Irish Soda Bread with Dried Cranberries Recipe

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Irish Soda Bread with Dried Cranberries Recipe

Irish Soda Bread with Dried Cranberries is a traditional quick bread made with baking soda as a leavening agent. While it's typically made of just flour, buttermilk, salt, and baking soda, we're adding in some extras to make it even tastier. This simple bread has a dense yet tender crumb with a slightly tangy flavor, and is best served warm!

Course Bread

Cuisine American, Irish

Keyword Irish Soda Bread

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 5

Servings slices (one loaf)

Calories 283kcal

Author Sue Ringsdorf

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 Tablespoons COLD unsalted butter - cubed
1 cup dried cranberries - optional

Instructions

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.
4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Add in butter. Add the cubed cold butter to the bowl and work it into the dry ingredients with a pasty cutter or your hands. I normally use my hands and just press the butter into the flour mixture for 30 seconds or so. Don’t overwork it.
6 Tablespoons COLD unsalted butter
Add the wet ingredients. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk and egg and whisk well. Then make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the wet ingredients. Stir together until the dough is combined. It will be shaggy. Then add the dried cranberries and mix again. You may need to use your hands to mix ingredients.
1 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1 large egg, 1 cup dried cranberries
Form loaf. Add a light dusting of flour to a cutting board. Turn the dough on to the board and form it into a round loaf. (It will be dry.) Use a sharp knife to carve an X into the top of the loaf. Transfer loaf to prepared pan.
Bake bread. Bake bread for approximately 50-55 minutes or until top is golden brown and done in the center. If the loaf is getting too dark on top, tent some aluminum foil over the top for part of the baking.
Cool. Carefully transfer bread to a wire cooling rack. Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
Serve. Use a serrated edge bread knife to slice bread into approximately 12 slices. Serve bread warm with butter, honey, or jam!

Notes

Store leftover bread in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Place Irish soda bread in a freezer bag for up to three months.
To make homemade buttermilk, combine just slightly less than 1 ¾ cups of milk with 1 ½ tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes before using.

Nutrition