Seriously Moist Sweet Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Sweet Irish Soda Bread recipe has a golden, crunchy, sweet crust with a moist, buttermilk interior, and tangy cranberries dotted throughout. The best soda bread mixes up in minutes and includes easy gluten-free adaptations!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 5

Servings

Author Melissa Erdelac

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour or gluten-free flour (I recommend Cup4Cup gluten-free flour)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
1 ⅓ cups buttermilk
1 egg
¾ cup dried cranberries see recipe notes for substitutions

Instructions

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease a cast iron skillet or 9-inch round pan with butter. (See recipe notes for other options.)
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center by pushing the dry ingredients away from the center.
4 cups all purpose flour or gluten-free flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
In a small bowl whisk together the melted and cooled butter, buttermilk, and egg.
⅓ cup unsalted butter, 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk, 1 egg
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, pouring it into the well and stir to form a soft dough. The dough will be very thick and might need to be kneaded slightly to work in the flour. Add the cranberries. Mix or knead until no flour pockets remain.
¾ cup dried cranberries
Shape dough into a ball (use lightly wet fingers if dough is sticky) and transfer to the prepared pan. Use a sharp knife to make an "X" on top of the the ball.
Bake until set, about 50-60 minutes for all purpose flour, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes for gluten-free flour. Insert a knife or toothpick in the middle to make sure it's set. To prevent the bread from becoming overly brown, loosely tent foil over top for the last 10-15 minutes baking time. Baking times can be longer, depend on the size of pan you bake it in and if using gluten-free flour, which takes longer.

Notes

Baking Pan Options

The easiest substitution for a cast iron skillet is a round cake pan. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and shape the dough into a ball in the middle. As the bread bakes, the dough will spread and fill out the pan.

A baking sheet may also be used. Simply shape the dough into ball in the middle of a greased baking sheet, or line with parchment paper. The dough will spread slightly, but it will still maintain its ball shape.

Some readers have also split the dough between two bread loaf pans. If diving the dough, the baking time will decrease. Start checking around 35 minutes baking time.

Substitution for Buttermilk

Pour 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup.
Add milk until you have 1 1/3 cup total liquid.
Let sit for 5-10 minutes, stir, and then use.

Dried Cranberries

Instead of cranberries substitute raisins, dried cherries or leave the dried fruit out completely.

Freezing and Storing

Store leftovers, well wrapped, at room temperature up to two days. Avoid refrigerating the bread because it will dry out.

To freeze, once the bread has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to a freezer bag.

Alternatively, cool it completely, slice, and then transfer to a freezer bag. This allows you to grab and thaw slices as needed.

Nutrition