Irish Soda Biscuits
An Irish soda bread loaf is one of the easiest breads you can make, but these Irish soda biscuits are even simpler. They’re just barely sweet with a soft, tender texture, making them a yummy companion for tea or coffee.
These biscuits were part of our St. Paddy’s menu this year, along with the corned beef and Guinness cake. Although the cake is still my favorite – (I mean, hello. Cake always wins.) the biscuits were a closer second than I expected! Even after a few days in the pantry, they were still soft and delicious.
Use 2 kinds of flour
So while this recipe isn’t difficult, you’ll need an Irish style wholemeal flour in addition to all purpose, which is kind of a unique ingredient. King Arthur sells one that is billed as, “Coarsely ground from red whole wheat, this soft flour is our version of the whole grain flours used to bake traditional Irish breads.” A really good option. I went on Amazon and purchased a bag of Odlum’s Wholemeal Flour that comes directly from Ireland. The price point was about the same and I had Amazon points to use up π
So, whichever you decide to get is great! Just don’t skip it, the wholemeal flour gives the Irish soda biscuits a wonderful whole grain flavor and tender texture. You’ll probably see an “extra-coarse” version of the Odlum’s. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say how it would behave in this recipe, but you’d probably be just fine. A little more chunky hearty, probably.
There’s also half the amount of all purpose flour (2 cups wholemeal, one cup all purpose) to keep things as soft as possible, while still having that brown bread profile.
Making biscuits
These come together like any other buttermilk biscuit recipe, so no surprises here. All of the expected participants are here today, along with a few yummy extras!
The only things you really need to remember when making these Irish soda biscuits (or any buttermilk biscuit) is that the less you handle the dough, the better. The butter and buttermilk need to be very cold, and overworking the dough will warm them up too much and you’ll have flatter, less tender biscuits.
Also, the oven should be fairly hot. This recipe calls for 425 degrees. A hotter oven creates more “oven spring” that helps the biscuits rise a little better. These Irish biscuits won’t get especially tall, since we’re not going for flaky. But they will be beautifully browned on top and super soft on the inside.
Once the biscuits are formed and in the baking pan, brush them with a little melted butter just before loading them into the oven. This also helps in getting a nice, crisp crust on the top. You can also sprinkle a few more raisins on them!
Serving and Storing
These are SO good right out of the oven with salted butter. You have that barely there crisp crust on top that gives way to a tender, soft inside. There’s just enough sugar to enhance the raisins, but not SO much that it’s off putting. The caraway seeds give that delicious rye flavor that ties everything up together. Magic, I say.
Keep these at room temperature in a sealed container for 3-4 days. Probably longer, but I haven’t had them stick around more than that π Like most baked goods without preservatives, you’ll notice a decline in texture and flavor around day 6-7 and mold after 10.
Irish Soda Biscuits
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 20–22 biscuits 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Irish, American
Description
These biscuits are the perfect breakfast companion for coffee or tea!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Irish style wholemeal flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 1/3 cup whole milk buttermilk, shaken and chilled
- 1/4 cup melted butter for brushing (salted or unsalted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the wholemeal flour, all purpose flour, sugar, salt and soda together in a large bowl. (I used a 3 quart size.)
- Use a pastry cutter to cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, or large curd cottage cheese. Stir in the raisins and caraway seeds until fully mixed.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk. Use a stiff spatula to fold everything together until a cohesive dough forms. It’s okay if a few dry flour spots remain, but try to pull everything together.
- Flour the countertop and turn out the dough. Flour your hands and sprinkle some on top of the dough to prevent excess sticking. Working quickly, pat the dough into a slab that measures about an inch thick.
- Use a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter to stamp out the biscuits from the slab, flouring the cutter between each biscuit to prevent sticking. As you cut out the biscuits, place them onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch space between them. Form the scraps into similarly sized biscuits and add them to the baking sheet.
- Brush the biscuits with the melted butter and sprinkle with additional raisins, if desired. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the tops are light golden brown. Serve warm with butter!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 162
- Sugar: 8.6 g
- Sodium: 261.8 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.8 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 2.5 g
- Cholesterol: 18.3 mg
