Happy (almost) St. Patrick’s Day! I haven’t missed a St. Patrick’s Day celebration since I started blogging almost 5 years ago, and I don’t intend on starting now. This year is extra special, because I finally did 23 and Me and learned that I am almost entirely British/Irish. This definitely explains why I love beer so much, right?!
In honor of my newfound incredibly Irish ancestry, I wanted to go a little more classic this year with Irish soda bread! It’s been on my “to make” list forever, but I never got around to it until this weekend. Irish soda bread is so easy to make and so, so good. There’s no rise time, it comes together in a single bowl, and you can have fresh-baked bread on your table in under an hour. This Irish soda bread is squishy and doughy and soft, but still gets that incredible crispy outside from baking in a cast iron skillet. It’s absolutely a baking classic that I am so happy to have in my repertoire now!
Of course, I had to make things a little more complicated by making what I’d consider the highest form of Irish soda bread – Irish cheddar cheese toasts! I took pieces of Irish soda bread topped with Kerrygold Irish Cheddar (SO. GOOD.) and toasted them in a pan with butter. The crispy, toasty Irish soda bread combined with tangy, salty cheddar cheese makes for a truly fantastic St. Patrick’s Day breakfast or lunch. Make this Irish soda bread, serve with a Guinness, and do UP this March 17th – and if you’re looking for any sweet St. Patrick’s Day ideas to top it off, make sure to check out my list of earlier years’ recipes below!
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 4 tbsp. butter, cut into small chunks, refrigerator-cold
- 1 cup currants
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 ¾ cup buttermilk
- Preheat your oven to 425 F. Spray a cast iron skillet (or other large, oven-safe skillet) with oil and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Using your fingers, blend in the butter until the butter chunks are the size of small peas. Stir in the currants until evenly distributed.
- Make a well in the center and add in the beaten egg and buttermilk. Stir with a sturdy spoon until the dough comes together (it will be very thick). Flour your hands and a clean kitchen surface, then dump the dough out and knead into a ball. (You may need to add a little more flour here if it won't come together, but be careful not to over-mix. It will still be quite shaggy.) Transfer the ball of dough to the prepared skillet and score the loaf with an "x" using a knife, making sure to go about 1-1 ½ inches deep to really allow heat to get into the center. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top of the bread starts browning too fast, tent with foil until cooked through.
- Allow the bread to cool in the skillet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and serve warm! Irish soda bread unfortunately goes stale pretty quickly, so eat whatever you can while it's fresh and then freeze or give away the rest.
- If you'd like to take this to the next level and make Irish cheddar cheese toasts, shred some Irish sharp cheddar cheese (~1/4 cup per toast) and place evenly atop slices of Irish soda bread. Melt a few tbsp. of butter on medium heat in a skillet, add the toasts, then cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the toasts are crispy on the bottom. Serve warm, preferably with a Guinness! 🙂
Looking for more St. Patrick’s Day recipe ideas?
Guinness Chocolate Cake with Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Fudgy Chocolate Stout Brownies
Matcha White Chocolate Walnut Blondies
