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!!
I tried this tonight and it was fantastic. It was my first attempt at making bread ever and I couldn’t be happier. The moistness and thickness of the bread made me think it could be turned into more of a dessert bread also, perhaps raisin and cinnamon, or possibly banana. In any case, I’d be interested to know what would need to change to make smaller versions of the base recipe. Can you provide recommended cook times for 1/2 and 1/4 sized versions? My kids want to cook make this with me and each customize their own versions. Thanks!
WOOT! That’s great to hear Michael – I would try baking a half version for 15 minutes and then a further 10 or so – just check, tap the bread and it should sound hollow.
Ok, first I can’t seem to bake bread that comes out baked and not doughy. I’m going to try this recipe now and see if this recipe will work for me. Any tips for a new bread maker.
It’s so easy, you’ll nail is Sylvia!!
I love the way you explain the reason for each step. Do you have a recipe for corned beef and cabbage?
Sorry, I don’t yet Janice! N x
Is it possible to bake this in a loaf pan?
Hi Dorothy, the signature crust of soda bread is quite tough – I feel you may not achieve this in a loaf pan! N x
It’s important to smooth out lumps in the baking soda.I put the soda on my hand and use the back of a spoon.I use dried buttermilk all the time successfully and I have never kneaded it -mix with a metal spoon.My Irish Mom
Great tips Eithne, thanks so much for sharing! N x
I like this recipe but I’m curious; if I use “actual” buttermilk (the leftover fluid from butter making) will the recipe still work as written? I’m aware that currently available “commercial” buttermilk is not from the butter-making process.
Yes, you are correct – it’s artificially made. I’m sure it will work as written using REAL buttermilk 🙂
Thank you Nagi
Hi Nagi. I approximately halved the ingredients. I used 2 cups flour and 1 cup buttermilk from tesco. It came out fine, other than the fact that the inside of the loaf turned brown and there is a bitter taste which comes from the buttermilk I think. I don’t mind the bitter taste. It takes getting used to.
Does this sound about right?
It’s in the oven, really hope it turns out well. I have a tendency of messing up recipes.
When you say fan with the oven temperature do you mean the convection oven setting? Is it just for the second half of the baking time or the whole time? Sorry, but I’ve never had a stove with that option till now. Appliances stayed when moving in to our new home 6 months ago. I’m not even sure the convection fan works. Our inspector could not make it work but home owner said it just takes a while to kick on. Lol…guess I will be testing it out today!
Hi Lisa, that doesn’t sound right – how did you cook it?
Nagi Soda bread I made had a distinct taste and smell of the sodium bicarbonate I used 1.5 teaspoon as per recipe was the amount correct and if so what can I do to prevent it
To avoid the taste of bicarbonate of soda, here are two tips: sieve the soda into the flour and mix thoroughly; and add a teaspoon of sugar/honey to the wet ingredients. My personal favourite is molasses.
Thank you Karen I shall try it
Hi Robyn, sorry you found it overpowering, what brand were you using? – N x
Nagi it was MCKENZIE ‘S bi-carb soda
For those who are gluten free: Made this with Bob’s GF 1to1 flour yesterday. Halved all ingredients (created buttermilk w/1c. milk and 1T vinegar) because I didn’t want to waste the flour if it didn’t work! Needed a good 2c. of the GF flour to eliminate the wetness, but I guess everyone thought it turned out well. It’s all gone! I’ll be making again when I have a ‘bread’ craving and need something quickly 🙂 Thanks!
Great tip Ali, thanks so much!!
Doesn’t buttermilk contain yeast ? I was looking for a bread with no yeast because I’m allergic and I thought I found it till I read the ingredient buttermilk. Butter-mil contains yeast
Hi Shannon, if you can’t have buttermilk, use the substitute I have listed – N x
Thank you so much! I’m trying it again today with actual buttermilk
Enjoy!
I did this recipe with the substitution for buttermilk and it was so very wet I had to keep adding a lot more flour. Is 2 cups buttermilk to 2 cups flour actually the correct ratio? It seems like 1:1 would be too wet. Maybe with actual buttermilk it would be thicker… thanks, Amy
Hi Amy, yes it would have been too wet – the recipe actually has 3.75 cups of flour – N x
It’s almost out of the oven.
I used almond milk for the milk so we shall see. Add 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice per cup of almond milk. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before adding it to dry ingredients. Some recipes use less almond milk than dairy
Does anyone know if powdered buttermilk would work?
The instructions on the buttermilk are to add the powder to the dry ingredients. Add the equivalent water instead of milk- though I’ve used milk in other recipes. Without a liquid would the baking soda start working?
I haven’t tried this Anna, would love to know how it turns out!
Made this and my kids loved it! Question for you, I made my own buttermilk following your directions but it wasn’t lumpy & separated after 15 minutes – was it supposed to be? Of course I added more lemon juice until it was and I’m now curious if I shouldn’t have and if it affected it.
Hi Kathy, no it doesn’t have to be lumpy to work 🙂
Best soda bread recipe yet with super clear directions! Onto my 2nd loaf in 3 days!
Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you love it Anna!
Hi is it possible to freeze the bread?
Sure can Angela!
I’m just about to make it for the first time.
I love soda bread so looking forward to trying it.
I’m on a calorie controlled diet so was delighted to see it would be 160 per slice but it didn’t say weight of slice.
Can you please advise.
Many thanks
Linda Ashcroft
Is it possible to use baking powder instead of baking soda by tripling it?
I don’t think it will have enough rising power (as baking soda is more powerful 🙂 ) I would love to know if it works though! N x
Thank you for responding back so quickly! I will let you know if I do decide to try it. Also, thank you for posting this recipe it looks really great!😊
Hi Linda, this bread is 12 servings per loaf. When your bread has finished baking, weigh it and divide by 12 and you’ll get an accurate weight of what each slice/serving should be – N x
Thank you Nagi I look forward to trying it
Linda x
Easy and delicious! Though I was wondering if I could decrease the salt a bit. Maybe be 1/2 teaspoon.
You sure could Lynda!
Hi Nagi, I adore all of your recipes, and thanks to you I make the best Chilli ever ☺
In reference to the Soda Bread recipe, for the Buttermilk substitute you recommend : Mix 1.75 cups + 1 tbsp full fat milk, but I don’t understand what the 1.75 cups are refering to, are these cups of flour, milk, eggs etc, because the 1.75 cups are to be added to full fat milk…but whats in the cups ☺☺, As soon as I know, i can make the bread!.
Hi Sandy that’s Mix 1.75 cups + 1 tbsp full fat milk with the additions as per the notes – N x
Hi Nagi. I follow your receipes all,the time love them makes life much easier. I am from Brisbane and have just recently visited Tasmania and visited Jackman & Mc Ross Battery Point and had the best buttermilk and raisin loaf. I was wondering whether you have a receipe