Cheesy Irish soda bread
Irish soda bread flavored with cheese and herbs is the perfect, easy bread to serve with hearty stews or soups. It’s also delicious served simply with butter and the ultimate side dish for St. Patrick’s day.
I am a big fan of easy, no-knead quick bread recipes. They make great side dishes and are perfect for snacks or quick meals. This cheesy herbed Irish soda bread is my latest obsession. Not only does this bread take all of 10 minutes to throw together, but it bakes quickly and you’re guaranteed a delicious loaf that you’ll want to devour in one sitting.
This Irish Soda Bread is incredibly versatile. You can flavor it with different cheeses, herbs, fried onions, roasted garlic and even sun-dried tomatoes will all work perfectly in this loaf. I’ve kept it simple and classic with cheese and herbs. The rest of the ingredients are all pantry/fridge staples, making this Irish soda bread recipe even more convenient.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flour: All purpose flour.
- Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda).
- Salt.
- Buttermilk. The buttermilk creates a tender crumb and activates the baking soda and is a key ingredient. Milk with a few tablespoons of vinegar or fresh lemon juice mixed in can be used as substitute.
- Egg.
- Grated cheddar cheese.
- Fresh herbs. I used fresh parsley, sage and chives but thyme, rosemary and dried oregano will all be delicious.
How to make Irish soda bread
- Make the dough: Stir together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Whisk together the wet ingredients then pour into the dry ingredients and slowly bring the dough together until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Add the cheese and herbs: Gently add the grated cheese and herbs then knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough just comes together in a round ball. The dough will be sticky and should look quite shaggy, not smooth at all.
- Bake: Transfer the dough to a cast iron pot/Dutch oven line with baking paper. Score the top with a sharp knife and place the lid on top. You could bake the loaf on a baking sheet too but for a nicely round loaf, a pot works well. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when knocked on the bottom. A skewer inserted should also come out clean.
- Cool and serve: Remove the baked loaf from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pot. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool for another 15-20 minutes then slice and serve with lots of butter.
Can I make this ahead?
It’s best eaten fresh but Irish soda bread will last 3-4 days wrapped in wax paper and foil. Stale bread can be served toasted.
Serving Suggestions
Irish soda bread is the perfect side dish to rich stews and soups. It’s also a delicious snack or quick meal served with butter and jam. Top it with a fried egg for a quick breakfast.
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups (500ml) buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- ½ cup fresh herbs, chopped (I used parsley, sage and chives)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/360ºF and line a Dutch oven/cast iron pot with baking/parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Whisk an egg into the buttermilk and pour into the dry ingredients.
- Mix the dough until it just starts to come together (there will be large lumps) then add the cheese and herbs.
- Continue mixing until the dough just comes together. The dough will be sticky and shaggy looking (not too smooth or else it will be over-mixed).
- Transfer to the prepared pot then score a cross onto the top with a sharp knife. Cover with the lid and place in the pre-heated oven.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the bread is cooked through. It will sound hollow when knocked on the bottom and a skewers inserted will come out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving with butter.
Very good! I used cheddar and fresh rosemary (since that is what I had). Great with the Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew. Also great the next morning with a sunny side up egg on a piece of the toast! Highly recommend.
***** was easy an so delicious. Ready to make again ty
This is my first time making soda bread. Mine came out very dense. Is that the way it is supposed to be ?
Soda bread is definitely more dense than a yeasted bread would be. It shouldn’t be wet in the center but yes, it is quite dense.
Am I reading your instructions correctly that the Dutch oven is NOT placed in the oven to preheat while the oven is coming to temp and instead goes in cold with the bread dough?
Thanks for the clarification since all of my bread recipes calling for a parchment-lined, lidded, Dutch oven require it to be preheated and the bread lifted into the hot pot on the parchment. This is my first time trying an Irish soda bread so perhaps this style of bread bakes differently?!
No, I don’t preheat the Dutch Oven but you could, if you preferred.
Easy, Good, Tasty…. Make two loaves…… one to serve on St. Patrick’s Day and one to hide (for selfish reason after guests have gone home) …. Don’t do the dishes… Open a Guinness, sit back, put your feet up and enjoy a private slice or three…. If the doorbell rings, don’t answer it… just cut yourself another slice of deliciousness…. You have earned it! Fabulous recipe… Thanks Alida
Simple, easy, delicious! I used the freeform shape on a sheet pan and it was great! I would put a pic up but not sure how, and it really looked like yours but the shape was different! Thank you so much
Didn’t get a lot of color on top, banged like a drum, very dense, but very good. Thank you!
Hello,
Do you use normal bread flour?
You could but because there is no yeast in this recipe, bread flour could result in a bit of a tougher loaf.
If I use a cast iron skillet, should I tent with foil (no lid)? How much will it rise?
Allow it to bake and then tent if it browns too much. The bread will be considerably flatter if you use a skillet but since I haven’t tested it, I can’t say with certainty how much it will rise in a skillet.
Omgoodness this was delicious! Exactly what I wanted to pair with my leftover Christmas turkey noodle soup. Mine seem to take a lot longer to cook. Over an hour! But it was totally worth it. Moist and golden brown! I didn’t have any fresh herbs but I put some dried ones in with the dry ingredients and brushed melted garlic butter on the top when it came out of the oven. ? #drool.
Hi!
Nice recipe, liked it lots!
I’ve noticed in Lotsa internet reading that people complain that, after refrigeration, some breads change color to a grayish hue! ( doesn’t affect taste or health) !,,,
I also noticed that these breads all have some quantity of Buttermilk in them!.
I think Buttermilk is the Color Culprit!
Thanks for recipe ?
super easy and very tasty. never have buttermilk but milk + apple cider vinegar works well in place 🙂
no butter in this recipe?
Nope.
Can this be frozen? Thank you
Yes, definitely!
mine did not turn out brown on top, was I supposed to remove the lid? thanks! Melissa
You could definitely remove the lid for the last 10 minutes of baking.
My didn’t brown either. Do you uncover your bread while baking so it has that beautiful brown color
You definitely can if you want your loaf to be more golden.
Am I able to bake this in some other sort of pan ?
Yes, this will work in a loaf pan or sheet pan as well, shaped into a round loaf.
May I ask if you used regular flour or extra strong bread flour ? Also what size Dutch oven did you use ? I’ve made it with just regular flour . Many thanks for sharing this recipe ,
Yes, I use regular flour and it comes out perfectly every time.
The easiest bread recipe and it was so delicious. Will make again.
So glad you liked it.
I made this bread last weekend and it turned out perfectly! I’ve never made bread before so this was a great starter recipe and I love soda bread. My only question/comment is that when I took it out of the fridge today to have a slice to toast the colour was off…most of the centre looked greyish in colour. It didn’t smell or taste bad from what I could tell…what could have caused this? A chemical reaction due to the soda? the fresh herbs?
I’m so glad you liked it. It could definitely be the herbs (especially sage can be quite grey) and I suppose it could also be a chemical reaction but mine didn’t discolour for days after so to be honest, I’m not entirely sure?
Mine turned out wonderfully, but I saw the same grayness after a few days. The only herb I added was fresh chopped sage, and I also added way more cheese than the recipe called for. I think it is related to the sage after all. Still ate the whole loaf myself tho!
It must be the sage then, that’s so strange!
Loved this recipe. Really so easy and delicious.
Great to hear. 🙂
I’m loving this cheesy/herby version Alida. Irish soda bread is one of my favorites. My mother always made it growing up!
Thanks Mary Ann. It’s such a comfort food classic.