Recipe

Bake This Irish Soda Bread in Your Cast-Iron Skillet

Name: Bake This Irish Soda Bread in Your Cast-Iron Skillet
Ingredients: 1¾ cups buttermilk; 1 large egg; 4¼ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled); 3 tbsp. granulated sugar; 1 tsp. baking soda; 1 tsp. salt; 5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cubed; Optional: 1 cup “craisins” or raisins

B.D. Riley’s, a pub in Austin, Texas, turns out these tangy, chewy, crusty loaves every morning

By Lindsey Liles

March 11, 2025

Photo: Courtesy of B.D. Riley’s

Born of on-hand supplies and popularized by hard times, traditional Irish soda bread has just four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. A recipe for the crusty, chewy loaf first appeared in 1836 in an Irish newspaper, and soon, as the potato famine ravaged the country, the bread became a staple in Irish households. Today, raisin- or bacon- or cheddar-studded versions of the classic abound far beyond the Emerald Isle—including in Austin, Texas.

At B.D. Riley’s on Aldrich Street, in the traditionally Irish neighborhood of Mueller just north of downtown, the kitchen bakes the round loaves hot daily to accompany its full Irish breakfast—a hearty meal of two fresh eggs, lean bacon rashers, pork bangers, white and black puddings imported from Ireland, and sliced tomato and sautéed mushrooms.

Beyond breakfast, the dish goes great with soups or stews or can be enjoyed by itself, spread with butter. To make B.D. Riley’s version at home, do use buttermilk, as it and the baking soda act as the leavening agents. And for the very best results, bake it in a cast-iron skillet.

Ingredients

Riley’s Irish Soda Bread (Yield: 1 8-10-inch round loaf)
- 1¾ cups buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 4¼ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- Optional: 1 cup “craisins” or raisins

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or better yet, use a seasoned 10- to 12-inch cast iron skillet, which needs no grease or parchment. You can also use a dutch oven, no lid, greased or lined with parchment paper.
Whisk the egg and buttermilk together and set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter cubes using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. The mixture will be very dry, but keep cutting in the butter until it is mostly pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the craisins or raisins if using.
Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together (a couple of plastic dough scrapers help) until it is too stiff to stir.
Use the scrapers to get the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, tucking the edges under themselves over and over. Knead for 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. Transfer the dough to the prepared skillet or pan.
Using a very sharp knife or bread lame, score the dough with a shallow (½-inch) slash in a “cross” shape across the dough, north/south and east/west at a 90° angle.
Bake for 45–50 minutes, checking at minute 35 or 40, until golden-brown on top. If the top is browning too fast, cover with foil. The center of bread when finished should read 190–195°F on an instant-read thermometer.
Let the bread cool for 10 minutes, then set on rack. Add butter or jam, and enjoy!

Lindsey Liles joined Garden & Gun in 2020 after completing a master’s in literature in Scotland and a Fulbright grant in Brazil. The Arkansas native is G&G’s digital reporter, covering all aspects of the South, and she especially enjoys putting her biology background to use by writing about wildlife and conservation. She lives on Johns Island, South Carolina, with her husband, Giedrius, and their cat, Oyster.