Food & Cooking Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Recipes Bread Recipes Foolproof Irish Soda Bread 3.1 (166) 21 Reviews This easy quick bread is packed with raisins and too good to only eat on St. Patrick's Day. By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 12, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Yield: 1 loaf Jump to recipe Our Irish soda bread is a simple quick bread leavened with baking soda, not yeast, which produces a light loaf that’s packed with raisins and caraway seeds. Our foolproof recipe uses basic ingredients—no need to buy buttermilk since you'll make your own with whole milk and cider vinegar. Soda bread is delicious with a hearty main dish or soup, and also excellent for breakfast or as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea. We enjoy it so much, we make it often—not only for St. Patrick's Day. Rich Irish Soda Bread Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1 ⅓ cups whole milk ⅓ cup apple-cider vinegar 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and dusting 2 ½ teaspoons coarse salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1 cup unprocessed wheat bran ¼ cup caraway seeds 1 cup (5 ounces) raisins Salted butter, preferably Irish, for serving Directions Preheat oven, prep baking sheet, and add vinegar to milk: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Mix milk and vinegar in a small bowl, and let stand until thickened, about 5 minutes. Combine dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add butter: Cut in unsalted butter with a pastry cutter or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add bran, seeds, and raisins: Add bran, caraway seeds, and raisins; stir to distribute. Add milk to flour mixture: Pour milk mixture into flour mixture; stir until dough just holds together but is still sticky. Shape bread: Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat and press the dough gently into a round, dome-shaped loaf, about 7 inches in diameter. Transfer to prepared sheet. Lightly dust top of loaf with flour. With a sharp knife, cut an X into the top, 3/4 inch deep. Bake: Bake, rotating halfway through, until loaf is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Soda bread is best eaten the day it is made; serve with salted butter. Pull-Apart Soda Bread Variation Burcu Avsar Use our Foolproof Soda Bread recipe to make pull-apart soda bread. Step 1: After turning out the dough on a lightly floured surface, divide it into 16 equal pieces and, with floured hands, roll each into a ball.Step 2: Transfer the balls to a parchment-lined baking sheet in 4 rows of 4, making sure each dough ball is touching the ones around it.Step 3: With the tip of a paring knife, cut a 1/4-inch-deep X on each ball. Because the pull-apart rolls are smaller than a full loaf, the baking time is cut in half. Cool to room temperature before serving with plenty of salted Irish butter. Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, March 2009 Rate It PRINT Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.