This quick bread is perfect for that heart-clenching appetite. The soda bread recipe is your ideal getaway for your stomach and time. It has different toppings for that same slice of soda bread and a nice crunchy salad. This easy Irish soda bread recipe is good for your time and taste.

You wake up, guests and friends arrive in an hour, and you need the perfect food. Well, this might just fit in. This tasty bread will be a good base for that gravy or sauce or wherever you need bread.

The overall texture is balanced and makes you crave this bread even more. It is not yeast bread but delicious, perfect for Patrick’s Day.

1. How to Make Irish Soda Bread (Without Egg)

The recipe for making this bread is easy and exceptionally quick compared with other bread recipes. The texture is amazing: crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. It tastes amazing.

1.1. Ingredients

• Wholemeal flour of about 150 – 170 grams
• Plain flour of about 150 – 170 grams
• Half a teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda or baking soda
• 280 – 300 ml of buttermilk

1.2. Steps

• The preheated oven is an important part of making this or any kind of bread.
• Preheat the oven to 200c/180c/gas 6.
• Lightly grease the baking pan or baking sheet for your bread.
• You need to make a soft dough to prepare this bread.
• Take a bowl and add bicarbonate of soda and salt in it.
• Then, add flour to create a nice flour mixture.
• To prepare a soft dough, make a space in the center of the mixture, add buttermilk, and mix it vigorously.
• If your dough is not soft enough, you can control the amount of buttermilk you add to the mixture to maintain its softness.
• Once the dough is prepared for this Irish soda bread recipe, turn it to a lightly floured surface and knead it briefly.
• Cut a not-too-deep but shallow cross using a sharp knife, and then bake for about 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
• And cool on a wire rack.

2. How to Make Irish Soda Bread Recipe (With Egg)

Irish soda bread can also be made without eggs, as we just saw. Now, there are only slight changes to this traditional recipe, and there is not much difference in the bread’s taste. The recipe follows the same course for the ingredients and everything except the part where the egg is needed, so let us see how it is done with some more changes.

2.1. Ingredients

• About 400 ml of buttermilk
• A large egg
• A large bowl
• 520 grams of all-purpose flour
• A teaspoon of baking soda or bicarbonate of soda
• A Teaspoon of salt
• Cold unsalted butter of about 60 – 70 grams
• About 40 grams of sugar

2.2. Steps

• Preheat oven to around 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Use a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper to lay off the dough you are about to make or a cast iron pan where you won’t need the preheating for your oven.
• Lightly grease the pan you are going to use.
• Take a bowl and add buttermilk and eggs. Give them a vigorous stir. Put them aside.
• Use that large bowl, add granulated sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and flour, and whisk.
• Really small cubical pieces of butter(try to get them small) and make a nice blend of buttermilk and egg.
• Combine everything to make a dough.
• Try to make the dough for the bread with a nice consistency. Sticky dough is not good; try to add some flour to it, and to get the right consistency, you can also use buttermilk.
• The dough has a nice, stiff texture.
• Prepare a lightly floured work surface for the dough.
• Make a bowl-shaped dough for your soda bread with your hands and transfer it to the baking pan.
• The bread goes in the oven for about 40 to 50 minutes.
• Let the bread cool on a wire rack.
• Golden brown bread is also an indicator that the bread is ready.

3. Important Tips and Tricks for the Best Irish Soda Bread

• When choosing a bowl to put the dough and all other basic ingredients in, make it a considerable size so that over-mixing can be avoided.
• Try not to open your oven door when baking for a great crust, as that might cause the crust to lose that crisp you are looking for.
• You can add milk instead of buttermilk to get your mixture together. It might be sticky, so manage it out using flour.
• You can use a cast iron pan to avoid a preheated oven for durability.
• You can keep your wholemeal or whole wheat flour fresh by refrigerating it. Flour may turn bad if left in the open for longer durations.
• Be attentive to the amount of baking soda you are adding to your mixture. The best soda bread doesn’t have more or less baking soda.
• If the amount of baking soda in your soda bread is high, the taste will be acidic, and you do not want an acidic flavor.

4. Different types of Soda Bread Recipes

There can be different types of soda bread as well. We can have delicious bread with various ingredients and making procedures, and some of these amazing recipes are just off the roof in terms of how easy they are. Yet they are so comforting and delicious in every possible way. Let us see some of these recipes for soda bread for your amazing kitchen and appetite.

4.1. Fruit and Spice Irish Soda Bread

The dish has fruits and oats and follows the classic Irish soda bread recipe with a twist.

4.1.1. Ingredients

• About 100 grams of porridge oats
• 25-30 grams of butter
• 200 grams of plain flour
• 250 grams of wholemeal flour
• About 100 grams of caster sugar
• A teaspoon of baking soda
• About 2 teaspoons of mixed spice
• 60 grams of Sultana
• 60 grams of raisins
• 50 grams of stoned date
• 500 ml buttermilk
• 3 Tablespoons mixed peel
• About 4 Tablespoons of raw sugar

4.1.2. Steps

• Preheat the oven to 200c/180c/gas 6.
• Take the porridge oats and butter and mix them well. You can give them a sway in the food processor or just use your hands and mix them well.
• Cover all of the oats with butter.
• In this step, we mix the remaining ingredients: caster sugar, baking soda, mixed spice, and one teaspoon of salt.
• Add the raisins, mixed peel, Sultanas, and dates to that bowl and mix them.
• Add the buttermilk to the mixture and create a nice dough of it.
• Get that dough in round shapes.
• Get a surface that is floured(lightly) for our dough.
• Get the baking tray, put those nice small round doughs on it, and sprinkle that raw sugar.
• Get a cross of half an inch on the top of those doughs.
• Bake them for around 35 minutes.
• And you have your nice golden brown soda bread ready to serve.

4.2. Seeded Wholemeal Irish Soda Bread

This one has a variety of seeds inside of it. The nutrition facts for this go way up for bread, and it tastes nice, so let us see how this quick bread is made.

4.2.1. Ingredients

• 500 grams of wholemeal flour
• 80 grams of four-seed mix(sunflower,pumpkin, golden linseed and sesame)
• One teaspoon of baking powder
• One tablespoon of black treacle(a thick, sweet mix)
• Natural yogurt of about 150 ml, made up to 450 ml with water.

4.2.2. Steps

• Get that oven ready at 200c/180c fan/ gas 6.
• Get a baking sheet with baking parchment.
• Put the flour, the seeds, baking soda, and a pinch of salt in a container.
• Mix the sentimentality and the yogurt, and let them settle until the treacle dissolves in the yogurt.
• Combine the dry ingredients and the yogurt mixture and make a dough that will be sticky but manageable.
• Let it settle for about 5 minutes, then shape the dough round with a diameter of about 17 cm.
• Bake it for about 25 minutes until it sounds hollow when tapped.
• And you have your soda bread ready, a quick bread, and an easy recipe.

4.3. Rustic Oat and Treacle Irish Soda Bread

This is a delicious Irish soda bread. It goes amazing with some cheese, so let us see how it is made and the steps you need to follow:

4.3.3. Ingredients

• Oil For greasing
• 250 grams of plain flour and some more flour for dusting
• 200 grams of wholemeal flour
• 50 grams of porridge oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda or baking powder(baking soda stronger)
• 15o ml pot live bio yogurt
• 1 tablespoon black treacle
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 250 ml of water

4.3.4. Steps

• Preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan/ gas 6.
• Get that baking sheet ready with grease on it.
• Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt to a large bowl and mix well.
• Get that yogurt, add water to it, and mix it well. In the end, the mixture should be about 400ml.
• Add the honey and the treacle to the mixture and stir it.
• Combine those dry ingredients and this mixture to get a nice sticky dough for our oven.
• Get that dough onto a lightly floured slab and make it round.
• Shy some of the oats onto the dough.
• Cut a cross half an inch on the dough and bake it for about 30 to 35 minutes.
• The bread will be prepared and checked as it sounds hollow when tapped.
• Nice and warm with a nice soup, butter or pair of cheese.

4.4. Apricot Orange Soda Bread

This Irish soda bread just tastes amazing. Among the nice, tasty, free recipes for Irish soda bread, this one makes a great addition to your set of bread with taste and texture. Let us see how this bread is made.

4.4.1. Ingredients

• 250 grams of all-purpose flour
• 250 grams of whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder(baking soda preferred)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter(cold)
• 2 cup buttermilk(cold, shaken and low fat )
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons of orange zest
• 1 cup Dried Apricots(chopped)

4.4.2. Steps

• The preheated oven is near about 200 degrees Celsius or 190 degrees Celsius.
• Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Make a mixture of flour, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar.
• You can use a low-speed mixer for this purpose if you want.
• When you are done mixing these dry ingredients, add that cold butter and mix them well.
• Use your hands to get that butter nicely mixed in that flour.
• Beat the egg and add buttermilk and the orange zest to it.
• Now, to make the dough, combine both the dry and wet ingredients and mix them to form a dough.
• Add some dry flour and apricots to the dough and again mix them.
• When your dough is prepared, now let’s go to the baking part.
• Shy some flour on the dough.
• Get a baking tray and a baking sheet for our bread.
• Put a half-inch cross on the bread using a serrated or sharp knife.
• Bake the bread for about 35 minutes, and it’ll sound hollow when tapped when it is perfectly cooked.
• It tastes exceptional, whether hot or cold.

4.5. Zucchini and Cheddar Irish Soda Bread

Healthy and tasty, this dish is all you need to have a great toast for an amazing breakfast. It is one of the nice bread recipes that is worth your time. Let us see how it is made and what ingredients you need to make it work.

4.5.1. Ingredients

• 4oo grams of self-raising flour, available in market(it is 100 grams of plain flour with 1 teaspoon of baking soda)
• 2 Medium zucchinis
• 50 to 60 grams of rolled oat
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 80 grams of grated mature cheddar(save some for sprinkling)
• Thyme leaves
• 290 ml pot buttermilk
• One tablespoon clear honey
• One egg

4.5.2. Steps

• Preheat the oven to 200c/ 180c fan/ gas 6.
• Grate the zucchini on a tea towel roughly. The purpose is to remove as much liquid as possible from the zucchini.
• Twist and squeeze the zucchini in the towel to remove the liquid.
• Make a mixture of baking soda, salt, oats and flour.
• Now add the cheddar to the bowl along with the zucchini and thyme.
• Mix the buttermilk and the honey and stir them.
• Add this mixture to the previous mix of flour and zucchini.
• Mix them nicely to prepare a good dough, then knead quickly.
• This is the popular step: make a round shape and put it on the baking sheet.
• Sprinkle that cheddar on top of it and brush some of the beaten eggs.
• Make a plus sign on the dough. (half an inch)
• In 40 minutes, you will have nice and easy Irish soda bread for a beautiful day.

5. Side Dishes with Irish Soda Bread

There are many side dishes to go with this Irish soda bread, and they make it taste amazing and full of life and flavor. This homemade bread will go with many dishes and cheese, but there are some of the selected dishes with which this Irish soda bread will just be smooth.

5.1. Corned Beef and Cabbage

This is one of the classic recipes served with Irish soda bread. The taste is amazing, and when combined with this bread, it just explodes with culture and taste.

The recipe for this dish is a little bit complicated, but honed hands who have been making this for generations; it is just normal. The cost of this dish is not at all high and can be made with easy ingredients that are easily found.

It tastes amazing when cooked for a longer period of time; the meat, with its nice tenderness and savoury juice, is just what you need for your Irish soda bread.

5.2. Irish Beef Stew

Again, we have a classical dish with our Irish soda bread, and the best bread deserves a good stew. This beef stew is rich in flavor and tastes amazing if you are a meat lover. It tastes great, best with a piece of nice Irish soda bread. Both of the dishes balance each other.

5.3. Fried Red Cabbage

This is a nice and easy recipe to go with another easy recipe, which is for our bread. The taste is amazing, like always, but if you are short on time and you need a nice, tasty, and quick breakfast, then this one is for you. Served with nice homemade bread or soda bread, hot or cold, it tastes great.

5.4. Grilled Onion Rings

Grilled onion rings sound delicious, and it sounds even better when you have it with this amazing no-yeast bread. Get some mustard sauce or any particular sauce you like, and just be creative. It tastes amazing, and you must not miss this combo of Irish soda bread loaf and grilled onion rings. Along with some nice chicken or steak, it will be a blast.

5.5. Apple Butter

This one tastes sweet and goes excellent with this bread or even normal bread. The taste of this butter is more favorable to the bread and balances each other really nicely. Honey butter can also be a nice substitute if you don’t like apples. Give it a try, and you’ll love it.

6. Health Benefits of Irish Soda Bread

One might argue that Irish Soda Bread is one of the healthiest bread recipes. It is 100% natural, using only baking soda as the leavening agent instead of yeast, and hence does not give a bloated feeling.

The low-fat buttermilk gives the bread flavour and texture. The whole wheat also makes it healthier and heartier. It is a very good energy source yet low in carbohydrates and keeps your hunger away for a long time.

Irish Soda Bread reduces the risk of inflammatory diseases. It is low in cholesterol and may, hence, also reduce the risk of heart disease. It is sugar-free and helps prevent diabetes, and it is rich in dietary fibres, which relieve constipation.

7. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How to store Soda bread?

Depending on your usage, you can store soda bread in an airtight container or refrigerate it for 3 to 4 days.

Q2. Can you use gluten-free flour instead of plain flour for Irish soda bread?

Yes, you can use gluten-free flour instead of plain flour, and it will taste the same, so there is no need to worry about the taste.

Q3. Is kneading necessary for soda bread?

No, you should avoid it because the dough is generally soft, but you might need it a little in some recipes.

Q4.Why is it called soda bread?

It is so-called because of the baking soda it contains and because it is the primary substitute for yeast.

Q5. Is soda bread the best option for No-Yeast Bread?

Yes, you can say it is. The taste and texture of everything just exceeded our expectations, and the taste is no less than that of yeast bread.

8. In The End

Exceptional, easy Irish soda bread is quick to make and easily found online. The food blog talks about it; there is less cooking time, and the whole loaf makes you crave this dish even more. There is no spec of doubt that it will be amazing when you make this exceptional bread.

The flour and buttermilk in this dish give it a nice texture and a great crust. When you finish cooking this bread, it will be a happy moment because not much effort will be needed. So do not stop and explore this amazing bread, which will be a great addition to your breakfast.

Last Updated on April 4, 2024 by Yashika