A Slathering Of Butter Is The Key To Serving Irish Soda Bread

Butter makes just about everything better — including Irish soda bread. One glance at Tasting Table's recipe for Irish brown soda bread and you'll see that butter is key to making sure that the loaf turns out just right. Not only is it integrated into the dough, but it's also brushed onto the crust before baking to make the crust even tastier with a buttery crisp.

Buttered toast may be simple, but it's easily one of the most delicious pairings out there — and it's no different with Irish soda bread. A simple slathering of butter over a slice is one of the best ways to enjoy a serving of Irish soda bread, according to recipe developer Jessica Morone. She says, "This bread is great to serve for breakfast, a snack, or with a meal. I like toasting it, and just putting butter on it." The bread is both savory and, thanks to the raisins, a bit sweet, and the butter brings in a rich taste to fully round out the flavor experience.

If you're looking to add even more flavor, you can pick out your favorite type of jam to spread over the layer of butter. Perhaps you can whip up an easy strawberry jam, or go for something a little more unique such as vanilla blackberry jam.

The combination of plain butter and bread is hard to beat, but it doesn't hurt to have options — Irish soda bread tastes delicious with a variety of flavored butters. For a more savory take, you can whip up an easy 3-ingredient garlic butter, which contains parsley, to spread over a slice — the sweetness from the raisins will balance out and complement the savory garlic flavor. Or, you can ditch the garlic flavor and add your favorite herbs — such as rosemary, thyme, or oregano — into a bowl of softened butter for a quick herb butter that will be a tasty match for Irish soda bread.

Meanwhile, if you're looking to up the sweetness level instead, you can make a batch of honey butter — or, for a more complex flavor, spiced honey butter. You can even opt for something like a strawberry or blueberry butter to get the flavors of butter paired with jam on toast.

Or, for one of the most unique butter choices out there, you can make coffee butter, which is a tasty breakfast spread and a way to get your coffee fix all in one. Just like a fresh cup of coffee pairs perfectly with your morning toast, the coffee butter will complement the Irish soda bread deliciously.