Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread is a lightly tangy bread that's often served with afternoon tea — or, in the U.S., as part of a celebratory St. Patrick's Day meal. As a quick bread, it uses baking soda as a leavener. Buttermilk is essential to this recipe: It activates the baking soda so the bread rises and simultaneously gives the bread an especially tender texture. 

Does Irish soda bread contain raisins?

In Ireland, most soda breads do not contain raisins. (When raisins are included, the soda bread is sometimes called Spotted Dog.) However, raisins are a common component in many Irish American homes. For that reason, we’ve included raisins as an optional ingredient here.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

• This dough is very soft, but don’t be tempted to add more flour.
• Be careful to knead the dough gently when shaping it, so you don’t overwork it and make the final bread tough. Fold it once or twice, then use your palms to shape the dough into an oval. The parchment paper will help keep the dough from sticking when it bakes. 
• You can bake this bread on a baking sheet, in a cast-iron skillet, or in a Dutch oven. Bread baked on a baking sheet will have a slightly thinner, less crunchy crust. A cast-iron pan will give the bread a crispy crust on the bottom. Bread baked in a Dutch oven covered with the lid will have a crunchier crust that most closely mimics bread baked in a pot oven, an iron pot traditionally used in Ireland when baking bread in an open hearth oven. If you bake the bread in a Dutch oven, remove the lid 10 minutes before the bread is finished so it browns on top.