. Mix softened butter with a good drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
And you’ll see how amazing this is when spread onto warm soda bread. It’s a must, really.
Ready for eating. I suggest just tearing off a warm chunk of bread and having a go at it. My family of three plowed through 1 1/2 of these small loaves during our dinner where salad was our main dish. It was very easy to eat, and the honey butter was so good that I had to make more!
I think Grammy might have some competition here. Brooks really, really enjoyed this soda bread. Did he like it better than Grammy’s? Well… when I asked him, he wouldn’t respond. So either he didn’t want to hurt my feelings or he didn’t want to hurt Grammy’s. I think he was kinda smart to keep those thoughts to himself 🙂
Check out Jessica’s version of this recipe on How Sweet it Is for a savory version of Brown Butter Soda Bread.
The brown butter makes this soda bread extra special. We love it served with honey butter.
Recipe Details
Prep Time: 25 minutes mins
Cook Time: 45 minutes mins
Total Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Irish
Keyword: brown butter, soda bread
Servings: 12 servings (2 small loaves)
Calories: 214kcal
Author: RecipeGirl.com (adapted from Bon Appetit)
Instructions
SODA BREAD
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted and golden brown (stirring often and keeping a close eye), 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and set it aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the brown butter and buttermilk until the flour mixture is moistened and comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface. Sprinkle the currants on top and knead them gently into the dough until the dough comes together, about 7 turns. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into ball, and lightly flatten each into 6-inch round. Place the rounds on ungreased baking sheet, spacing 5 inches apart. Use a knife to cut a ½ inch deep "X" in the top of each round of dough. Brush the tops with the egg wash.
Bake the loaves until they turn deep golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool breads on rack at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
HONEY BUTTER
If you'd like to make the honey butter, just mix the butter with honey and cinnamon in a small bowl until blended. Serve with the bread.
Notes
- Tip from Bon Appetit: You'll get the most tender soda bread by kneading the dough gently and briefly, just until it comes together, so the gluten is minimally developed.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 214kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 401mg, Potassium: 185mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 187IU, Vitamin C: 0.3mg, Calcium: 96mg, Iron: 2mg
FAQs
There are several possible reasons why your bread may not have risen even though you used fresh yeast. These include: not enough yeast, not activating the yeast, not allowing sufficient time for rising, not kneading the dough enough, not using the right ingredients, or using expired yeast.
Why is my soda bread soggy in the middle? ›
Let your dough rise enough before baking it
If the dough doesn't fill out with gas, perhaps because it hasn't had time to rise properly, the inside of the loaf will remain soggy and dense as the dough won't bake properly. You should therefore leave plenty of time for your dough to rise.
How do I know when soda bread is done? ›
The most traditional doneness test calls for thumping the hot bread in the center to hear if it's hollow-sounding. A more foolproof indication is temperature; the loaf will register 200°F to 205°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted in the center of the bread. Let the bread cool.
How to make soda bread less dense? ›
If you leave it lying around, it loses its firepower = dense dough. 10 Knead Rule – Like all no yeast bread / muffin type recipes like Blueberry Muffins and Herb Garlic Quick Bread Loaf, the less you handle the dough, the softer the crumb. So don't knead more than 10 times!
What do I do if my bread doesn't rise enough? ›
To fix dough that won't rise, try placing the dough on the lowest rack in your oven along with a baking pan filled with boiling water. Close the oven door and let the dough rise. Increasing the temperature and moisture can help activate the yeast in the dough so it rises. You can also try adding more yeast.
Why is my homemade bread not rising enough? ›
Yeast is too cold If the other ingredients are too cold, it could cause some of the yeast to die. Was the dough kneaded properly? Dough may not have been kneaded enough. Kneading 'exercises' the gluten in the bread and gives it the elasticity to hold in the air bubbles produced by the yeast.
How sticky should soda bread dough be? ›
Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough). You want to work it just enough so the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-work the dough the bread will end up tough.
Can you leave soda bread dough overnight? ›
Handily, the liquid component of soda bread is acidic – so lends itself to this process nicely. To make nutrient-dense, ancestral soda bread, we mix our acidic liquid into our flour the night before we want to bake, leave it to sit, and then finish off the mix and bake it in the morning.
Why does soda bread taste bad? ›
If you've ever tried Irish soda bread and not liked it, don't go running off yet! Chances are good that the bread you ate suffered from one of three common problems: improper amount of baking soda (a gross, salty-bitter taste), over cooking (a dry, chalky texture), or undercooking (a soggy, doughy center).
Do you serve soda bread warm or cold? ›
Although soda bread is ideal for serving at room temperature, it is better to serve it warm. The thick and cakey texture of the bread and warm temperature brings out its hearty flavors. If you can't have it fresh from the over at least have it toasted.
You don't have to wait hours or overnight for a rise, either. In fact, you don't even need to wait at all: Dough for Irish soda bread can go right into the oven after making. Given the short time to mix ingredients, you can have a warm loaf on the table in under an hour.
Should soda bread be kneaded? ›
Because soda bread is not yeasted bread, kneading it just makes it dense and hard. To develop its trademark soft crumb, you touch the dough as little as possible while shaping it. If you prefer a chewier kneaded bread texture but don't want to put in all that work, try our easy No-Knead Bread recipe.
What happens if you put too much baking soda in soda bread? ›
It's important not to use too much baking soda in recipes, as it can result in a metallic, soapy flavor. It is much more powerful than baking powder – you only need about 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup of flour to leaven baked goods.
What flour is soda bread made from? ›
Containing just four ingredients — all-purpose wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk — this Irish soda bread recipe is very much in line with what's eaten in Ireland. In addition to this version made with white flour, the Irish do make a whole wheat (aka wholemeal) variety as well.
Why did my soda bread turn yellow? ›
For proper leavening action, a correct acid-to-base ratio is critical, and the acidity of your acid ingredient can vary. Without enough acid to neutralize the soda, the bread will develop a jaundiced, yellow hue and will give off a bitter metallic wang that hangs in your nose and throat.
Does brown bread take longer to rise? ›
You'll also probably have to give your whole wheat dough more time to rise than you would white dough, thanks to the heavy germ and bran particulates.
Why is my bread dense and not rising? ›
There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.
What happens if you put too much bread soda in bread? ›
Too much baking soda in a recipe can give your baked goods a metallic or soapy taste, so be careful with your amounts in conversions.
