- You don't need to have the luck of the Irish to make this delicious Irish soda bread, but a little extra luck is always welcome.

Let me show you how to make it.

(upbeat music) This Irish soda bread recipe is so easy to make.

It really only takes a few minutes to get it together, and before you know it, your house is going to smell like freshly baked bread.

While the oven is preheating to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, let's butter the pan.

I'm using a cast iron pan but any heavy-bottomed baking pan or baking dish will do.

Set that aside and now let's whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Check out the recipe online for the exact measurements.

Rub in cold cubed butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs.

It's really important that the butter be very cold for a lighter crumb.

When it's looking ready, make a well in the center of the bowl.

I needed some buttermilk and realized I didn't have any earlier today, so I just made my own: a cup of milk, a tablespoon of vinegar, and let it set.

And now I have buttermilk.

Eggs aren't a traditional ingredient in Irish soda bread but it definitely helps everything come together.

Mix the egg into the buttermilk and then pour the liquid into the well.

The way we are making this Irish soda bread is like making biscuits.

It really is that easy.

Mix the ingredients together using a wooden spoon until the dough just starts to come together.

Transfer the dough to a generously floured surface and, using floured hands, shape the dough into a round loaf.

And here's a fun science-based fact.

Did you know the acidity in the buttermilk in conjunction with baking soda will help the dough rise?

I think that's pretty cool.

Okay, back to the recipe.

If you feel like your dough is too sticky, just add a little bit more flour as you go.

I'm using a bench scraper to make sure the dough doesn't stick to the counter.

Scoop the dough up as best you can and into the butter pan we go.

Well, that wasn't very pretty.

No worries if you need to shape it back up a bit once it's in the pan.

Before we place the bread in the oven, we need to make an X in the center of the loaf to help it bake, but also to bless the bread.

And then we make some small slits along the sides to release the fairies.

And yes, I'll take all the luck of the Irish that I can get.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

And here it is.

Look at that absolutely gorgeous golden brown bread.

Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a wired rack for as long as you have patience for.

So one way to check to make sure your bread is done is to tap, and when you hear a hollow sound, you know your bread is baked.

So look at the inside of this bread.

It has such a lovely structure.

And see, all without yeast.

So now we're just gonna butter a piece up.

And I have here Irish butter, of course.

Mm, mm, mm.

So now I'm just gonna take a little bite.

This is so delicious.

It is a nice soft texture, yet has enough of a hardiness to it.

It would be great with stew, with morning toast, with almost anything.

A sandwich would be awesome with it too.

And it's so easy.

All done in a little bit over an hour.

This bread will be great for St. Patrick's Day or any other day of the year.

If you like what you saw, give me a like, subscribe to the channel, and we'll see you on the next episode of The Baking Journal.

(upbeat music continues)