Brown Irish Soda Bread
This brown Irish soda bread recipe is simple because you don’t need to knead the dough. The bread is soft and tender with a hint of sweetness that makes it a great addition to any dish. Or you can eat it as dessert with jam or prune spread smeared on it.
This Irish brown bread is such a staple in Ireland. Big surprise, huh? Did the name give it away? Hehe.
When Christopher and I took our Ireland trip, we came across this Irish brown soda bread often. The texture is soft and tender, but the taste is pleasing because of its simplicity.
I love to slather butter on it, and Christopher just has to have prune spread on his slices.
This bread was popular in Ireland for three reasons:
- It was cheap and easy to make.
- Most families lived in farmhouses with open hearths, not ovens, so they had to put the batter in a pan and place it in their hearth to bake.
- The bread is hearty and doesn’t spoil quickly.
I think it’s wonderful because the flavors are so delicious, but also, you don’t need yeast, it doesn’t require a lot of kneading and the texture is divine.
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Helpful tips
- When cutting the butter into the flour mixture, you can either use room temperature butter or cold butter. I can’t taste the difference. So, whichever you prefer to use, just know it tastes great both ways. I used cold butter in this recipe.
- If you can’t find sprouted spelt flour, use regular spelt or whole wheat flour or, if you prefer the white version, use all purpose flour.
- Make your own buttermilk if you don’t have any on hand. I use a powdered mix for this recipe, but I will also make buttermilk using this method if you use almond milk: Recipe: 1 cup of buttermilk = 1 cup of the milk mixed with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for the same effect.
- If you prefer real milk, mix 1 cup of milk with ONE tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to yield 1 cup of buttermilk.
How to make brown Irish soda bread
Pre-Step
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and liberally grease either a loaf pan or a medium sized skillet as I did.
Step one
Gather the dry ingredients – almond flour, sprouted spelt flour, baking soda and salt. (A)
Step two
Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and use a pastry cutter to mix them together. I find this easier than using a sifter.
Step three
Gather the wet ingredients – butter, an egg, buttermilk and maple syrup. (B) Place the egg, buttermilk and maple syrup in another mixing bowl and whisk them together.
Step four
Cut butter in chunks and add it to the dry ingredients. (C)
Step five
Take your pastry cutter and cut the butter into the flour until you get pea sized pieces of butter. (D)
Step six
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. (E)
Step seven
Use a spatula to mix the ingredients together. The dough will be a little wet but do not stress; it’s supposed to be that way.
Step eight
Place the dough in the greased pan and with a sharp knife, cut a deep cross in the loaf.
Here’s the reason for the cross: In a practice that goes back to the 1800s, you cut a cross to ward off the devil and to protect the household. I cut the cross in there because I like how it looks in the finished loaf and, well, who couldn’t use a little more protection?
Step nine
Place in the oven and bake for 35 – 40 minutes. Mine took 38 minutes. (G)
Step ten
Once it’s done, let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before you transfer it to a wire rack. (H)
I waited for it to cool totally before I cut it in quarters. Of course, I couldn’t help but have a piece or two before I took this next photo.
Let us look at the texture of this delicious brown Irish soda bread.
And here’s a photo of how Christopher and I eat this delicious bread. As I said, C likes prune spread on his and I like butter on mine.
I hope you liked this brown Irish soda bread recipe.
Other bread recipes
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!
Brown Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups spelt flour (or whole wheat, or all purpose)
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter (cut into pieces)
- 1.5 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and liberally grease a loaf pan or a medium sized cast iron skillet.
- Add spelt flour, almond flour, baking soda and salt in large bowl and use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients.3 cups spelt flour, 1 cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add butter and use a dough cutter to get pea sized clumps in mixture.4 tablespoons butter
- In a small bowl whisk egg, milk and maple syrup together.1.5 cups buttermilk, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until well mixed. It will be somewhat wet and sticky.
- Transfer dough to the (bread pan) or cast iron skillet and bake for 35 – 40 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in pan before removing it to a wire rack. Let cool before cutting.
- Slather with butter or jam.
- Eat
- Smile
- Enjoy
Equipment
See all my favorite tools and gift ideas at my Amazon Store page!Check out Elaine’s Amazon Store!Notes
Helpful tips
- When cutting the butter into the flour mixture, you can either use room temperature butter or cold butter. I can’t taste the difference. So, whichever you prefer to use, just know it tastes great both ways.
- If you can’t find sprouted spelt flour, use regular spelt or whole wheat flour or, if you prefer the white version, use all purpose flour.
- Make your own buttermilk if you don’t have any on hand. I use a powdered mix for this recipe, but I will also make buttermilk using almond milk on occasion (Recipe: 1 cup of buttermilk = 1 cup of the milk mixed with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon for the same effect.)
- If you prefer real milk, mix 1 cup of milk with ONE tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon to yield 1 cup of buttermilk.
Nutrition
First published November of 2015
From lighting up stages with her BA in theater to crafting delightful dishes and cocktails, Elaine Benoit's journey is a testament to passion's transformative power. As the CEO of Dishes Delish, she offers a blend of healthy, comforting recipes and exquisitely crafted cocktails. Beyond the kitchen, Elaine voiced her culinary adventures on her podcast, "Dishing," and co-owns Food Blogger Help, extending her expertise to guide budding food bloggers to success. Whether it's for a heartwarming dish or insights into food blogging, Elaine's diverse experiences make her a beacon in the culinary digital landscape.
Soda bread is always so much fun to make and so easy! I love the soda bread in Ireland, and everything else there that’s super heavy and sticks to your ribs! Love that you used spelt flour, it must really make for a beautiful dense soda bread!
Thanks Katy! We love soda bread here too. I love that it’s not really sweet and you can dress it up with jam to make it sweeter for dessert or just a little butter to go with a meal, depending on your mood. 🙂
Elaine
I just got back from the store with my little bag of Bob’s Red Mill spelt flour…can’t wait to make this over the weekend! Looks great!
It is!! I hope you enjoy it. Can’t wait to hear how it came out. Remember it is not a ‘sweet’ bread. But you can sweeten it with some jam! 🙂
Elaine
Great recipe! I tried it last night and really enjoyed having a piece with some corned beef boiled dinner.
Awesome Nancy. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Soda bread is the best! So easy to make. Always a hit. Perfect for having freshly baked bread any night of the week.
Indeed it is Gloria. Thank you!
I love soda bread … some may say it’s a delicious breakfast bread but for me, I really enjoy dipping the chewy moist bread into stews and soups.
Isn’t that the best, Calleigh? I love dipping bread in soup!
I do really like soda bread and was just thinking I hadn’t made it in a while. I love that it’s so easy and a nice flavor too. I’ve not tried it with almond flour in there so must give that a try next time. Looks great.
I love the flavor nuances of the almond flour! Thanks, Caroline!
Growing up in a city with a lot of Irish pubs, the best thing about March is there is always ample soda bread to get. I have always loved soda bread and yours looks absolutely fantastic.
Thanks so much Mireille! I adore Irish Pubs!!!
If I’m going to eat bread, I want it to be just like this, with lots of flavor and texture! I’ll take mine slathered in butter please!
Hehe. Yay, Cynthia! A kindred spirit!! 🙂
Your loaf looks just perfect! So very crunchy and I love how the inside looks like it’s tight and airy at the same time. I am gluten free but seeing these is like looking at the menu when you’re on a diet 😉 I still like to pretend I might be able to have it sometimes! Thank for making me daydream with your perfect Irish soda bread 🙂
Thanks Michelle! I have to try making it with almond flour/coconut flour combo. It would be fun to see if it works.
I’ve never had soda bread but this looks like a great sweet snack!
It’s not real sweet by itself, Shanika, but if you add jam, voila!!
What an interesting recipe! I have never heard of brown Irish soda bread before, I can’t wait to try it out! And of course I’ll remember to cut an X in the top… wouldn’t want the devil hangin’ around 😀
Lol, Aleta. It’s so easy to make and super delicious because of its simplicity!
It sounds delicious! I haven’t had brown soda bread before but I think I’d love this spread with lot of butter too. It would be perfect with some homemade soupl.
Oh, yes, Corina!! It’s so good with soup!! I like to dunk it!
I love soda bread, and the texture of this looks just perfect! I’ll give this a recipe a go when I make my next batch!
Thanks so much Carrie!! 🙂 I hope you enjoy it.
Love Irish soda bread and your version look incredible! I’m always a bit scared to bake my own bread, but this recipe seems to be easy to follow and quite straight forward, so I may give it a go!
Thanks Anna! It almost makes itself. 🙂
I am used to always have bread in the house. This one is great, love soda bread, plus it is made with my favorite flour!
Yay! I love spelt flour too! Thanks Nicoletta!
I have never tasted Irish soda bread but I have never met a bread I didn’t like! I like that you give all of those tips because I find bread making very intimidating. Can’t wait to give this a try!
You have to try this, Denise. So incredibly delicious and easy!
Nice recipe! The process shots were really helpful. I love that your inspiration for this recipe was from your Ireland trip! It makes the recipe even more special. 🙂
Thanks so much Rachel! We had such a great time on our trip!
Love this bread (but then I like MOST bread) for its texture and flavor! Good plain or dressed or toasted. Hits the spot!
Hehe. Thanks, Chris!
I love the idea of fresh bread with a meal. This soda bread sounds like it would be fun to make and convenient when you don’t have a lot of time. I enjoy trying out different flours. I’ll have to pick up some spelt. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Thank you Marisa! Spelt is my go-to flour, for sure! It’s sprouted and I feel better eating it than all-purpose flour!
I’ve been trying to make more homemade bread during this winter but got too lazy….) I love your Irish soda bread and how easy it is to make it) Should definitely try it next week!)
I hope you enjoy it Veronika!
Homemade bread is so tasty! This reminds me that I need to make some soon. Definitely going to give this recipe a try!
Thank you, Kathryn. It is super easy to make and had a lovely taste! I hope you enjoy it when you try it!
That’s an interesting soda bread recipe. Never heard of brown soda bread and I can’t wait to try. Love a good airy bread and your recipe seem to promise that! Saved the recipe to try later
Thanks Jo! It really is an easy and tasty bread! I hope you enjoy it when you try it!