Soda Bread Is the Fastest Route to Homemade Bread—Try One of Our Best Recipes to Make It at Home

When you need crusty, still-warm from the oven bread for breakfast, lunch, teatime, or dinner, turn to soda bread. Soda bread is the quick bread often associated with St. Patrick's Day, but it's so delicious and easy to make that you'll want to bake more often than just on March 17.

Unlike yeast breads, soda bread comes together in under an hour. All you need to do is combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the liquid, mix to combine and form into a round to bake. No yeast used and no rising time needed, baking soda and buttermilk act as leaveners. (Some of our recipes use regular milk and add baking powder, and some add egg, too). Simply put, soda bread is a quick route to delicious loaf of homemade bread to enjoy just about anytime. Once you've tried one of our best recipes, you'll be hooked.

Foolproof Irish Soda Bread

Truth be told, pretty much any soda bread is foolproof. Quick breads, such as our Foolproof Irish Soda Bread, pictured above, are easy to make. The secret? Just don't overmix or mess with the dough too much when forming a loaf. This recipe yields a rich soda bread made with buttermilk, enriched with eggs, and flavored with caraway seeds and raisins.

Martha's Soda Bread with Rye and Currants

Martha's go-to soda bread features a few upgrades to the typical recipe. She opts for whole milk and apple cider vinegar rather than buttermilk, adds some rye flour and wheat bran to the all-purpose for flavor, and swaps in currants for the usual raisins.

Irish Brown Soda Bread

Formed and baked in a loaf pan rather than the usual free-form round, this Irish Brown Soda Bread is decidedly different but entirely delicious. It's made with all-purpose flour, some oats, and unprocessed wheat bran flakes. Sour cream stands in for the usual buttermilk or whole milk.

Irish-Style Brown Bread

It takes just four ingredients to make this hearty loaf of Irish-Style Brown Bread; whole wheat and rye flours, baking soda, buttermilk, and a touch of kosher salt brings it all together. We think it pairs so well with plenty of butter and smoked salmon or a slick of honey.

Irish Soda Scones

The same techniques and many the same ingredients (buttermilk, caraway seeds, and raisins) will be used to make our Irish Soda Scones. A simple glaze made with milk and confectioner's sugar makes them just right for afternoon tea.