The classic four-ingredient soda bread, baked in a loaf pan rather than a round so it slices for sandwiches. Buttermilk's acidity does the work the yeast would have done, and a little butter softens the crumb for grilled cheese.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 500 g | About 4 cups |
| Baking soda | 5 g | About 1 tsp |
| Fine sea salt | 8 g | About 1 1/4 tsp |
| Buttermilk | 400 g | Cold. Its acidity is what activates the soda |
| Butter | 30 g | Melted. Softens the crumb for sandwiches |
Method
1Heat the oven (2 min)
Heat the oven to 400°F and grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
2Whisk the dry (1 min)
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
3Stir — do not knead (3 min)
Pour in the buttermilk and melted butter and stir just until no dry flour remains. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Do not knead it — soda bread turns tough the moment you work it.
4Pan and slash (2 min)
Scrape into the pan, smooth the top, and cut one shallow slash down the length.
5Bake and cool (50 min)
Bake 45–50 minutes, until deep gold and 200°F in the middle. Cool completely in the pan before slicing; soda bread tears if you cut it warm.
Compared to
The published recipes I studied when writing mine down. Respect to the bakers who came first.
The classic four-ingredient method — flour, buttermilk, baking soda, salt — baked in a loaf pan rather than a round so it slices for sandwiches. The only addition is a little butter to soften the crumb.
