Irish Soda Biscuits

Name: Irish Soda Biscuits
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Irish
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)

posted by Megan on Apr 4, 2024 0 comments »

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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.

brown raisin biscuit cut in half and spread with butter on a small blue and white plate.

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 😉

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!

ingredients to make brown bread biscuits, including flour, raisins, butter, buttermilk, sugar, baking soda, salt and caraway seeds.

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.

Butter and flour being mixed together in a large glass bowl.

all the dry ingredients needed for brown bread biscuits, mixed together with a whisk in a glass bowl.

brown bread biscuit dough after being folded together.

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!

full tray of brown bread biscuits before being baked, being spread with melted butter.

full tray of baked brown bread raisin biscuits.

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 😉 Like most baked goods without preservatives, you’ll notice a decline in texture and flavor around day 6-7 and mold after 10.