Food & Cooking Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Recipes Bread Recipes Irish-Style Brown Bread This brown soda bread has a delicious, unmistakable tang. Close Credit: Jonathan Lovekin Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 35 mins Total Time: 50 mins Servings: 6 Yield: 1 6-inch loaf Jump to recipe Our Irish brown soda bread recipe calls for just five ingredients—whole wheat flour, rye flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt—and results in a hearty, crusty loaf with a delicious, unmistakable tang. You won't need any special equipment or techniques to pull it together; in fact, you'll only need to knead it by hand two or three times until it's ready to shape and bake. Cutting it into scone-like wedges that get baked closely together makes for a pull-apart loaf that's fun to serve, but you can certainly keep the loaf intact if you'd prefer a more sliceable bread. Enjoy it with softened butter for breakfast or a snack or serve alongside a soup, stew at your St. Patrick's Day spread. 26 St. Patrick's Day Recipes to Celebrate Everything Irish Ingredients for Brown Soda Bread You'll need just five simple ingredients to whip up this hearty, humble loaf: Whole wheat flour: True Irish brown bread is made with a coarse, whole meal flour that can be difficult to source in the US. Instead, we lean primarily on nutty whole wheat flour, which lends a wonderful heartiness to this loaf. Use the coarsest whole wheat flour you can find for the best texture in your soda bread. Rye flour: For an earthy maltiness in the bread, we use a portion of rye flour in addition to the whole wheat. Because it contains less gluten than wheat flour, baked goods made with up to 50 percent rye flour, like this one, tend to have a pleasant chewiness and a higher moisture content. Baking soda: This ingredient does double duty in our recipe: When combined with buttermilk, baking soda acts as a leavener, giving just enough lift to this hearty loaf but also gives soda bread its distinct, mineral flavor. Baking soda and baking powder contain different ingredients and do not react the same way in breads and batters, so do not substitute one for the other in this recipe (or others!). Salt: One and one-half teaspoons of kosher salt enhances the flavor of the bread. If using a finer salt instead, use three-quarters of a teaspoon. Buttermilk: The acid in buttermilk reacts with the baking powder to help leaven this recipe and also adds a delicious tang to the finished product. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, combine 2 cups of milk with 2 tablespoons of either white vinegar or lemon juice and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes (or until slightly curdled) before using. Directions Heat oven; whisk flours, then add buttermilk and knead: Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, whisk together both flours, baking soda, and salt. Pour in buttermilk and stir until just combined, then knead in bowl two or three times, until all of flour has been incorporated and a shaggy dough forms. Shape into a disc and cut into wedges: Form dough into a 6-inch disk. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 6 wedges, leaving them in place. If you prefer to make the loaf for slicing rather than breaking into portions, don't cut through the dough—just use a sharp knife to make shallow slashes before baking. Bake; let cool slightly: Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until bread is firm and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet; let cool slightly. Serve warm or room temperature. (Bread is best the day it's made.) How to Store Brown Soda Bread Soda bread is best the day it is made but you can store cooled bread wrapped tightly in plastic or in a resealable bag at room temperature for up to three days; after that, the loaf may begin to dry out. For longer storage, freeze bread in a freezer bag or wrapped in a double layer of plastic followed by a layer of foil for up to one month. What to Eat With Brown Soda Bread Brown soda bread is delicious spread simply with softened, salted butter (preferably Irish) and eaten for breakfast or a snack but would also make a welcome accompaniment to any number of soups and stews. Try it alongside our Irish beef-and-stout stew, Irish lamb stew, or this hearty beef and barley soup. If you're baking it for St. Patrick's Day, consider serving it with this corned beef and cabbage, which comes together easily in an Instant Pot, or our cheddar-topped Shepherd's pie. 5 More Soda Bread Recipes to Try Traditional Irish Soda Bread Foolproof Irish Soda Bread Irish Soda Scones Easy Irish Soda Bread Rich Irish Soda Bread Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.