Soda Bread Recipe

Serves 4 (1 loaf)

“The cakey nature of soda and wheaten bread makes it prone to drying out, so putting a damp cloth over it after it has come out of the oven helps to keep as much moisture as possible inside as the bread cools down. You can keep a damp cloth over it until it is finished, but in our house that was never very long. It’s the kind of bread you put out on the table with a meal, and by the end of it the loaf is finished.” – Richard Corrigan.

Richard Corrigan’s Irish soda bread is a family recipe, passed down the generations, and is now used in our own kitchen. This bread is heavenly fresh out of the oven and smothered with good salted butter, or topped with crab or salmon for fool-proof canapés. And if you have anything left over (not likely), toast it the next day to have with a hearty breakfast.   

250g plain flour
10g salt
15g sodium bicarbonate
150g wholemeal flour
150g jumbo oat flakes
1 tbsp clear honey
1 tbsp black treacle
500ml buttermilk

  1. Heat the oven to 200°C and line a baking sheet with baking grease.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, then mix in the honey, treacle and buttermilk, working everything together lightly with your hands until you have a loose, wet dough.
  3. Flour your hands, shape the dough into a round and lift it onto the baking sheet. Cut a cross in the top. As the loaf cooks it will help to separate it into quarters.
  4. Put it into the oven and bake for around 35-40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Transfer to a wire rack, drape a damp cloth over the top and leave to cool.