This easy quick bread doesn't need yeast! It's crumbly crust, light citrus flavor, and buttery soft interior makes it perfect for tea or an afternoon snack.
Try these raspberry thumbprint scones or vanilla bean scones next!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Quick and easy
- Sounds fancy
- Delicate citrus flavor
This lemon lavender Irish soda bread recipe is anything but stodgy and traditional!
It's a little daring but results in a delightful, buttery quick bread that's just sweet enough to be perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.
The touch of tangy lemon and lavender boost it up to tea room level perfection - a delicious addition to your spring brunch table for Easter or Mother's Day.
🧾 Ingredients
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- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Lemons
- Lavender buds (culinary grade - may omit)
- Kosher salt
- Baking soda
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla
🔪 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.
Step one
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Grease a baking sheet or cover with parchment.
Step two
- Whisk dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl to blend.
- Grate cold butter into the dry ingredients.
- Mix with a fork until it's evenly mixed.
- Make well in center of flour mixture.
- Mix the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla and add.
- Stir to blend.
Step three
- Shape dough into ball on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly.
- Cut a cross shape in top of dough and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake bread until golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Cool.
💭 Tips for success
- If you don't have lavender, or prefer not to get it, it's fine to omit.
- Lemon lavender bread stores about 2 days at room temperature.
- You can freeze it for up to 3 months.
- Orange may be substituted for the lemon - leave the lavender out.
- Use the largest side of the grater to grate the butter.
- Make sure the butter is super cold, almost frozen, before grating.
- You could spread a simple confectioner's sugar lemon glaze on it while it's still warm if you wanted a sweeter loaf.
👩🏻🍳 Frequently asked questions
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
But really, Irish soda bread is like a It tastes like a big biscuit or giant scone. The crust is crumbly and the inside is soft and fluffy with a buttery biscuit-like flavor.
Yes! It's delicious sliced and toasted with butter and jam.
It's a tradition. People used to believe a cross on top of the bread would protect from wayward fairies and ward off evil.
📚 Related recipes
Quick breads are easy enough for every day - I think that's why they're so popular! Most of these easy breads freeze well for up to 3 months when they are well wrapped.
- Classic Irish Soda Bread is the buttery classic version of this recipe. It's perfect with soups and stews.
- Orange Banana Bread is a sweet banana bread with a delicious citrus flavor.
- Apple Fritter Bread tastes just like apple fritters but so much easier!
- Lemon Blueberry Scones are full of ripe blueberries and tangy lemon flavor.
🥄 Equipment
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This Irish Soda bread baking dish with the Celtic knot design is gorgeous! It would be a great way to present this bread, wouldn't it?
📞 The last word
Irish Soda bread is a quick bread that's been around a long time. It's a comfortable, cozy bread that you'd expect to find in farmhouse kitchens where the stone floors were worn and pitted with use. Just about every family with even a molecule of Irish blood running through its veins has a recipe for it!
I love this lemon lavender bread recipe because it's a quick, delicious way to get bread on the table and, with the lemon and lavender in it, it's sweet and unique.
It always brings a smile to the family's faces when they see it on the table!
Anything with lavender and lemon in it is necessary for spring holidays, as far as I'm concerned!
While this is delicious for St Patrick's Day I think of it more as an Easter or Mother's Day recipe because between the lemon and the lavender the flavor is a bite of spring.
It's delicious warm with a little honey butter or orange marmalade!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lavender & Lemon Irish Soda Bread
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
- 1 tablespoons lavender buds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup butter, ,chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Sugar for dusting
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Spray 8-inch-diameter cake pan with nonstick spray, or butter it. Or just use parchment on a cookie sheet. This bread is super forgiving.
- Whisk flour, sugar, lemon zest/peel, lavender buds, salt, and baking soda in large bowl to blend.
- Grate butter into the dry ingredients.
- Mix with a fork until the butter is evenly mixed in the dry ingredients.
- Make well in center of flour mixture.
- Mix the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture.
- Stir to blend.
- Using floured hands, shape dough into ball.
- Transfer to prepared pan and flatten slightly.
- Cut a cross shape in top of dough.
- Sprinkle dough with sugar.
- Bake bread until brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Cool bread 10 minutes.
Notes
- If you don't have lavender, or prefer not to get it, it's fine to omit.
- This bread stores about 2 days at room temperature.
- You can freeze it for up to 3 months.
- Orange may be substituted for the lemon - leave the lavender out.
- Use the largest side of the grater to grate the butter.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published January 2, 2008. Last updated June 4, 2021 for more tips and better readability.
Gery
Just wondering? instead of Lavendar flowers could you use essential oil in place with a couple of drops?
Marye
I've never tried that way, Gery - I use essential oils but I've never cooked with them.
Megan
Can I add fresh mint or fresh lemon mint? If I go with the orange instead, would a chocolate cream cheese go well with it?
Marye
I think so - that sounds great. Give it a try!
Eileen Kelly
I make Irish Soda bread about 3-4 times a week, yes a week. I love this bread. The addition of the lavender is a fabulous twist.
Marye
Thanks Eileen!