You know, I feel a little guilty about this (shock – I’m a mom who feels guilty), but quite possibly my favorite part of the day is naptime.
I feel guilty because, you know, my favorite times should be while I’m basking in the glow of a toddler hug, or oohing and mmm-ing over a wedge of plastic pizza, or reading Rainbow Fish and answering important compound questions like “What’s fishy doing?! What’s shark doing?? What’s the water doing?!”
Those moments definitely are wonderful. But naptime … ahhhh. What a glorious, glorious time of day it is.
In lieu of soap operas and bonbons (like any stay-at-home-mom actually does this – when do we ever let ourselves sit still?!), I’ve discovered an even better naptime pleasure. In our new house, I’ve found the perfect spot at the far end of the kitchen island, where I can park myself in view of trashy TV on Hulu Plus.
I can chop onions for dinner’s recipe while watching The Bachelor (oh, that Juan Pablo). Or, say, I can watch the latest Nashville (Deacon’s new girlfriend and Teddy?!! NOO!!!) while sifting and stirring and kneading a loaf of Cranberry Orange Irish Soda Bread.
Mix. Knead. Rewind (“did they REALLY just do that?!”). Form into a loaf. Pat. Slice. Smile.
During a particularly long nap this past week, I did just that. I may have also watched the latest Nashville twice in a row while doing it. What?! When you’re multi-tasking, you miss stuff!
This Irish soda bread is pretty far from a traditional recipe, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious. This recipe results in a dense, buttery-golden-crisp loaf flavored subtly with orange and studded with dried cranberries. And there is no, I mean NO, better toast to be had.
Especially when enjoyed at naptime.

Cranberry Orange Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups + 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (divided)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into squares
- 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest (from 1 medium orange)
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or a piece of parchment paper, or coat with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the four cups flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the butter and with a pastry blender or your fingers, squeeze and mix the butter in with the flour mixture until the butter is about the size of peas.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon just until the dough starts to come together. Add the dried cranberries and stir just until incorporated. The dough will be wet and sticky.
- Spread some of the remaining flour onto a flat surface and turn the dough out onto it. Sprinkle a bit more flour over the bread and begin kneading, adding more flour as you go, until the bread is no longer sticky and you're able to knead it easily.
- Form dough into a round loaf and place on the baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut an "X" into the top.
- Bake for 45 - 55 minutes, or until golden brown and the bread sounds a little hollow when you knock on it. You can also try using a cake tester just to be sure - when it comes out clean, it's done.
- Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then slice, butter, and serve. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; keeps at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Cranberry and Orange Irish Soda bread definitely sounds good to me! A perfect twist on a classic 🙂
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I adore soda bread! And what a lovely idea to add cranberries and citrus. Gorgeous.
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Oh I’m so happy I just discovered your page! I love your recipes & you make me laugh out loud 🙂
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Can soda bread be frozen and eaten 3-4 days later
Yes, it freezes quite well!
Thiis is a delicious recipe and very easy to make, but it took forever to bake. I baked it for 45 minutes to begin with and it was very doughy. I kept putting it in at 5 minute intervals until I had baked it for nearly an hour and a half. It’s still a tad bit on the doughy side, but the top was getting too brown so I decided to pull it out of the oven.
I’m curious, did anyone else have this problem?
Looks delicious! Do you think it would freeze well? Thanks!
Yes, it freezes great! Just wrap well.
You don’t need to knead 😂 Irish Soda bread, that’s the whole point, it’s a quick bread. So anyone looking at this FYI
I made this yesterday and it is delicious. Appreciate the accurate instructions and directions. I’m going to refer friends and family to this recipe. Thank you!! So happy it turned out just like the picture and tastes even better than it looks.
Thanks so much Cindy, I’m so glad you like this one!
Going to make this on the weekend. Have always loved Irish Soda Bread and made it for years when the kids were home. I have eased off of baking since then or else I would eat it all myself. But now I’ve retired and have taken up baking again and really enjoying it. I just make healthier choices, I use almond and coconut flour whenever possible. But don’t think you can substitute for Irish Soda Bread. Wouldn’t be the same. What do you think? Anyway, will let you know how it turns out.
I made this and we loved it. I used coconut sugar and spelt flour and the color and texture was beautiful. Was delicious. Best ever recipe and I’ve been making soda bread for years.
I’m so glad you liked this one. Thank you for sharing! Yum!
First time making Irish soda bread and it came out perfect and delicious! Thank you for the recipe.❤
So glad you liked it! Thanks, Mary!
Great recipe except that I want to eat it all myself. It’s getting me through COVID-19. I shared it on Twitter @GenXHeth.
Came out great. I made 2 loaves, the 45 minutes cook held true. I added less salt and I shouldn’t have. Follow the recipe it’s great!
Turned out great! Cooked for 50 minutes. It did take quite a bit more flour to make it less sticky.
I make savory Irish soda bread a lot, but wanted to try making a sweet loaf. I should have used my go-to recipe and just substituted the cranberries and orange zest for the garlic and chives, but I wanted to try a new recipe. As written, THIS DOUGH IS WAY TOO WET! I had flour everywhere and dough stuck to my fingers, also everywhere. I put 4 cups of flour in, added the extra 3/4 cup and it was still way too sticky to work with. I will tweak this recipe going forward to add 1/4 cup quick oats which helps absorb the excess moisture and reduce the buttermilk to 1 1/2 cups. Also, you need to make a DEEP “X” cut on the top, at least half way through the loaf so that it bakes all the way through. I also prefer two smaller loaves baked at 35 minutes so I can give one away. The proportions of dried cranberries and orange zest are great as is.
I only have fresh cranberries and I’m wondering if they would work in this recipe?
I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out perfect!! It was really easy and baked up beautifully! I will definitely be making this again!
I have made this on repeat every weekend for the past month! It is so easy to make and super delicious. Everyone raves about it when I take it to gatherings. It would also make a great gift for family and friends. A must-have on your brunch rotation!
This was a huge hit at a recent women’s weekend get together. I tried this recipe to see how it stacks up to all my fav more traditional Irish soda bread recipes and I LOVE IT! So did the other 12 women and I just shared this recipe with the group per request. I will add this to my soda bread recipes repertoire and bake again soon. The loaf came together perfectly both times I baked it. The dough was easy to handle and baked well with a deep cross cut into it to make farls. Glad I found this recipe!
I’m so glad it was a hit! ❤️
I made this last year and brought to friends dinner party. Everyone loved it came out perfect making it again this year requested by all
I love that! 🙂
Looks so yummy…I can’t wait to make it!
Loved this bread. It turned out well. Was surprised to see how large it got while baking. Will make two loafs next time. Shared with my neighbor and he loved it too.
Thanks so much for the comment, Sally! I’m glad you both liked it. 🙂