Make an Easy Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick’s Day

If I have to return to earth as an animal one day, I want to be an Irish dairy cow.

In Ireland, cows are raised on small family farms nibbling the most luscious pasture grass. And living the good life, the animals produce quality milk for butter and cheeses, including Dubliner, a cheese we’re using in the easy Irish soda bread recipe featured below.

Actually, I know quite a bit about Irish cows. I’ve been to Irish dairy farms on several trips to the Emerald Isle as a PR representative of Kerrygold butter and cheeses, until I retired. And from the meals we hosted in Ireland for U.S. media, I can also confirm that there are many extraordinary chefs producing world-class fare, showcasing local products and supporting the farm-to-table movement.

Easy Irish Soda Bread that Kids can Make

If you’ve never baked Irish Soda Bread before, you’ll find it’s a surprisingly easy quick bread to make. In fact, Miss T produced a loaf, supervised, when she was four using a recipe by the doyenne of Irish cooking, Darina Allen. That recipe just requires three pantry staples, plus buttermilk.

Buttermilk Substitutes

Buttermilk, essential in Irish soda bread to activate the baking soda, is not an ingredient many of us keep on hand. Here are two workarounds if you don’t want to make a supermarket run:

• Lemon juice or plain white vinegar plus milk. Put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup. Fill with milk to make 1 cup.
• Keep dried buttermilk powder on hand. In addition to the King Arthur brand, there are others, such as Saco, which is the one we tend to buy.

Try more easy recipes to make with or for the grandkids.

Dubliner Cheese and Green Onion Soda Bread

This Irish soda bread recipe is a riff on the classic, adding shredded Dubliner cheese and sliced green onions to make a rich, savory bread.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups (1 pound) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 ounces (1 1/2 cups) shredded Dubliner cheese (see note)
• 4 green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, plus extra, if needed

Method

Heat oven to 450 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add cheese and onions and stir to combine.

Make a well in the center then add buttermilk. Using a large spoon, mix gently and quickly to make a soft dough. Add a little more buttermilk if necessary until the dough binds together without being sloppy.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface, then using hands dusted in flour, shape into a disk about 7 inches in diameter.

Place the disk on a baking sheet and cut a deep cross. in the top. Flour the knife if the dough sticks. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 400 degrees F and bake another 20 to25 minutes or until the loaf is evenly golden and crusty. Tap the bottom of the loaf; it should sound hollow.

Transfer the soda bread to a wire rack and cool about 20 minutes.

This bread is best eaten on the day it is baked and when still warm.

Makes 1 loaf.

Recipe adapted from Cheddar & Spring Onion White Soda Bread, from The Kerrygold Cookbook by Orla Broderick, c 2013, by Irish Dairy Board and Zahra Media Group.

Recipe Notes:

• For this recipe, to substitute for buttermilk: put 1 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup. Fill with enough milk to measure 1 1/2 cups.
• Note that the cheese is shredded, not grated. Use the big holes on a box grater. Dubliner cheese is found in most supermarkets in 7-ounce blocks.
• Since this bread has cheese in it, store any leftover bread in a plastic bag and refrigerate; toast slices in a toaster to reheat.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day next week!

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