I’m featuring Rachel Allen’s Cheesy Irish Soda Bread Scones. This soda scone recipe is a savory herb and cheese scone perfect for dunking in soup or stew.
Irish Soda Bread Scones
Here’s a recipe for St. Patrick’s Day! I’m celebrating Rachel Allen’s cookbook: Rachel’s Irish Family Foodwith acheesy version of Irish Soda Bread Scones. We enjoy dunking them in myIrish Stew.The three people in my family have no problem demolishing 8 scones between us.
If you’re familiar with breakfast scones, then you know that a typical sweet scone is made with a lot of butter and it breaks apart easily into chunks. Many times it’s dry and not all that appetizing either. This soda scone recipe is different. It’s savory instead of sweet, and it’s more like an Irish Soda Bread biscuit with chives and cheese added in.
Soda Scone Recipe
These soda scones are super easy to make, and there are just 6 ingredients. There’s no butter in the recipe, but it does utilize buttermilk. The fun part is, the instructions have you using your hands to mix. If that weirds you out, you can always enlist the kiddos to do the hand-mixing part. The dough is just patted onto a floured surface.
I use a biscuit cutter for the rounds, but you can take a drinking glass with a semi-small diameter and use that instead if you don’t have fancy cutters. Or just use whatever you can dig up that works as a quasi-cutter.
Each dough round is topped with (sharp) cheddar cheese and more chopped chives. You could get all fancy here and use a different kind of cheese and whatever herb you want (rosemary, thyme, etc.). I love to use SHARP cheddar because I enjoy the flavor. In fact, I usually purchase the sharpest cheddar I can. I love the stuff… which is why I have to banish myself from eating cheese every so often or I’ll go through a whole slab of the stuff in a couple of days time.
They bake in just 15 minutes and come out looking like this: all crazy cheesy and golden brown. They are best when hotsy totsy right out of the oven (or at least eaten the same day). We do love them just out of the oven, but leftover soda scones with leftoverIrish Stew is just about the best thing ever!
You have to be thinking of this soda scone recipe as a version of Irish Soda Bread (which is not super duper rich and flavorful by any stretch of the imagination), and just think of them as an easy “biscuit” to serve with your meal. We gobble them up, but it’s important to add your favorite flavors to the scone to fully appreciate them.
- Brown Butter Soda Bread
- Irish Soda Bread Muffins
- Breakfast Irish Soda Bread
- Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway
Cheesy Soda Scones
A savory scone topped with herbs and cheese. They're perfect with soup or stew.
Recipe Details
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 15 minutes mins
Total Time: 25 minutes mins
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Irish
Keyword: cheese, scones, soda bread
Servings: 8 servings (1 scone per serving)
Calories: 134kcal
Author: RecipeGirl.com (re-printed with permission from Harper Collins and adapted slightly from Rachel's Irish Family Food)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Flour a baking sheet.
Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl. Mix in ½ tablespoon chives. Make a well in the center and pour the buttermilk (both) into the well. Using one hand, with your fingers outstretched like a claw, stir in a full circular movement from the center to the outside of the bowl to form a dough. The dough should be soft, though not too wet and sticky.
When the dough comes together, turn it out onto a well floured surface. Pat the dough until it is about ¾ inch thick. Cut into 8 rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each round of dough with cheese and additional chives.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and sounding hollow when tapped on the bottom. Turn the oven down to 400 after 10 minutes if they are already golden. Remove from the baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Change up the cheese and/or herbs as you see fit (think: Swiss, Gouda, rosemary, thyme!)
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 134kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 271mg, Potassium: 67mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 97IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 66mg, Iron: 1mg
Disclosure: There are Amazon affiliate links included within this post.
FAQs
However, the two loaves differ pretty significantly from there. Irish brown bread has a deep, nutty flavor because of its wheat flour and wheat bran while soda bread uses only white flour. Soda bread is slightly sweet and more scone-like while Irish brown bread is more savory with a tender interior.
Why is my Irish soda bread so hard? ›
Too much kneading will create a hard dense crumb on the bread. Rule of thumb with no yeast breads, the less kneading the softer the crumb. Score the bread. This is an important step to helping to ensure that the center is cooked.
What is Irish soda bread called in Ireland? ›
In Ulster, the wholemeal variety is usually known as wheaten bread and is normally sweetened, while the term "soda bread" is restricted to the white savoury form. In the southern provinces of Ireland, the wholemeal variety is usually known as brown bread and is almost identical to the Ulster wheaten.
Why does Irish soda bread not need yeast? ›
Unlike yeast breads, soda bread relies on the reaction between the bicarbonate of soda and the acid in the buttermilk to give it it's rise, as well as it's familiar flavour. In terms of texture, it is quite a dense bread and slightly chewy.
How are you supposed to eat Irish soda bread? ›
How to Eat Irish Soda Bread. This versatile bread works for any meal, but Irish soda bread is a natural for breakfast, whether simply spread with (Irish) butter and jam or alongside that hearty fry-up known as a full Irish breakfast. It's also wonderful with a cup of tea in the afternoon or as a late-night snack.
What is traditionally served with Irish soda bread? ›
The thick and hearty nature of Irish soda bread helps it pair very well with meaty stews (especially Irish stew). You can use it to soak up the juices as you eat or as a vehicle for the meat and vegetables. Traditionally, Irish soda bread is served with a slow-simmered beef and barley stew.
Can you over knead Irish soda bread? ›
You spent too much time kneading the dough. Baking soda starts to react and release its gas as soon as it comes into contact with the sour milk. Take too long and the gas will escape before the bread is baked. Kneading will also cause chewy gluten to form.
Should you refrigerate Irish soda bread? ›
Tightly wrap your leftover bread and place it in an airtight container. There's no need to refrigerate. As for how long soda bread lasts: Irish soda bread tends to dry out faster than other breads. The bread will be good for 3-4 days or up to three months if frozen.
Should you toast Irish soda bread? ›
Many people enjoy Irish soda bread with a generous spread of butter, which melts into the warm bread, making it even more delicious. However, you can also enjoy Irish soda bread at room temperature or even toasted. It can be sliced and toasted for breakfast or served alongside soups and stews.
Is Irish soda bread the same as sourdough bread? ›
The main difference between sourdough bread and soda bread is in its leavening agent – sourdough bread rises due to the gasses released from yeast and bacteria fermentation, while soda bread rises from the gasses produced during the chemical interaction between baking soda and acids in the dough.
Adding raisins to this version of Irish soda bread adds a touch of sweetness that we've become accustomed to in the country. Some people also like to add dried currants but sometimes they're a little bit harder to come by.
What was black bread in Ireland? ›
High extraction flours produced a loaf of a dark, grey-brown colour: the 'black bread' that became common in the Irish vernacular. Crucially, close to 100 per cent extraction meant that the government was encouraging millers to create a product that contained matter the human body simply could not digest.
How do you know when Irish soda bread is done? ›
The most traditional doneness test calls for thumping the hot bread in the center to hear if it's hollow-sounding. A more foolproof indication is temperature; the loaf will register 200°F to 205°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted in the center of the bread.
What's the difference between wheaten bread and soda bread? ›
In Northern Ireland, brown soda bread is made with whole wheat flour and known as wheaten bread; in Ireland, soda bread tends to be made with all-purpose flour. You may also know this as brown bread which in Ireland typically refers to the same thing as wheaten bread in the North.
How do you store Irish soda bread after baking? ›
Irish Soda Bread Best warm and slathered in butter! Tends to stale quickly, within 24 hours. Keep wrapped in kitchen towel on counter and slice and freeze after 24 hours.
Is soda bread an Irish bread? ›
Almost every family in Ireland has its own recipe for this delicious bread, hand-written on a slip of floury paper, or tucked away in an old cookbook. While its ingredients may be simple, soda bread is an Irish tradition that has led the country through some of its darkest times.
What's the difference between bread and soda bread? ›
What is soda bread? Soda bread is a type of quick bread which takes its name from the baking soda (or, sodium bicarbonate) that is used as a leavening agent instead of the traditional yeast. Traditionally, soda bread is made using flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk.
Why do they call Irish Soda Bread soda bread? ›
The climate in Ireland is quite moderate and damp, and that allows for soft wheat crops, which are lower in gluten than the hard wheats used for yeast breads. Long story short, it's made with baking soda instead of the more common yeast as a leavener.
Do people in Ireland eat Irish Soda Bread? ›
Ireland, for one, has embraced it's kind of bread – the soda bread. It is a basic staple among the Irish that they call it Irish Soda Bread. It's common to see the locals pair this famous bread with a bottle of Guinness too.
