This soda bread is really great. When I served it with supper, it was the focus of discussion at the table. They all adored it! Ideal with Irish stew on St. Patrick’s Day or by itself.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 20 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon fennel seed
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons melted butter
- 3 tablespoons butter, chilled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch round cake pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and fennel seed. In another bowl, stir together the eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, until just blended using a large spoon. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Dot with the 3 tablespoons of chilled butter.
- Bake for about 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until puffed and golden. Cut into wedges and serve warm.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 222 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 39 g |
| Cholesterol | 42 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 361 mg |
| Sugars | 14 g |
| Fat | 5 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
made this recipe. i found it kind of wet so i added another 1/2c flour and cup of Rasins but forgot the sugar. thought i ruined it but the raisins gave it just enough sweet to make up for it. i also added a big dash of pumpkin spice. for those that don’t like it too sweet try it like this. very tasty.
I’ve made this recipe for years and my family loves it. I do add a tablespoon of dill, I felt like it needed something with the fennel and the addition was perfect. Even my pickiest eater loves this bread. I’ve also used it as a topping for Shepard’s Pot Pie. Thank you for the recipe!!
Very delicious. I had some fennel seeds from my garden that were nice and plump green colored and they were perfect. I did make a half recipe as there were only 3 of us, and paired the bread with salmon. I didn’t have buttermilk and used whole milk plus 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar. I did put less sugar as we prefer less sweet (if it were a whole recipe, would have been a scant half cup). I cooked it as directed in a 9×5 bread pan on the bottom shelf of the oven and it was done in about 30 min. I would make this again.
Even though I cut the sugar by half it was still too sweet. And the amount of fennel seed really made it taste like licorice. Not what I expected in a soda bread 🙁
This recipe is amazing!! I am a big fan of fennel seeds anyway, but the taste and texture of this bread blew us away. I would probably, like some other reviewers, reduce the sugar next time but I can see a whole lot of this bread in our future. ??
I have made this bread many times and still love the taste and ease of preparation.
Wasn’t bad, wasn’t great.
I added close to 3 cups of white raisins and cut the sugar to 1/2 cup. Excellent
So unique! Both the flavor and the texture. Definitely worth a try. I made recipe as is listed.
Very good and easy to make.
Yum!! No changes. Was a hit at a party. Served with honey butter.
Very good! Smells absolutely divine when toasted. A definite favorite!
Really good – not too sweet or fennel tasting. My first time making soda bread and am surprised how moist & high it is. I served it at room temperature spread with butter and will try it toasted today…will make again, as well as try other flavors!
This is simple, quick and one of the best textures I have seen. I substituted half whole wheat flour and added some crushed flax seeds for extra nourishment. Truly a keeper!
Wow, yummy. Had no buttermilk, so I did half 0% fat greek yogurt and half soured milk. Figured my fennel seeds had been around a few years, so I first placed them within some wax paper and whacked them with the metal mallett to release flavor. Fun project for adult son and I to easily make on St. Pat’s Day, and everyone loved the aroma, and taste. I used a 10″ diameter pie plate.
This is really very good and so, so easy. I had to bake mine in a rectangular pan, but it turned out great. The fennel taste is there, but it’s not overpowering. I served it with Cheeseburger Vegetable Soup made with Johnsonville Italian Sausage instead of ground beef, and the fennel in the sausage was a wonderful compliment to this delicious bread. Definitely will be making this one again. Thanks!!!
When I saw the fennel in this I was intrigued and decided to make half the recipe in an 8″ cake pan. This baked up beautifully. The taste was good, the fennel was subtle and I liked it the first day. The second day the crust had lost some of it’s crispness and wasn’t nearly as good. To salvage it, I decided to toast it which did improve it somewhat. I doubt that I’ll be making this one again, but it was fun to try.
This is some of the best bread i’ve ever made. Was so good, took some to work to share in the goodness. Will definitely make again.
Made recipe as written. Was orginally made to go with sausage and beans but was so good, we finished the bread and put the sausage and beans in the fridge for leftovers. There was no leftover bread!!!
Incredible! This was the best soda bread recipe I’ve tried. I’d compare the sweetness to cornbread. The amount of fennel seed was perfect. It was great on its own, in an open-faced sausage sandwich, and in French toast.
An easy addition to any meal. Great recipe!