The world’s best No Yeast Bread – Irish Soda Bread! Irish bread is unique because it’s a 4 ingredient, 5 minute recipe made without yeast but still has a proper crumb just like “real” bread.
You don’t need to be Irish to make this.😉 You just need to be a fellow Carb Monster! Rustic flavour, great crust, keeps well for days. Slather with butter, mop your plate clean, dunk into soups – or Irish Beef and Guinness Stew!
World’s BEST No Yeast Bread!
People say that the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven is one of the best things in the world.
Forget the smell. What about the moment when you cut yourself a thick slice of warm homemade bread, slather it with butter then take a big fat, satisfying bite of it??
I’ll take THAT over the smell any day ……. 😂
“Irish Soda Bread takes just 5 minutes to get in the oven. So you can have fresh bread any night!”
What it tastes like
It’s called Irish Soda Bread because it’s made with baking soda instead of yeast. Because of this, it’s more dense than your everyday white sandwich bread. Hearty and rustic are the words that come to mind, and it tastes kind of nutty from the wholemeal flour.
While dense, it still has an aerated crumb like “normal” bread. And it’s got a great crust which I love!
What goes in Irish Soda Bread
Here’s what you need:
Flour – white flour makes a slightly more tender crumb whereas wholewheat/wholemeal adds flavour. So using both is best – but it can be made with just either flour.
Baking Soda – This is baking powder on steroids, with almost 3 times as much rising power. Because this is a formidable ball of dough we’re working with here, we need the super strength of baking soda instead of baking powder!
Buttermilk – The vinegar in buttermilk activates the baking soda, giving it a kickstart which you need for a loaf of bread this size. Easy sub: Just mix milk and lemon juice or vinegar, leave to curdle and use per recipe. It’s a near perfect sub.
Salt – the only seasoning required! See below for more flavouring options
Don’t worry if you don’t have buttermilk. Make your own with milk and vinegar – it’s a near perfect substitute.
No egg? No butter? No sugar??
That’s right! This is a traditional Irish Soda Bread we’re making here. For one thing, this bread is better without egg and butter. Egg makes the bread less moist, and the butter made the crumb less tender (I made side by side versions just to be sure).
And this bread has enough flavour to eat plain with just lashings of butter so you don’t need extra flavourings like sugar and spices – though you can if you want.
To avoid your Soda Bread coming out as hard as a canon ball, don’t knead more than 10 times!
Irish Soda Bread Tips
Irish Soda bread is a mix / 10 second knead / shape / bake job. It’s very simple and quite forgiving but I do have a few tips to ensure yours is a success even if you’re a bread first timer.
3 minutes into oven – Once you add the buttermilk, aim to get it into the oven within 3 minutes. This is because buttermilk activates the baking soda. So the second it is added, the baking soda is fizzing away, getting ready to do its thing. If you leave it lying around, it loses its firepower = dense dough.
10 Knead Rule – Like all no yeast bread / muffin type recipes like Blueberry Muffins and Herb Garlic Quick Bread Loaf, the less you handle the dough, the softer the crumb. So don’t knead more than 10 times!
The wetter the dough, the more moist the crumb – Just use enough flour to be able to shape and move the dough.
As with every dough recipe, even simple No Yeast flatbreads, the exact amount of flour required will differ for everyone, even from day to day. Different flour brands, humidity, warmth, coldness of your work surface – all these impact the exact amount of flour required.
It’s better to have a stickier dough and add more flour as required, rather than a dry dough which is hard to salvage. So I start with 1.75 cups, then measure out another 1/4 cup for dusting/kneading and just use what’s required.
Variations
This version I’m sharing today is a plain traditional Irish bread. I say it’s “plain” but it’s certainly not flavourless. You’ll find yourself devouring it with nothing more than butter! But it’s also a terrific to add flavourings, some common variations include:
Oats – inside and sprinkled on top
Raisins, caraway seeds
Seeds – sesame, sunflower, linseed and pumpkin seeds is a combination I tried at my local markets today!
Eat it plain, toast it, or serve it with….
This is such a great last minute emergency bread. It’s so quick to make, but you won’t feel like you’re “just making do” just because it’s a no yeast bread. It is a great bread as it is.
Make it to dunk into one of these soups or stews:
OR use it for toast in the morning. Make Cheesy Garlic Bread, or big Jewish deli-style Pastrami sandwiches. Just use this as you would any other bread – except you have the added bonus of smug satisfaction knowing you made it yourself!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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World’s Best No Yeast Bread – Irish Soda Bread!
Ingredients
- 2 cups white flour (plain / all purpose)
- 1 3/4 cups wholemeal flour (wholewheat, Note 1)
- 2 – 3 tbsp Extra Flour (either flour, for dusting)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda (bi-carb, Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups buttermilk , fridge cold (Note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan).
- Line tray with baking paper.
- Whisk both flours (not Extra Flour), baking soda and salt in a bowl.
- Add buttermilk, stir until it’s too hard to stir anymore.
- Sprinkle 2 tbsp Extra Flour onto work surface, scrape out dough, sprinkle with more flour.
- Gently knead no more than 8 times, bring together into a ball. (Note 4)
- Transfer to tray, pat into 2.5cm/1″ thick disc.
- Cut cross on surface 1cm / 0.3″ deep using serrated knife.
- Bake 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
- Bake further 20 minutes, or until the base sounds hollow when tapped in the middle.
- Transfer to rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Notes:
- 1.75 cups (435ml) + 1 tbsp of full fat milk
- 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice (or other clear vinegar)
- Mix the milk and lemon juice together, set aside for 15 minutes. It will congeal on surface. Then use in place of buttermilk in recipe.
- Volume is just shy of 2 cups of buttermilk (per recipe) because this substitute is thinner so you need to use a touch less otherwise dough gets too wet.
- Oats – brush surface with extra buttermilk and sprinkle with oats. Can also mix in oats (up to 1 cup), but reduce flour in dough by 1/2 cup;
- Raisins! Stir in 1 cup
- Seeds! Pumpkin, linseeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, poppyseed. Stir through and sprinkle on top, about 1/2 cup.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
When he spotted a duck under the jetty. It took much effort to drag him back up the stairs – and he very nearly pulled me into the water!!
Can you use gluten free bread flour instead?
Hi Anna, I haven’t tried to be honest but I always find that GF flour results in loaves that are much more dense. N x
Would love to try this,
could you please be kind enough and tell me duration and the temperature in microwave convection oven.
Thank you
Hi Suman, I haven’t dried in the microwave to be honest. Would love to know if it works! N x
I made this soda bread yesterday. I cannot believe how well it turned out. I am confined to my apartment right now so I needed something to do. I used plain flour: made my own buttermilk using skim milk:
and followed the rest of your instructions. It came out edible! Even my husband liked it as much as I did. Thank You Super with jam
You nailed it Julie, that’s great to hear! N x
One more question – if you only have 1% milk can you throw in some melted butter to add up for lost fat?
Hi Happy, I haven’t tried sorry but would love to know how it turns out! N x
I used your guidelines in an older comment I missed, for cooking a half size reduction of this recipe, halving all amounts.
15 minutes at 430 F then 7 minutes at 390 F
I also threw in a tablespoon of melted butter when I combined the flour mix with my mix of vinegar and 1% milk to add fat…
What I got was perfection. All I could ever hope for. Thank you for this recipe so much!!
This bread is saving my life in quarantine in NYC, Never baked before in my life but not I have fresh bread. I’ve been halving the recipe to make a smaller loaf and it does tend to come out overcooked – any advice on adjusting cooking times or amounts to do a half size?
Hi Happy – you’ll need to reduce the cook time if you halve the recipe – something for me to test! N x
Can you use a non dairy milk like oat?
Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar for every cup of diary free milk! Works wonderfully in replacement of buttermilk!
Yes 100%!! N x
I don’t understand the difference in oven temps one has fan??
Hi Phyllis, one temp if for a standard oven, the other is for fan ovens. N x
I’ve just prepped it and my boyfriend has come home with fresh bread. Does the dough store?
Hi Christina, no it doesn’t unfortunately, unlike yeast, once you’ve activated the rising agent in this one it is required to be cooked (otherwise you’ll end up with a rock) N x
Look forward to make this. But I just don’t wholemeal flour. Might have to buy one to make it.
All the wholemeal flour is sold out where we are but we have some leftover spelt flour. Do you think that would work as a sub for the wholemeal flour?
Hi El – take a look at the notes 😉 N x
Hi,
What is 1.5 baking soda mean? I’m familiar with 1 1/2 tsp or 1 3/4 tsp.
Thank you 🙂
Hi Dee Dee! 1.5 tsp = 1 1/2 tsp 🙂 N x
Thank you so much!!
Tx Nagi. Bread was fabulous had it with the lentil soup. A really happy table of people. Thank you for all your recipes everything I have made is soooooo good. Please keep cooking & sharing. Love Pamela
WOOT!!! N x
Hi, did this recipe yesterday, so good and so easy. Thank you
Wahoo!! That’s great to hear Jess! N x
This is the second time I’ve made this bread recipe and this is the second time that I followed the recipe to the letter only to find out when I cut into it that the bread is wet inside so obviously there’s something wrong with my stove…….. for my third attempt I think I’m going to use a dutch oven and buy a thermometer…..lol
Hi Luke, sorry you’re having issues here – sounds like it needs to cook longer, what type of oven are you using? N x
Hi there , can we make this bread in air fryer ? If yes pls tel the temperature to be kept at and for how long ? Thanks
My Irish mum and friends, swear by adding a teaspoon of cream of tartar to the mix.
Oh I’ll have to give it a go! N x
I want to try this recipe, but only have self raising white flour, and semi skimmed milk.
Would the buttermilk substitute work with semi skimmed, or does it need the fat in the milk to work ?
Hi Pete, you need the fat in the milk unfortunately and you require plain flour. N x
I used semi skimmed with a tbsp of butter mixed in (well…. I’m a man 😊). It was bread… not quite as I usually know bread, but OK for toast and in emergency
I do not have wholemeal flour, can i just use plain flour? And with the same quantity in the recipe for the wholemeal flour instead?
Hi Kirsteen – yes, check the recipe notes 🙂 N x
Very tempting!
Do you think thinned plain greek yogurt would work as a buttermilk substitute?
Hi Goldie, I think it would work ok, you’d need to water it down slightly to buttermilk consistency though – N x
Looks delicious! Is it possible to use low – fat milk instead of buttermilk? I am out of buttermilk and would love to make this recipe
Hi Zara, I list the sub in the notes here, you require full fat milk though. N x
Nagi, this recipe is delightful, thank you for such a simple and delicious bread recipe. I’ve made it twice now and it’s a total winner in our house!! God bless in these uncertain times we’re living in!
Wahoo, that’s so good to hear Erika! N x
I made this bread to go with a chili we were having and it turned out GREAT.
Given the limited ingredients, it was delicious, crusty on the outside slightly dense but still moist and fluffy enough inside.
I am super impressed with this recipe and how simple it was.
Note: I only had white flour, so I only used white.
I also did 2 cups of 2% milk + 2 tbsp white vinegar to create the buttermilk ( I let it sit on the counter for about 10 min).
The bread was fantastic for how simple it is to make!
That’s great to know Ivana, I’m so glad it worked out for you!! N x