Irish Soda Bread with Aged Cheddar
Published: March 16, 2021 | Updated: March 2, 2024.
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This Irish Soda Bread with Aged Cheddar is one of the easiest loaves you will ever make. Made with lots of melty cheddar cheese, it’s delicious with a smear of butter fresh from the oven or served alongside hearty soups and stews for dipping!
This easy Irish soda bread requires only 10 minutes of hands-on prep time. Simply stir together flour, baking soda, salt & pepper, butter, buttermilk and cheddar and it emerges from the oven with the perfect crumb. No yeast or rise time required.
What is Irish soda bread?
Irish soda bread is a yeast-free quick bread that gets it’s rise from baking soda and buttermilk. This recipe results in a light, crusty loaf and because it doesn’t require any rise time you can have it baked up for lunch in an hour!
This savoury Irish soda bread recipe can be adapted easily to include your add-ins of choice. Try it with fresh herbs, jalapeños, your favourite cheese or seeds or toasted with preserves for a deliciously sweet and savoury combo!
5 more favourite bread recipes:
No-Knead Cheddar Jalapeño Artisan Bread
Rosemary Parmesan Artisan Bread
Irish Soda Bread with Aged Cheddar
Makes 6-8 servings; prep time 10 minutes, bake time 35-40 minutes.
Ingredients:
3 cups (390 grams) bread flour
1½ teaspoons (9 grams) baking soda
1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher or fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon (0.5 grams) freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons (28 grams) cold butter
1¼ cups buttermilk (295 ml)
1 to 1½ cups (125-187.5 grams) freshly grated aged cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon (3.4 grams) fresh rosemary, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400ºF (205ºC) and prepare parchment-lined baking dish, Dutch oven or a well-seasoned 10-inch cast iron pan.
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and pepper. Using a pastry cutter, cut the cold butter into the flour until pea-sized pieces are somewhat evenly distributed.
Pour in buttermilk and stir or mix by hand just until ingredients begin to come together. Fold in cheddar and keep turning the dough until it starts to look a little sticky and stringy.
Transfer dough to a floured surface and use floured hands to shape it into a ball.
Score the top of the loaf with an ‘X’ to allow even heat distribution, transfer to a baking dish or skillet and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and it sounds hollow when you knock on it. Remove from oven, transfer to cooling rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes:
Flour: I like to use a hard wheat unbleached bread flour to get a good crusty, chewy loaf. Hard wheat or ‘strong’ flour is made from hard wheat kernels and is a little more dense and higher in protein than other flours. This recipe will also work well with other bread or all-purpose flours although results may vary in terms of both texture and appearance.
Don’t have buttermilk? Simply add 1 tablespoon + ¼ teaspoon vinegar to 1¼ cups milk, stir and let sit for 15 minutes until thickened.
Storage: Irish soda bread will keep in a well-sealed bag on the counter for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 2 months.
