{"id":1218128,"date":"2025-02-20T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1218128"},"modified":"2025-02-20T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T20:00:00","slug":"my-favorite-irish-soda-bread-only-has-four-ingredients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1218128","title":{"rendered":"My Favorite Irish Soda Bread Only Has Four Ingredients"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Whenever I have a carb emergency I make one of two things: cookies or quick bread. Lately I\u2019ve been leaning toward the latter\u2014like banana bread, lemon poppy muffins, or biscuits\u2014because they\u2019re less sweet compared to cookies, and I enjoy the ritual smear of salted butter. I\u2019ve been making this Irish soda bread on repeat and I think you\u2019ll like it too.<\/p>\n

Quick-bread satisfaction<\/h2>\n

The quick breads category is pretty wide. They can be sweet and cake-y like banana bread, barely sweet like scones, or savory like cheddar cheese and thyme biscuits. Unlike yeast-raised breads, quick breads are raised with chemical leaveners (baking soda or baking powder), which means they require absolutely none of the long proof times. What\u2019s more, something like Irish soda bread requires very few ingredients.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Dutch oven is my vehicle of choice for this lofty, tender Irish soda bread. Similar to baking a sourdough loaf<\/u><\/a>, humidity is your soda bread\u2019s friend. Encasing your soda bread in a small space allows humidity to build up as moisture evaporates from the dough. The moist air keeps the surface of the loaf flexible for longer than if you bake it open on a sheet tray. The extra flexibility means the loaf can rise taller, uninhibited by a hard crust.<\/p>\n

How to make Irish soda bread<\/h2>\n

I slightly modified this simple recipe,<\/u><\/a> which has only four ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk. It\u2019s very similar to biscuit dough (minus butter or oil). While traditional soda bread is the simplest\u2014no raisins\u2014I choose to toss them in. You can substitute in other mix-ins if the mood strikes you: Try dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, or chocolate chips. The dough is relatively plain so any flavor profile you choose will work just fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I have two notes before you set out to make your loaf. Most importantly, don\u2019t overwork your dough. You\u2019ve heard it before, but with shaggy doughs like this it\u2019s hard to resist kneading it until smooth. Don\u2019t do it. Leave it a bit shaggy and you\u2019ll have a more tender loaf.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About preheating your Dutch oven: The conventional oven should be preheated no matter what, but I\u2019ve made this recipe with a cold Dutch oven before. I actually made a whole Irish soda bread YouTube video<\/u><\/a> using a cold pot. It comes out perfectly and well-risen. However, I’ve recently been preheating the Dutch oven as the conventional oven heats up, and the loaf comes out perfectly there too. In the recipe below, I preheat the pot. You can do either\u2014the only difference I detect is a faster bake by 10 minutes if you choose to preheat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Any other Irish soda bread questions you have might be answered here<\/u><\/a>. Otherwise, the dough takes mere minutes to put together. <\/p>\n

Irish Soda Bread<\/h2>\n

Ingredients:<\/p>\n