Traditional Irish Soda Bread with butter
Traditional Irish Soda Bread is a dense, rustic loaf made with just four simple ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. Often served warm and sliced open to be generously slathered with rich, creamy butter, it is a staple of Irish home cooking and comfort food.
🍽️ Nutrition at a glance
This dish is high in carbohydrates and fat, especially when served with butter, and provides a moderate amount of protein from the flour and buttermilk. A typical serving with butter contains roughly 250 to 300 calories.
Nutrition breakdown
| Calories | 210 kcal |
| Protein | 3.5 g |
| Carbs | 30 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Fiber | 1.5 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Sodium | 380 mg |
| Calcium | 80 mg |
| Iron | 1.8 mg |
| Potassium | 70 mg |
| Magnesium | 10 mg |
| Phosphorus | 55 mg |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.2 mg |
| Niacin (B3) | 2 mg |
| Folate | 30 µg |
Per 1 slice (60 g) with 1 tsp butter (5 g) · estimated, varies by recipe
💡 What's interesting
The bread gets its rise from the chemical reaction between the acidic buttermilk and the alkaline baking soda, meaning it requires no yeast and can be baked in under an hour. This quick-bread method was historically vital in Ireland, as it allowed families to make fresh bread daily without the need for expensive yeast or long rising times.
