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A Simple Irish Dinner: Homemade Soda Bread

Both for my husband and myself, there is Irish blood flowing through our veins. 

This means that we do like to enjoy some typical Irish fare on occasion.

And some dishes like homemade soda bread can be part of a meal that isn’t Irish.

While I am not one for corned beef and cabbage (which he is), I do enjoy a nice stew with bread. 

Knowing that St. Patrick’s Day is coming up soon, I thought it might be nice to make a simple Irish dinner to test my skills at making Irish Soda Bread and an easy Irish Stew.

A Simple Irish Dinner of Stew and Soda Bread

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Making Homemade Soda Bread

Now, I have had some different styles of Irish Soda bread in the past and many of them call for currants. 

While my boys can be adventurous in their eating compared to some their age, I do have a few boys who balk at chunks of anything in their bread unless it is chocolate chips.

Irish Soda Bread

So, I decided to make up a loaf of the bread without the currants and think it will be wonderful toasted with butter and jam as well.

I’d seen in the How to Cook Everything cookbook that you could make this with a food processor or by hand.

I thought I’d try using my Bosch to keep my hands clean, but found that it wasn’t the same as a food processor. I still had to tip it out and knead a little by hand to finish mixing it all together. 

Plus, from using whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt, the suggested amount was not sufficient to get it moist. So, I added about 2 Tbsp. of milk while hand kneading.

Making Irish Soda Bread
Irish Soda Bread

Homemade Soda Bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

A basic Irish Soda Bread that is quick to make with just a few ingredients from the cupboard.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp. baking powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl or food processor bowl, add all dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
  3. Add buttermilk or plain yogurt to the dry ingredients, just enough to make a soft dough that is not too sticky. If using a food processor, 'knead' for 30 seconds. If doing by hand, knead for about 3 minutes.
  4. Allow the dough to stand for a few minutes in the bowl.
  5. Form a round shaped loaf and place onto a prepared baking sheet or pan. Using a sharp knife, make a few slits along the top.
  6. Bake for at least 45 minutes. The loaf should be golden brown and sounds hollow if you thump the bottom. (You can also check with a thermometer for a temperature of 200 degrees F.)
  7. Allow the loaf to cool thoroughly before slicing.

Notes

If you do not have either buttermilk or yogurt, then you can make sour milk. Warm 1 1/2 cups of milk slightly, add 1 1/2 Tbsp. of white vinegar, and then allow it to stand for several minutes to cool for use.

This kind of bread does not store especially well, but makes for a wonderful toast the morning after you dinner.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 165Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 566mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 7g

 Complete your dinner with my recipe for Irish Stew.

Irish Stew Using Beef or Lamb

Do you have an Irish heritage or just love the Irish?

Is St. Patrick’s Day a cause for celebration in your house?

More Irish Themed Posts 

Get Your Irish On with These Bands
St. Patrick’s Day: Getting Your Green On
Irish Stew for a Simple Irish Dinner
How to Make Shepherd’s Pie for a Simple Irish Meal
Make an Easy Clothespin Vase for St. Patrick’s Day
Corned Beef and Cabbage: Made Quickly in Pressure Cooker

For more amazing St. Patrick’s Day ideas, check out some blog posts from a few of my favorite bloggers:

St Patricks Day CreativeHOP Collage

PIN for Later

Simple Irish Dinner of Stew and Soda Bread

18 Comments

  1. The stew looks very classic and homey. The soda bread looks great too! There is nothing better than taking a piece of warm bread, topping it with a little butter and then dunking it in a good stew gravy.

    1. So glad you like it, Karee. I just made the soda bread this weekend for our church’s St. Patrick’s Day party and my boys were lamenting that I didn’t have an extra loaf at home.

  2. Oh yum, I love stew and I’m amazed at how fast a pressure cooker cooks. I might just have to get one. Since we like lamb, I think I may try to make it with the traditional lamb. Love the look of the soda bread, I wonder if I can make that using gf flour. I will have to do some research. Thanks for sharing.

    1. My husband LOVES lamb, but until recently shunned it as everyone was selling New Zealand lamb which he doesn’t like. If the American ‘grown’ we bought at Fred Meyer’s is a hit, then we’ll be making up lamb stew ourselves.

      I haven’t done any gluten free baking so far, but think you should be able to adjust with gf flour.

  3. OMYumness! Everything looks fantastic! I love stew and this one is definitely going into my recipe rotation real soon!

  4. I have tried making irish soda bread before with varying success. The times it turned out ,was delicious! I should try making it again, yum.

  5. Wow—this stew and bread was standard fare at my grandmother’s house where I grew up, the stew cooked in her pressure cooker. This reminds me of home, even though my grandmother was French and the rest of us are mostly German 🙂

    1. It was delicious and the boys were shocked that mom got a stew to come out tasty. I’ve decided that I need a recipe for a launching point and can then tweak it easier than going completely from scratch.

    1. Janel,

      I don’t know why I wait SO long to make it. We all loved this version without the currants or raisins in it and I’ll be making more real soon.

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