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!!
Thank you for this, Nagi! Any chance you’ve made this with non-dairy milk, or think it could be made with non-dairy milk?
Hey, I just made it with 3% oat milk +vinegar and it’s uh-mazing so yes it absolutely doesn’t need dairy 🙂
Yes I’m sure it could Jen! N x
I love that your recipe is plain. All the other versions I found had raisins and were on the sweet side. I will be trying this this week. I have long been looking for a super simple everyday bread and this looks like it would work for everything, whether it be a sandwich, on the side of spaghetti or dunked in butter chicken. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Bread is life Megan 😂 Love to know what you think once you try it!! N x
made this yesterday love this easy to follow recipe…. even though I used baking powder instead of baking soda poops😂🤣… turned out just great….. going to remake it soon but this time I’ll use BS
I’m so glad you loved it Sandy! That’s great to hear!! N x
Wow! I was done in no time after putting the ingredients together. I used the whole milk/vinegar version instead of buttermilk. Thank you dear for the recipe. Can’t wait to eat it!
Perfect Lucy!!! N x
Hi can i use microwave? How long do i need keep it?
Hi Mayur, do you mean to cook the bread?
Yes, do not have an oven!!
Hello Nagi, so happy that I found your site (is amazing!!) and this recipe. As we are on lockdown, over here in London I can’t find Yeast anywhere. But that’s fine. Now I can do bread follow your amazing recipe! Just one question: can I adapt this recipe to a bread maker machine? I have one and I was wondering if I could use with the machine.,,
Hi Ana, this isn’t suitable for a bread maker sorry! N x
Cant wait to try it
I hope you do and love it Pamela!! N x
This is so YUMMY!! The yeast I had in the fridge was dead, and my entire town has none in stock, so I googled no yeast bread recipes and yours was at the top of the list. I’ll make this again!
I’m so glad it worked out for you Reanna! N x
PS I meant to say please give Dozer a BIG pat from me.
Thanks Nagi for this delicious recipe. After cooling bread I slice and put in freezer. It stores well and I especially love it toasted. Your website is the one I always refer to when looking for a new recipe or ideas. Please give Dozer a bit pat from me.
That’s great to hear Dianne! N x
flour shortage here can you cut this recipe in half? How long to bake then?
Hi Sue – yes you can make a half loaf, I’d cook for 15 minutes then turn down the oven and cook a further 5-10 minutes (you may just need to watch the loaf) N x
Hi Nagi, thanks for so many great recipes! Just wondering whether I can replace the wholewheat flour for oat flour? Or should I use more white flour instead? Thanks
Hi, can I shape it smaller ? Like shorter baguettes ? If so, what would be the temp and time I have to bake it ?
Hi Stephanie – that just depends on how big they are. I’d just keep an eye on it and once they are a golden colour and sound hollow when tapped, you’ll know they are done 🙂 N x
Will be making this today. What is a fan oven? Is that a convection oven?
Hi Nancy, yes a convection oven has fans to circulate the heat! 🙂 N x
Can u make this low carb
Hi Jules, I’ve never really considered bread a low carb food – might be better to stick to something else! N x
Probably like everyone here, found this while searching for easy bread to make without yeast during this time. It came out AMAZING y’all, it’s so good and I’m so happy I tried it.
I did the Buttermilk Substitute instructions and it worked perfectly. I also only had white all-purpose flour, so I simply did the combined totals of all flours and it still came out great!
Wahoo, sounds like you nailed it Katie!! N x
I’m also going to do the buttermilk substitute but the note says it makes 1 cup of buttermilk substitute. I just want to make sure that I am supposed to make 2 cups to match the amount of buttermilk for the recipe? I don’t want to mess up
I only have white all purpose flour. How much do I use for this recipe please?
Could I divide these and make them into bread rolls??
I only have white flour, does it have to be Wheat Flour. I do have bread flour should I use that. I only have 1/2 & 1/2 , can I add water to the 1/2 & 1/2 to make the amount needed and then ad the vinegar, also how long does the vinegar have to sit in the milk mixture to curdle, same room temp for 5 mins
Just add the totals together: 2 + 1.75 = 3.75 cups
I literally just did that this morning, came out great!
Had no buttermilk so I kinda winged things. Totally came out AWESOME! I used greek yogurt mixed with water and apple cider vinegar. Added bagel seasoning and made scrumptious sandwiches after
This is a very forgiving recipe! Love it!
YESSS!!! That’s great RC!
I’ve been looking for a no egg, no yeast bread recipe like this since I can’t get any bread or yeast here nowadays
So glad I came across this!
Also, is it possible to make this with just whole wheat? (Skipping the white flour i.e) If yes, then should I sub those 2 cups of white flour with whole wheat flour? (i.e a total of 3 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour)
Hi Ginni, you can but you may need a little more water as whole wheat flour requires more liquid that white flour – N x
So, if I am just using All Purpose flour – how much do I need?
Hi Carolyn, the same amount as the total flour weight – 565g or 3 3/4 cups. N x