Active Time

　　20 minutes

　　Total Time

　　1 hour 10 minutes

　　Irish soda bread may be most popular around St. Patrick’s Day—at least in the US—but it’s equally delicious every other day of the year. A traditional loaf contains just four ingredients: white flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt, though modern versions often get a few extras like butter, sugar, caraway seeds, lemon or orange zest, and dried fruit. Brown soda bread (called wheaten bread in Ireland) incorporates whole wheat flour and toasted wheat germ. Unlike yeast breads, soda bread is leavened by the reaction of baking soda and buttermilk—which means it’s ready to bake right after mixing, no waiting around for the dough to rise.

　　This version bakes into a lightly sweetened round loaf resembling a giant scone, with a burnished crust and tender, fluffy crumb. Plump raisins add pops of concentrated sweetness, but you could swap them out for any dried fruit, such as currants, sour cherries, or cranberries—or simply leave them out. No cast-iron pan? Form the dough into a round and bake it on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. If desired, use a sharp knife to score the top of the dough with a cross shape (about ½" deep) after sprinkling with sugar.

　　The success of this Irish soda bread recipe relies on a few key tips. First, make sure to fully whisk—or even better, sift—your flour mixture together. If the leavening clumps, it won’t be able to do its job. Second, fight any instinct you have to knead this dough, which could make the bread tough. Finally, spread baked slices with plenty of room-temperature Irish butter and enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

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Ingredients

Makes one 8″-diameter loaf

　　Nonstick vegetable oil spray

　　2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

　　5 Tbsp. sugar, divided

　　1½ tsp. baking powder

　　1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt

　　¾ tsp. baking soda

　　3 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

　　1 cup buttermilk

　　⅔ cup raisins

　　

Step 1

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°. Coat an 8″-diameter cake pan or cast-iron skillet with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Whisk 2 cups all-purpose flour, 4 Tbsp. sugar, 1½ tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¾ tsp. baking soda in a large bowl to combine. Add 3 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces, to dry ingredients and rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center and pour in 1 cup buttermilk. Gradually mix dry ingredients into buttermilk just until incorporated and a shaggy dough comes together. Mix in ⅔ cup raisins.

　　

Step 2

Using lightly floured hands, form dough into a ball and transfer to prepared pan. Gently press dough to flatten slightly (dough will not reach edges of pan). Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar.

　　

Step 3

Bake bread until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let bread cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn bread out onto rack. Serve warm or let cool completely.