Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway

4.57 from 39 votes

Classic Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread recipe that is rustic and flavorful. Serve it with your favorite soup or stew for a hearty dinner.

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Total Time45

Course: Side Dishes

Cuisine: Irish

Servings: servings

Calories: 383kcal

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a large cast iron skillet or a Dutch oven. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Using a pastry mixer or fork, cut butter into the flour mixture until well-incorporated.
Stir in raisins and caraway seeds, if using.
Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and add egg and buttermilk to the well. Stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix! This makes the bread tough. Some lumps of flour are fine.
Dust hands with flour and form the dough into a round loaf. Place the dough into the prepared pan. Using a serrated knife, cut 1-2″ deep in a crosshatch fashion (this allows heat to penetrate through the dough).
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until top is browned and the bread sounds hollow when the bottom is tapped. If top gets too brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil while the bread finishes off.

If you are using whole wheat flour, you might need a touch more liquid—add a tablespoon more buttermilk at a time until you get a sticky dough.

This is a great recipe for the food processor. To make in the food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Then add in the butter, and pulse until it is well incorporated. Add in the caraway seeds, egg, and buttermilk, and pulse until just incorporated. Fold in the raisins, if using, and proceed with step 6 of the recipe.