Sourdough Irish Soda Bread

Similar to a large scone, this easy Sourdough Irish Soda Bread uses sourdough discard to enhance crumb’s tenderness, buttermilk to maintain its moisture, and relies solely on baking soda for leavening. It all comes together in under an hour for a quick and satisfying rustic bake!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread is made with only flour, buttermilk, salt, and baking soda. However, this variation is more scone-like, slightly sweeter, and studded with raisins and caraway seeds.

To achieve the crispiest edges and a rustic appearance, I prefer baking it as a boule in a round cast-iron skillet. Scoring the bread with an X is a traditional technique that promotes a tall rise and even bake.

Discover plenty of helpful tips, tricks, and answers to frequently asked questions to guide you through crafting this delightful Sourdough Irish Soda Bread in the detailed post below!

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What is Irish Soda Bread?

Irish Soda Bread is a type of quick bread that’s traditionally made with only soft wheat flour, buttermilk (or sour milk), salt, and baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate).

Its simplicity belies its versatility, making it a staple year-round accompaniment for breakfast with butter, alongside soups, stews, and various dinner dishes. Its origins trace back to the mid-19th century, marked by the backdrop of famine, adversity, and scientific innovation.

The primary leavening agent, baking soda, plays a pivotal role, reacting with the acidic buttermilk to impart a lofty rise to the bread. Additionally, in this recipe, sourdough discard serves a dual purpose as both a flavor enhancer and an acidic ingredient.

As with many culinary traditions shaped by migration and cultural exchange, Irish Soda Bread has undergone numerous transformations, particularly in the United States.

Modern adaptations like this recipe often incorporate additional elements such as raisins (or currants), caraway seeds, eggs, and sugar, reflecting a fusion of tastes and influences over time.

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy and quick recipe that comes together in less than an hour with minimal tools.
• No fermentation
  • No fermentation process is required for this bread, as it utilizes sourdough discard (or active starter) straight from the refrigerator. The leavening action is solely provided by baking soda, which interacts with both the buttermilk and the discard to facilitate a hearty rise.
• Easy to make your own
  • I include raisins, caraway seeds, and orange zest for extra flavor and even more interest in the bread, but you can omit or substitute with other dried fruit, other seeds, or even nuts.
• Crispy edges with a moist, soft interior
  • Baked in a cast-iron skillet, the Irish soda bread has crispy edges that bake evenly with a soft, airy interior.
• Not too sweet
  • There’s only a ¼ cup of sugar in the recipe, which gives the bread a hint of sweetness without being overpowering or too sweet.

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🔍 Tips for Making Sourdough Irish Soda Bread

• Don’t overmix the batter
  • Like these sourdough buckwheat pancakes, it’s normal if some lumps remain in you batter after mixing. Overmixing will lead to more gluten development and a tougher bread (just like you don’t want to overmix cake batter, biscuit dough, or scones).
• Use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter
  • You can use active sourdough starter or unfed sourdough discard in this recipe. Cold starter is perfectly fine to use straight from the refrigerator.
• Score the top with an X
  • Like scoring sourdough bread, scoring the soda bread with an X helps it bloom in the oven, rise tall, and not burst in unexpected places as it bakes. Additionally, it helps the bread bake evenly as the thickest portions can tend to underbake and result in a gummy loaf.
• Use cast-iron for crispy edges
  • Cast-iron skillets are my favorite for recipes like my Sourdough Honey Cornbread and Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting because it cooks evenly and is non-stick when seasoned properly.
  • Cooking the soda bread in cast iron retains heat well and gives it the best even color and texture with crispy edges.

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🛠 Tools Needed:

You only need a few basic tools to make this sourdough Irish soda bread. No mixer required!

• Baking scale: Since the density of flour and sourdough starter may vary among individuals, it’s recommended to weigh your ingredients for accuracy. Weighing your ingredients by weight will make your baking more consistent and accurate.
• Whisk: For mixing the dry and wet ingredients separately.
• Spatula: For folding in the raisins and mixing the wet and dry ingredients together.
• Cast-iron skillet: I use a 10″ Lodge cast-iron skillet to bake this bread. You can also use a Dutch oven, baking steel, or baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Bread lame or serrated knife: To score the bread with an X, use a sharp blade like a bread lame or a serrated knife.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed:

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions.

• All-purpose flour:
  • For a tender soda bread, you want to use a softer wheat flour, such as all-purpose flour or cake flour for this recipe. I use King Arthur all-purpose flour.
  • If you’re interested in making a whole wheat Irish soda bread, you can replace some of the flour with whole wheat flour or other ancient grain flour such as spelt or einkorn.
• Baking Soda: The mechanical leavener interacts with buttermilk and sourdough discard to make the bread rise. If you’re unsure of the age of your soda, learn how to test it.
• Salt: You need salt to bring out the flavor in the simple bread or it’ll otherwise taste dull and bland. I use Kosher salt or sea salt.
• Granulated sugar: The ¼ cup of sugar adds a hint of sweetness and assists with browning. You can substitute the sugar with another sweetener like coconut sugar if you prefer or a couple of tablespoons of honey, maple syrup, or agave.
• Orange zest: Fresh citrus zest is optional, but it adds so much brightness to this bread just like my Sourdough Bran Muffins. You can opt for lemon or lime zest if your prefer.
• Caraway seeds: Caraway is a traditional seed added to this style of soda bread and has a slightly warm licorice flavor. You can omit it or substitute with fennel seeds if you prefer.
• Unsalted butter: Use cold butter for this recipe, just like if you were making biscuits or scones. Cold butter prevents gluten development, resulting in tender scone-like bread and helps the bread rise taller by creating more steam in the oven.
• Raisins: I love raisins in baked goods like my Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread or Sourdough Bran Muffins, but I know they’re not for everyone. If you’re not a fan of raisins, you can omit them or use dried currants, cranberries, cherries, or chopped dates. I use fresh, plump raisins for the best flavor. If yours aren’t plump, soak them in orange juice, water, or dare-I-say bourbon or whiskey for some additional flavor.
• Egg: The egg helps bind the ingredients and adds a bit more structure to the bread.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk is essential as the main acidic ingredient to interact with the baking soda in this recipe. You can make your own with lemon juice or use powdered buttermilk if you don’t have liquid buttermilk.
• Sourdough Discard: If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips here.
• Coarse or raw sugar for topping (optional): Adds some sparkle, a little more sweetness, and crunchiness to the top of the bread.

Variations

For these tasty variations on sourdough Irish soda bread, you’ll want to omit the raisins, caraway seeds, and orange zest unless otherwise stated.

• Chocolate: Add 1 cup (175 grams) of chopped semi-sweet or dark chocolate. Dried cherries or dates pair well in this bread.
• Cheddar and Chives: Similar to my Sourdough Biscuits with Cheddar and Chives, add ¼ cup of chives and 1 cup (120 grams) of cheddar cheese to the bread.
• Everything Bagel: Add ⅓ cup of everything bagel seasoning to the dough and sprinkle more on top before baking. Serve with cream cheese just like a sourdough bagel!
• Cranberry Orange: Soak 1 cup of cranberries in orange juice and add the zest of 2 oranges to the recipe.
• Cinnamon Raisin: Add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the dough and 1 cup of raisins.

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☘️ How to Make Sourdough Irish Soda Bread

Follow this visual and detailed recipe guide as you make the best sourdough Irish soda bread.

1. Mix the Dry Ingredients

To prevent any sticking, prepare the bottom of your cast-iron skillet or other baking vessel with a piece of round parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).

Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, orange zest, and caraway seeds together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

2. Add the Butter and Raisins

Cut the cold butter into small cubes and toss it into the flour with your hands.

Then, use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until it’s pea-sized or smaller pieces.

Add the raisins to the bowl and toss it all together. Set aside the bowl as you mix the wet ingredients.

3. Mix the Wet Ingredients

In a large liquid measuring cup or other mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and sourdough discard together until the discard is broken up and thoroughly mixed.

4. Mix the Dough

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently mix the dough together.

The soda bread dough will be very sticky, scraggly, and seem a little wet at first, but it will come together more as the flour hydrates and you continue to mix it.

The consistency of this dough closely resembles that of biscuit or scone dough. It’s important to bring it together without overmixing to prevent the bread from becoming tough.

To help bring it together into a single mass, you will probably need to add a little more flour to the dough. Use floured hands to help shape it into a round boule in the bowl.

5. Score and Bake

Place your round boule of soda bread into the middle of the prepared baking sheet or cast-iron skillet.

Then, use a bread lame or serrated knife to score an X into the middle of the bread. It’s okay if the score isn’t perfect and the blade drags some. Remember, this is a rustic loaf!

Sprinkle optional raw sugar on top of the bread before baking. If the sugar isn’t sticking, brush on a small amount of buttermilk on top of the dough and then top with the sugar.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is dark golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the middle of the bread reads 200ºF (93ºC).

Finally, remove the bread from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. It’s important to let it cool some so the bread doesn’t lose too much moisture.

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How to Store

This sourdough Irish soda bread stores well for a few days, but is best served day-of while warm. Over time, it will lose some moisture and start to dry out.

To store at room temperature, I wrap it in aluminum foil or a tea towel for 3-4 days. Then, I reheat slices in a toaster oven.

To freeze baked Irish soda bread, let the bread cool completely, slice, and then place the slices in a freezer-safe airtight bag. Freeze for up to two months and reheat slices in an oven at 350ºF or toaster oven until warmed through.

How to Serve

You can cut Irish soda bread into long slices like a typical loaf bread to serve with soups, stews, or other hearty dinners.

Alternatively, I prefer to cut it into wedges resembling a parmesan wheel. This way, you get thick slices of bread perfect for generously spreading with butter, marmalade, or even a drizzle of honey.

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❓ FAQs:

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Other Sourdough Discard Recipes You May Enjoy:

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