Breakfast Irish Soda Bread - Recipe Girl (2024)

35 minutes minutes

5 from 2 votes

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This Breakfast Irish Soda Bread recipe has plenty of dried cherries and golden raisins mixed in.

Breakfast Irish Soda Bread - Recipe Girl (1)

My husband’s family is 100% Irish so I went searching for the perfect Irish Soda Bread recipe to try this year.

My husband’s second cousins came directly from Ireland. He loves his Irish food. This isn’t very much a “classic” Irish soda bread recipe, but it certainly is delicious. It’s best served warm with butter and honey!

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Lucky me, I’ve had this Breakfast Irish Soda Bread recipe sitting in my collection of recipes for a long time.

How to make Breakfast Irish Soda Bread:

The recipe begins in a food processor. Dry ingredients whirred together with butter and then dumped into a bowl to mix with buttermilk, eggs and the dried fruit.

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The dough is then dumped onto a floured surface, kneaded a bit and then divided in two.

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The two halves are then shaped into two round loaves.

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The bread bakes to a deep, golden brown- a crispy crust and a tender interior.Unlike some other breads, you can slice into this one immediately and sample the goods.

The bread itself isn’t all that sweet… the sweetness comes from the delicious addition of golden raisins and dried cherries. It’s a bread with a tender crumb. I don’t find it dry at all, and it’s especially good when it’s warm.

You might also like this recipe for Irish Soda Bread Muffins. And I’ve been eyeing this traditional Irish Beef and Guinness Stew too!

Breakfast Irish Soda Bread - Recipe Girl (6)

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5 from 2 votes

Breakfast Irish Soda Bread

This bread is delicious toasted, and topped with butter and honey.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 35 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Irish

Keyword: breakfast bread, irish soda bread, soda bread

Servings: 16 servings (2 loaves)

Calories: 183kcal

Author: RecipeGirl.com (adapted from Real Food)

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Give it a couple of pulses, then add the butter pieces; pulse until butter is incorporated and small crumbs are formed.

  3. Pour the flour/butter mixture into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the buttermilk, egg, and egg yolk and stir just until moistened. Then stir in the ¾ cup raisins and ¾ cup cherries.

  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 5 to 10 times (dusting flour lightly onto dough if it’s too sticky). Knead just until the dough comes together and is smooth. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a round. Stud a few extra raisins and cherries into the tops of the loaves. Dust the tops of the rounds lightly with a little flour.

  5. Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about three inches between them. Place another baking sheet of the same size underneath to prevent burning. With a sharp knife, slash the tops with a large X about ½-inch deep.

  6. Bake until the loaves are a dark-golden brown and crusty, 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the X comes out clean. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the side.

  7. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store wrapped in plastic at room temperature or freeze in a zip bag for up to 2 months.

Notes

  • Using low fat buttermilk is just fine.
  • If you don't have a food processor, this recipe can be made by hand. Use your fingers to rub the flour and butter together to create the crumbs.
  • Check on your baking bread at about 25 minutes. If it appears to be browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil.

Nutrition

Serving: 1loaves, Calories: 183kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 321mg, Potassium: 112mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 357IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 85mg, Iron: 1mg

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Breakfast Irish Soda Bread - Recipe Girl (2024)

FAQs

Why is my Irish soda bread gummy? ›

And finally, don't immediately cut into the Fast Irish Soda bread when you pull it out of the oven. Although this bread is best served warm, cutting into it too quickly will turn the bread gummy.

Is there a difference between soda bread and Irish soda bread? ›

A soda bread defined in America

If you want to make an authentic Irish soda bread, the difference lies in what ingredients you should omit. According to Epicurious, Irish-American soda breads use caraway seeds and raisins in the recipe, while soda breads from Ireland lack both of these add-ins.

Why is my Irish soda bread so dense? ›

Irish soda bread can be made with or without an egg. 1 egg adds richness and density. Feel free to skip it to make a slightly lighter loaf. No other changes necessary, simply leave out the egg.

What is traditionally served with Irish soda bread? ›

The thick and hearty nature of Irish soda bread helps it pair very well with meaty stews (especially Irish stew). You can use it to soak up the juices as you eat or as a vehicle for the meat and vegetables. Traditionally, Irish soda bread is served with a slow-simmered beef and barley stew.

Why is my Irish soda bread raw in the middle? ›

Your oven is too hot if it is uncooked in the center. Try lowering the temp on your oven by 25F and extending the bake time. Don't put anything on the top of the bread to aid in browning until the last few min. of cooking, and use an instant read thermometer (target temp to pull is 190F).

What do you do if your Irish soda bread dough is too sticky? ›

If your dough is too sticky and it's impossible to work with you can add some extra flour, just a little at a time. Make sure you weigh the extra flour you add and then you'll be able to adjust the recipe correctly the next time you bake.

Do people in Ireland eat Irish soda bread? ›

Ireland, for one, has embraced it's kind of bread – the soda bread. It is a basic staple among the Irish that they call it Irish Soda Bread. It's common to see the locals pair this famous bread with a bottle of Guinness too.

Is soda bread better than sourdough? ›

Both types of bread use flour and contain refined carbohydrates. Sourdough bread would be considered healthier in the fact that it is a fermented food with lower gluten levels, making it easier to digest.

How many days is Irish soda bread good for? ›

Tightly wrap your leftover bread and place it in an airtight container. There's no need to refrigerate. As for how long soda bread lasts: Irish soda bread tends to dry out faster than other breads. The bread will be good for 3-4 days or up to three months if frozen.

How dry should soda bread dough be? ›

The oldest recipe for soda bread, widely syndicated from Ireland's Newry Times in 1836, says the dough was "as soft as could possibly be handled...the softer the better." Thirteen years and 180 miles down the road, the Waterford Times described it as "wetter than pie crust, too stiff to pour, but not stiff enough to ...

How do you know when Irish soda bread is done baking? ›

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.

What's the best way to eat Irish soda bread? ›

The slices are delicious simply spread with butter, jam, or marmalade. This bread can be toasted, too. Soda bread can be paired with any meal of the day. You can even bake it without the raisins to make a loaf to serve with savory dishes like soup, meat dishes, or to use for sandwiches.

What is a full Irish breakfast? ›

A traditional full Irish breakfast comprises bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, beans, soda bread or toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, and white or black pudding. For those wondering, black pudding coagulates the pig's blood into a sausage form. The white pudding is simply a pork sausage, usually flat.

What is another name for Irish soda bread? ›

Spotted Dog/ Railway Cake— Different names are used in different parts of Ireland, but this recipe has the addition of raisins or currents to the dough, usually along with butter and sugar. Seedy Bread—Traditional Irish soda bread with the addition of caraway seeds and a little sugar.

How do you fix gummy bread dough? ›

Try less water with your flour. Uneven heat in your oven can be the culprit – if you loaf is nicely golden on the outside but gummy or moist in the inside, it's baking too quickly on the outside. Trying reducing the temperature you're baking at and bake for a bit longer.

How do you make bread less gummy? ›

Some strategies to avoid it include:
  1. Bake on a lower shelf to get heat into the bottom of the bread faster, to set the structure faster.
  2. Place a baking stone or steel on the lower shelf of your oven to act as a heat sink, and bake the tin directly on it. ...
  3. Remove the bread from the tin for the last 10 minutes of the bake.
Jan 29, 2024

How do you fix gummy bread? ›

Place on a parchment lined cookie tray and bake again for 150-25 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. The goal is to dry out the bread. After the second baking, it will become more golden in color. The bread may not turn out fully baked, but most of the moisture will be dried out.

Is gummy bread overproofed? ›

The crumb structure of an under proofed loaf will be tight and gummy. Because it was not given enough time to develop and trap CO2 gasses, the crumb structure will be very dense, with uneven air bubbles.

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