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Traditional Irish Breads

The traditional bread of Ireland is called soda bread. Soda bread can be made with white or whole wheat flour. Try one of our recipes to make traditional soda bread or submit your own recipe.

Irish Brown Bread

Irish Soda Bread

Tip: Soda bread can dry out quickly and is typically good for two to three days; it is best served warm or toasted.

What is Soda Bread?

Soda bread is a type of quick bread in which baking soda has been substituted for yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. Other ingredients can be added such as raisins or various forms of nuts.

Early Irish cooks bypassed yeast and used "bread soda" or "baking soda" because Irish flour was too soft to make yeast bread. The bread was cooked on a griddle set over the fire or in a bastable, which is a type of Dutch oven. In many parts of Ireland, soda bread is still shaped and baked as a round loaf with a cross marked on top.