Grandma McAndrews' Irish Soda Bread

Hubs doesn't like quick breads of any kind, Mom and I were unsure of the raisins. Didn't look like this bread was going to make any kind of statement at tonight's St. Patrick's Day meal. I had low expectations, frankly. Wrong! Everyone loved it! (me too!) Other than using vegetable oil rather than corn oil, I prepared it as directed, then dusted the loaf with a little flour before it went it into the oven. I find it incredible that something so impressive both in appearance and taste comes together so easily and quickly and with such humble ingredients. It's really a foolproof recipe. I baked it on parchment paper, and in my oven at least, 35 minutes was just right. It's just a beautiful bread that is moist (because of the buttermilk I have no doubt!), tender and flavorful. Don't be tempted to leave out the raisins as I almost did - they really do add something in a positive way!

Grandma McAndrew sure had it right - I just had a slice of this soda bread and its absolutely perfect!!!

I used softened butter instead of the oil and plumped the raisins in a sauce pan with butter before adding them to the flour mixture. I did this "before adding the liquid mix". I find mixing the raisins in the dry ingredients easier than in the dough. I needed to add 10 minutes to the time to complete cooking, but the bread came out very well. It went well with the Corned Beef and Potatoes for St. Patrick's Day evening meal. Have Fun!!

I have never made Irish Soda Bread before but this recipe is definitely not going to wait for the next St Patrick's Day! It's an excellent recipe! I didn't have any buttermilk so I made my own by adding a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice to the milk and letting it sit for 5 mins. before using it. Thanks for posting.

This is easy to make and tastes good--my first time making Irish soda bread. I chose this recipe because it fits my idea of authentic Irish soda bread, including raisins & buttermilk but not sour cream. I rate it a 4 (rather than 5) only because it's the first soda bread recipe I've tried, so I don't have a lot to which I can compare it.

Although I didn't have raisins, I stuck to the recipe exactly (well, substituting veggie oil instead of corn oil) and it came out AMAZING! I combined the wet and dry ingredients as directed, gooshing them together by hand until it made a nice, sticky ball that I slapped into a lightly oiled, square little glass pan. I baked it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes and it was perfect! Hot, steaming, moist and delightfully sweet...I almost reminded me of the taste of sweet cornbread. I made it with some Irish Lamb Stew from this site, and it was too good for words. Nothing less than perfection. I can't thank you enough for this awesome recipe!! :D

Delicious!!! I just made 2 loaves after making a quick to disappear loaf a few weeks ago. My husband called it the giant scone! I love the simplicity, taste and tenderness of the bread. I have made other loaves of soda bread which I love but this is the most straight forward. Just finished a warm piece with a bowl of spicy chili-sounds odd but, really, a perfect match!! Update: I wanted to add that I made some last night to give in holiday gift bags. I divided the dough to make 2 smaller loaves...perfect size for gifts. The dough is very sticky and I just kind of mounded it and use a butter knife to kind of smooth it a bit. They baked up very well at 30 minutes, nice and golden. Awesome bread and great for toasting. Another update. This is my go to Irish bread and I have made it many times with great success, Today I substituted 1 cup of the AP flour with 1 cup of Bobs whole wheat flour-yum! Next ti,e I will go half and half and see how that is!

Oh My Gosh, this Irish Soda Bread recipe is one of the best I've tasted! And so easy to boot! Thank you, Grandma McAndrew, and to Sheila for having the patience to figure it out! I made mine without raisins (my family is raisin-phobic), so I increased the sugar by a quarter cup to make up for the missing sweetness. Perfect!

Excellent recipe. I made this quickly on St. Patrick's Day, with a houseful of guests, when I discovered that the soda bread I had bought at the store had caraway seeds in it. (I've found a lot of recipes that call for it, but just not my thing.) This recipe was a huge hit! I needed to cook it for about 10 minutes longer than it calls for, because the middle was still soft, but once it was done, it was amazing. I'm making another loaf as I type this! :)

I do make two smaller loaves instead of one big one :)

Followed recipe exactly and was rewarded with two perfect loaves of soda bread.

was a little doughy according to the original recipe

Being St. Paddy's day tomorrow, I wanted to make something Irish. Decided to make this since it looked easy. I used what I had and did some subsitutions. Used half & half with 1 tablespoon of vinegar, canola oil, and craisins. I did have to bake it for 45 minutes in my gas oven. I have never tasted Irish bread or made it before, but this tastes great! It looks like an scone on steriods but not as dry.

After 5 years of searching for the ultimate Irish Soda bread, this recipe is the winner. I use half regular raisins and half golden raisins. The only other change is the oil: I used 2 TBS canola oil and 3 TBS applesauce to reduce the fat...no noticeable difference. Everyone at work LOVED this. Thanks to your late gramma for this recipe!

Made this ALMOST to the "T" as written. I didn't have any butter milk so I curdled 2% with some vinegar. Other than that, no changes. I made mine into one large boule and baked for about 40+ minutes. Made two for a St. Patrick's day party. Great reviews from the guests.

I have made alot of Irish Soda Bread in my day. I usually use Katie Reilly's mix, but forgot to order it in time for our annual St. Patrick's Day meal so. . . this is why I tried this recipe. This is quite a good recipe. I do still prefer Katie Reilly's as I like my soda bread a bit sweeter than this one came out. But I must say that of ALL the from-scratch recipes I've baked, this one is the best by far!

Great recipe. Even my 2 yr. old grandson loved it. I am sure I will make this again many times.

This tasted exactly like my Grandmother's recipe. I was looking for something authentic and so many other "soda breads" on this site were too sweet. This is perfect. The raisins add just enough sweetness and the bread is crumbly but not too dry. I made a double batch and baked two loaves in oiled metal cake pans. I think next time I will make multiple smaller loaves because it took so long for the inside to finish baking that all the raisins on the top were burnt. Only thing I did differently was used vegetable oil instead of corn oil, and used golden raisins (plumped them in hot water before adding). This is so yummy toasted with butter!! Thank you, Sheila, for a fantastic recipe! This will be made much more than once a year in our house!

I love this bread. To give it a little kick I soak the raisins in whiskey. I like to use dried cranberries around the holidays or as an alternative. I serve mine with orange marmalade. I have tried caraway seeds in this bread but they are optional because they are an acquired taste. Grandma McAndrews bread jump starts my Irish Jig!

This is such an amazing recipe!! I made my own revisions on it though. Instead of raisins i used dried cranberries and soaked them in a little bit of brandy and whiskey. Then I added a little more oil than the recipe called for as well an brushing the top with some melted butter and milk as it was baking. Note: I baked mine almost an hour

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This was a perfect loaf of Irish Soda Bread! Did not change a thing. It looked like an artisan bread when it came out of the oven. Crisp brown crust and moist, slightly sweet interior. My wife and kids loved it. Tastes great with a little butter and was a great accompaniment to the corned beef and cabbage this evening. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

Wonderful Soda Bread! The texture was perfect. Lighter than most that I have made before and very moist. I did have to cook it longer than the recipe called for, though. Closer to 60 minutes I think.

First of all, tasted great and was very easy to make. Howerver, I made this twice and each time I had to expand the timing to 55 minutes - I had a probelm getting the center to cook. The second time, I flattened the round more, so it wasn't in the shape of "a ball", and that seemed to help. We served it with a mint jelly for those who wanted a bit of sweetness with it. It was a hit, but that center is a bit of a concern.

This is an authentic recipe and matches my nana's recipe right from Ireland. The only thing is Molly McGee (my nana) would add a tablespoon of caraway seed but made sure others would be OK with it before adding the seed. I like it because it gives it a slight rye type flavor.

Super easy and absolutely delicious. I meant to add caraway seeds, but I forgot... I think they'd add a nice layer of flavor though.

Good recipe but hubby gives it only three stars.

I made this for St Patty's Day and it was delicious! I halved the recipe because it was only for me and hubby and it was still a good sized loaf. I baked it for 25 mins and it was done perfectly!

I have made this soda bread for St. Patrick's Day two years in a row, and it is always a hit! So easy, so delicious! I followed the recipe AS WRITTEN both years, and other than needing extra baking time this year (moved to another state and the oven here leaves a lot to be desired), it was perfect! Thank you Sheila for posting this!

Wow - our first time making Irish Soda Bread, and it was a huge hit! It came out perfectly and was delicious hot out of the oven with real butter and jam. I'm not a lover of raisins in my baked goods, but did not mind them at all. Since every guest and family member loved it, it will be our new St. Patty's Day tradition :)

I didn't try this recipe, but I Sheila T mentioned the "dark bread served in many restaurants in Ireland" and I have been searching for that recipe for a number of years without any luck. So Sheila T. or anyone else, do you have the recipe for the dark bread served in restaurants? Thanks for helping!

I actually used this recipe to make mini loaves of soda bread - i had to figure out the timing of course but they came out great! If you don't want the big loaf and make the individual ones for handing out or dinner - try it! Great recipe - one of my faves!

Followed recipe except I pan "warmed the raisins and crainrains" with a tablespoon of butter and added to the dry mix. Two loaves were made. Too wet to cut a "x" in top. The entire family and coworkers loved it.

It took 55 minutes to bake and it wasn't as moist as everybody said but it was a heck of a lot more moist than any other soda bread I've ever had. I used dried cranberries because I hate raisins but other than that, I followed the recipe but the dough wasn't all that soft. Next time I'll reduce the flour by about 1/8 cup and see what happens. All together it's pretty good and the house smelled wonderful while it was baking.

People went crazy for this easy bread at my St Patrick's Day party. My brother-in-law proclaimed me the "best baker ever." What more can you ask? Didn't change a thing.

I made it exactly as written, and it came out perfectly! I was worried when I first took the bread out of the oven because it seemed undercooked. I let it sit for an hour or so while I finished the rest of the meal, and by dinner time it was absolutely perfect! I will definitely make this again.

I have tried different Irish soda bread recipes only to be disappointed in the past but this one is so good I might end my journey to find the best Irish soda bread recipe now if I can stop being curious :) I followed the recipe exactly but used currants instead of raisins which shouldn't have changed the end result at all. It's a big keeper!

I brought this to work and everyone loved it! I will be making this again very soon!

I made this for the first time for our family's St. Patrick's Day dinner. It was a huge hit! I made a few changes: I didn't have raisins so I added 1/4 cup honey to the liquid ingredients, and used only 1/8 cup oil to offset the extra liquid from the honey. I used light olive oil instead of vegetable oil as well. It was light, slightly sweet, and had a great texture. We will be having this again!

Good, moist. Next time I will add a little butter and sprinkled sugar to the top. I took another reviewer's suggestion and made two loaves, perfect for a one person household, one to enjoy now and one to freeze for later.

The big guy and I loved this bread. It goes together quickly and uses simple ingredients. It was the perfect bread for our early St Patrick's Day meal of corned beef brisket, pan-fried cabbage with bacon, potatoes and carrots. It toasts up nicely for breakfast and pairs well with jams and marmalades. Can't be beat for a basic quick bread.

This bread was definitely very easy to make. It was good, but personally I didn't find it to be any more than that.

Just finished making two loaves of this bread and after years of trying different soda bread recipes that I didn't like, this one is by far the best. Only changes I made was to soak the raisins in 1/4 cup Jameson's Irish Whiskey and 14 cup water for about 4 hours I used 3 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup white whole wheat flour. The results are the best -- I'll keep this recipe forever!

MANDIAPPAN, this is my recipe and I apologize that I just now saw your review about how wet the dough was. You need to flour your countertop or board or whatever you're using to shape the dough into a ball and also have your hands covered in flour. It really sounds like you didn't have enough flour. I hope you try the recipe again and it works out better for you! :-) ALSO - for people who thought it wasn't done: Depending on your oven, you may need to cook for 40 to 45 minutes. Always use a toothpick to check. When a toothpick comes out clean, it's done. I hope this helps!

Fast, easy and delicious! It is a bit messy though - the dough is wetter than I expected, which sticks to the counter a lot. Baked in 40 mins. I used 1/3 c. sugar.

Hubby made this and I crave it because its sooo good.

This is almost identical to "Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread" on this site except that this recipe omits the butter. I miss the butter -- apparently I'm just a glutton that way. This is otherwise very tasty (and much healthier and probably more authentic, too). Thanks for sharing!

First Irish Soda Bread.. super easy and best of all QUICK to put together, I didn't change a thing. Baked it a little longer than what was called for which was odd because my oven usually runs hot, but made 2 loaves in a weekend and both came out great!

I've made this amazing bread numerous times of course always on St. Patty's Day. I follow the recipe and it comes out amazing every time. Like other reviewers I was skeptical about the raisins - do not leave them out. I don't even like soda bread I love this soda bread even i was shocked. My husband's family is Irish & Italian and they beg for this bread every St. Patrick's Day and it's so easy to make I'm happy to bring 3 or 4 loaves every year for everyone to enjoy with their corned beef. Thanks for this wonderful recipe

I've made this soda bread every year for probably 5 or 6 years now around St. Patrick's Day. It comes out great every time. I'm a nurse and an Irish charge nurse I work with told me this tastes just like the bread her mom made in Ireland. I've made it with all different mild oils- veggie, canola... all different types of raisins (I personally love the golden ones) and it is always delicious. I like buying the Kerigold butter to slather over the top. Or toast it and adding jam and butter too. So good! I've easily doubled the recipe - one for my house and one for work. Works out perfect, although it's helpful to have the mixer mix the 8 cups of flour for me ????

3-1/2 stars. Dough was quite wet. Could be because I was short 1 cup of flour and substituted cake flour. Finished product is quite bland and a bit dry.

This turned out well enough. Can't really fault it in anyway. We just apparently aren't Irish Soda Bread enthusiast.

I took this to my sister's traditional St. Patrick's Day lunch. It was a big hit. It was gone by the end of the meal.

My entire family really enjoyed this recipe. I will definitely make again

Needed to bake longer

Made exactly according to the recipe and it turned out awesome! The last time I made Irish soda bread (from a different recipe) it was so dry. But, this was moist with just a hint of sweetness. YUM!

Mixed this up in about 6 minutes. I used dried cranberries instead of raisins. I mixed the dry ingredients and then simply put the wet ingredients on top and mixed it up really well. I preheated a stone and then shaped this on a piece of parchment. I sprinkled it with course decorator sugar and scored it and placed the entire loaf on parchment in the oven. I turned out very nice. I would divide it into two loaves next time. The oven spring was good, but the scores probably would have split better with smaller loaves. It is just a tad drier than I would prefer it. Other than that it is very, very good.

I've never made or had Soda Bread before in my life. Decided to make it for my future sis in law, She absolutely loves Irish Soda bread. Well She loved this one. Said it was soooo much better than store made. Thank you! ! ! P.S. For my first bread I loved it myself =)

Excellent taste! Mine turned out a bit dry, so 4 stars instead of 5, but Hubs loved it.

So simple, and so delicious! I made no changes to the recipe, should have adjusted it to serve two, but we'll eat it again! A little sweet because of the raisins, and just fit with the corned beef recipe.

I followed this recipe as is and it was delicious. The only thing different I did was split the dough in half and put them in two separate round cake pans, dusted them with some flour before baking and it came out beautiful! For those who like caraway seeds I would add a teaspoon or two or more to your liking.. This will be my to go Irish soda bread recipe from now on!

Great bread! I made two loaves; one with and one without currants. They were very well received!

I have made this for the past several years for our St. Patty's Day dinner. Loved it every time.

I think this recipe was great. The last recipe I made was dry, but this one is light and just right. I cooked it for 35 minutes and that wasn't quite enough but close. I thought more would make it dry. Raisins didn't really add much for me. I put an extra bit of sugar in it.

What a simple recipe . You will have everything you need in you cupboard . I marinated raisins in whiskey and used buttermilk instead of milk. How delicious!

Made this exactly as stated in the recipe. Baked it on a parchment lined pan for 35 minutes. Served it warm slathered with butter. It was delicious, I wouldn't change a thing. It tasted like a big rich scone.

I have been making this recipe for a few years now. Each year it just gets better. I did cook it on a stone this time around and up the time to 50-60 minutes.

I have tried many Irish Soda Bread recipes and this one is the BEST one I've made. My whole family loves it! My great-grandma McGuiden would be proud!!

Very easy to make taste great , almost like a desert

So easy and so good. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The middle turned out a little doughy so I would make it flatter next time

Excellent!! Moist and delicious!

This is a definite keeper! It's not too sweet, just the right amount of raisins. Perfect served warm with butter. It's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I wouldn't change a thing.

perfect -we make it for st pats day every year. the recipe can be halved perfectly too.

Such a simple recipe but makes a very good bread. I’ve made it with snd without raisins and both are good. Make it for St Patrick’s day with corned beef,cabbage,potatoes,carrots,celery and some rice. Very good recipe try it.

I highly recommend dividing into 2 loaves. Every time I make it as one loaf, it comes out doughy - even with increasing the bake time.

Best I ever made

Followed the recipe exactly. Everyone loved it. Will definitely make again!

Wow, this was easy and turned out great! I used vegetable oil in place of corn oil. I had no buttermilk, so substituted regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice. It was really good! Definitely will make it again.

Didn’t change the recipe at all and came out perfect and I am a very new baker so that says something lol. Absolutely delicious.

Yummy!! And soooo easy to make.

Fantastic recipe. Dead easy and was a crowd pleaser for St. Pats day.

This was terrific, quick and easy. My brother adds caraway seeds to his. I will make this again!!

Great recipe and so easy and quick! Was a great hit with our family Sunday lunch. Will definitely make this again.

I made this for a group of friends and they loved it and wanted the recipe. One friend even remarked that it wasn’t so heavy with soda and she couldn’t wait to make it herself. I did have to bake longer than than it said. Will be making again.

Everyone loved it, even my son in law that doesn’t usually like breads.