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    Home » Recipes » St. Patrick's Day

    Irish Soda Bread Shamrock Recipe

    Published: Feb 25, '21 · Modified: Feb 25, '21 · By: Beth · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by baking a traditional recipe with a twist. It's so easy to make this shamrock-shaped Irish Soda Bread using just four ingredients.

    If you're looking for a traditional recipe to make on St. Patrick's Day look no further! This Irish Soda Bread Shamrock Recipe is the perfect recipe because its so simple to make and so delicious to eat!
    Serve and Irish Soda Bread Shamrock with dinner this St. Patrick's Day

    Growing up with a head full of curly red locks and a face spotted with freckles, people were always asking if I was of Irish descent.

    My Nana (grandma) was Irish and very proudly so, but my gene for the vibrant colored hair came from my Polish grandfather.

    The freckles, however, were directly linked to Nana who always told me these spots were angel kisses and that I must be very special to have been kissed so many times. Lucky me!

    I always knew she was full of blarney.

    If you're looking for a traditional recipe to make on St. Patrick's Day look no further! This Irish Soda Bread Shamrock Recipe is the perfect recipe because its so simple to make and so delicious to eat!

    That's me dressed up for our school's Hat's Off To Ireland performance.

    At home we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with traditional Irish food and my favorite part of the meal was always the Irish Soda Bread.

    My go-to bread recipe happens to be for Irish Soda Bread as it only requires four ingredients and takes just a few minutes to prepare.

    If you're looking for a traditional recipe to make on St. Patrick's Day look no further! This Irish Soda Bread Shamrock Recipe is the perfect recipe because its so simple to make and so delicious to eat!

    This bread is rather dense compared to bread made with yeast, but I love the crisp exterior and moist interior. The flavor is mild and can be enjoyed with or without butter and is wonderful dipped in the broth of Irish stew.

    I found it rather easy to shape this bread into a shamrock by using a heart-shaped cookie cutter but I'm sure you can shape it by hand as well.

    Irish Soda Bread Shamrock

    You'll Need:
    all-purpose flour
    baking soda
    salt
    buttermilk

    Special Equipment Needed:R & M Heart Cookie Cutter - Wide - 4"
    4" heart-shaped cookie cutter
    baking sheet (cookie sheet)
    non-stick aluminum foil
    non-stick cooking spray
    pastry brush

    Instructions:

    • Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Pour 4 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl.
    • Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and stir with a fork to combine.
    • Add 2 cups of buttermilk and stir with a fork until well blended.

    If you're looking for a traditional recipe to make on St. Patrick's Day look no further! This Irish Soda Bread Shamrock Recipe is the perfect recipe because its so simple to make and so delicious to eat!

    Knead dough.

    • Sprinkle the remaining ¼ flour onto your work surface and place your dough on top.
    • Knead the dough, working in the flour as needed, for about one minute until dough is no longer sticky and forms a smooth round ball.

    If you're looking for a traditional recipe to make on St. Patrick's Day look no further! This Irish Soda Bread Shamrock Recipe is the perfect recipe because its so simple to make and so delicious to eat!

    Press dough into heart cutter.

    • Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.
    • Cover a baking sheet with a piece of non-stick aluminum foil or with a piece of parchment paper or regular aluminum foil lightly coated with baking spray.
    • Spray the inside of your heart-shaped cookie cutter with cooking spray.
    • Set the cutter in the center top of the baking sheet.
    • Press one piece of dough into the heart cutter and pat it down to shape it into the heart.
    • Remove the heart cutter, leaving the dough in place.
    • Spray the inside of the cutter again with cooking spray.
    • Place it with the point facing into the center just below and to the left of the first dough heart.
    • Fill the cutter with dough and shape it into a heart.
    • Remove the cutter and spray again with cooking spray then repeat creating a heart on the opposite side.

    If you're looking for a traditional recipe to make on St. Patrick's Day look no further! This Irish Soda Bread Shamrock Recipe is the perfect recipe because its so simple to make and so delicious to eat!

    Shape shamrock.

    • Press your finger against the indent in each heart to make the groove a little wider and deeper.
    • Roll the 4th piece of dough into a log and shape into the shamrock stem - pointed at the top and wider at the bottom.
    • Place the pointed end in between the three hearts and curve the bottom to one side.
    • Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of buttermilk over the surface of the dough.
    • Bake for 20 minutes then rotate the pan 180 degrees to ensure even browning of the bread.
    • Bake for an additional 18-22 minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown.
    • Allow the bread to cool a bit before serving.
    • Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    green-colored Irish Soda Bread Shamrock

    Make your shamrock bread green.

    You can make your shamrock-shaped Irish Soda Bread festive by stirring some green food coloring into the buttermilk before mixing it into the flour, soda, and salt.

    One of my readers sent me a picture of her green loaf of bread. I thought it was such a fun idea for St. Patrick's Day.

    Printable Recipe

    Irish Soda Bread Shamrock for St. Patrick's Day
    Print
    Irish Soda Bread Shamrock
    Prep Time
    20 mins
    Cook Time
    40 mins
     

    Shape a 4-ingredient Irish Soda Bread into a shamrock to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

    Course: Bread
    Cuisine: irish
    Keyword: bread
    Servings: 12
    Author: Beth
    Ingredients
    • 4 cups all-purpose flour plus ¼ cup
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
    • 2 cups buttermilk, plus 2 teaspoons to brush over top
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
    2. Pour 4 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl.
    3. Add baking soda and salt and stir with a fork to combine.
    4. Add 2 cups of buttermilk and stir until well blended.

    5. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ flour on your countertop.

    6. Pour the soda bread dough out onto your work surface.

    7. Knead the dough, working in flour as needed, for about one minute until dough is no longer sticky and forms a smooth round ball.
    8. Divide the dough into 4 pieces.
    9. Cover a baking sheet with a piece of non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper.

    10. Spray the inside of a 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter with cooking spray.

    11. Set the cutter in the center top of the baking sheet.
    12. Press one piece of dough into the heart cutter.
    13. Remove the cutter and spray it again with cooking spray.
    14. Place the heart cutter with the point facing into the center just below and to the left of the first dough heart.

    15. Press a piece of dough into the cutter.
    16. Remove the cutter and spray again with cooking spray.
    17. Set the cutter below the middle heart on the right side.
    18. Press a piece of dough into the cutter.
    19. Remove cutter.
    20. Press your finger against the indent in each heart to make the groove a little wider and deeper.
    21. Roll the remaining piece of dough into a log and shape into the shamrock stem - pointed at the top and wider at the bottom.

    22. Place the pointed end in between the three hearts and curve the bottom to one side.
    23. Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of buttermilk over the surface of the dough.
    24. Bake for 20 minutes then rotate the pan 180 degrees to ensure even browning of the bread.
    25. Bake for an additional 18-22 minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown.
    26. Allow the bread to cool a bit before serving.
    Recipe Notes

    Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    This recipe post was originally published on Hungry Happenings on March 15, 2011.

    If you're looking for a traditional recipe to make on St. Patrick's Day look no further! This Irish Soda Bread Shamrock Recipe is the perfect recipe because its so simple to make and so delicious to eat!

    If you enjoy making this soda bread shamrock, you might also like these other St. Patrick's Day recipe ideas...

    St. Patrick's Day shamrock crackers made from pie crust, Parmesan Cheese, and parsley.

    These shamrock-shaped crackers are super easy to make using store-bought pie dough. They are topped with Parmesan cheese and a wee bit of green parsley.

    Edible white chocolate cups filled with Shamrock Shakes flavored with mint.

    Make mint-flavored shamrock shakes and serve them in cute edible white chocolate cups decorated with smiling shamrocks. This treat is sure to make anyone smile. See the recipe to make these Shamrock Shakes in Candy Cups with Smiling Shamrocks.

    Leprechaun Hat's made out of green candy melts and modeling chocolate filled with candy for St. Patrick's Day.

    Go all out and make these adorable Chocolate Leprechaun Hats. You can fill them with candy, chocolate mousse, or peppermint mousse.

    Fun St. Patrick's Day Recipes and Food Crafts

    You can find all of my festive St. Patrick's Day food ideas, here.

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth
    Beth
    Hi, I'm Beth Jackson Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth
    Latest posts by Beth (see all)
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    1. Anonymous

      February 24, 2013 at 8:43 am

      I had to laugh at your crepe paper skirt. I've been looking for big sheets of crepe paper for a couple years now & all they sell are the rolls of 3 or 4" wide strips. We used to make a lot of things out of crepe paper. How times have changed?

      Being of Irish descent - I HAVE to ask.....they say your luck is in a four leaf clover, but I see way more three leaf clover things. Why is that? Enquiring minds would like to know.

      It was very sweet of your grandmother to tell you freckles are angel kisses. Ahhh..... Come on - it had to make you feel a little special.

      Thanks for the crepe paper/dance story.

      Tavette

      Reply
      • Beth Jackson Klosterboer

        February 24, 2013 at 3:13 pm

        Hi Tavette,

        I haven't seen large rolls of crepe paper in many years. It really was a clever and inexpensive way for the parents to make the skirts for our show.

        It's funny you say that about the clover, I tried to find a small four leaf clover cookie cutter to do a recipe, but had no luck at all. I guess like in real life, they are just hard to find!

        My grandmother was a very sweet lady, and she always made me feel special. As a young girl, I just hated my freckles, and nothing would have ever made me feel better about them. Over the years, I've gotten so used to them, that I don't even really notice them anymore. I'm sure my grandmother had the same experience with her freckles. It was nice of her to try to make me feel good about having them. They are part of who I am:)

        Reply
    2. Maria

      March 05, 2012 at 1:22 am

      Awwww this is great!!!!! I LOVE Irish Soda bread, and this looks so beautiful and festive, I love it!

      Reply
    3. Lindy@Itsy Bitsy Paper

      March 03, 2012 at 1:39 pm

      You have some great St. Patty's Day projects on your blog. I hope you will stop by and link them up on my St. Patty's Day Project Parade.

      www.itsybitsypaperblog.com

      Reply
    4. Lyuba @ Will Cook For Smiles

      March 03, 2012 at 1:27 pm

      This is awesome! Great idea and thank you for the recipe!

      Reply
    5. Beth Jackson Klosterboer

      March 18, 2011 at 12:04 pm

      Thanks Heather. I linked my recipe on your blog. Thanks for allowing me to share the recipe with your readers.

      Reply
    6. Heather

      March 18, 2011 at 3:14 am

      How cute! My kids will love it!. I am having a link party featuring bread made from food storage ingredients and I would love it if you would link up this recipe.

      http://cookingwithmyfoodstorage.blogspot.com/2011/03/irish-soda-bread-food-storage-link.html

      Reply
    7. Beth Jackson Klosterboer

      March 17, 2011 at 5:08 pm

      Thanks Christine. I hope you enjoy making some of my fun recipes. I visited your site, and your hats are sooooooooo adorable. I just love the ice cream hat. Very creative.

      Reply
    8. Christine

      March 17, 2011 at 4:54 pm

      I saw your post over at IShare-Love how creative all your recipes are! I am always looking for those special occassion/holiday recipes and now I know where to find them. I am new follower! Check out my blog if you get a chance (totally different from yours). http://mysweetpotato3.blogspot.com/
      Looking forward to your future posts! Christine

      Reply

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    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

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