{No-Yeast} Traditional Irish Soda Bread

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Looking for a hearty, crusty bread to go with dinner? This No Yeast Brown Soda Bread comes together easily and then it’s just a quick 30-minute bake in the oven – absolutely no proofing needed! This European-style bread has a nutty flavor, crusty exterior, and a moist crumb. It’s just perfect for dabbing up the sauce in your favorite soups, stews and gravy. This recipe yields a 1-lb loaf.

My plan was to share this recipe for No Yeast Irish Brown Soda Bread for Saint Patrick’s Day but well ….life happened. It always does. Even our best laid plans sometimes get derailed.

This quick and easy bread is simply too good to only eat on Saint Patrick’s Day so I’m not going to wait another year to share it with you!

This bread requires no yeast, no proofing, practically no kneading — and is ready in just 30-minutes in the oven! That fits perfectly into any hectic lifestyle. One thing is certain, we can all use a little more of this bread in our lives.

I’ve prepared this bread partly with almond flour which gives the loaf a nice nutty flavor – perfect for slathering on a little butter. If you don’t have almond flour in the pantry, that’s okay too. This loaf is very forgiving. Dare I say foolproof?

What Ingredients are in Irish Soda Bread?

For the Homemade Buttermilk Mixture:

• Whole Milk – the milk bats are what creates the buttermilk.
• White vinegar or Fresh lemon juice (not pictured) – used to curdle the milk to make homemade buttermilk.

For the Bread Dough:

• All-purpose flour – for this I use just plain all-purpose flour. 00 or cake flour don’t have any added benefit for this bread.
• Almond flour or whole wheat flour – traditionally soda bread is made with some whole wheat flour. I love the nutty flavor the almond flour brings but you may opt to go fully traditional and use the whole wheat flour instead.
• Baking soda – with 3-times the sodium bicarbanate than baking powder, this bread gets its rise from baking soda not baking powder.
• Salt – just a little bit is all you need. I use fine Kosher salt but regualr table salt may be used in an equal amount.
• Granulated sugar – you can use regualar granulated, natural, or brown sugar for added flavor.

How Do I make Irish Brown Soda Bread?

• Preheat over to 425 degrees F.
• In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the milk and lemon juice (or vinegar) and stir to combine. Set aside. The mixture will curdle and clump into homemade buttermilk.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
• Add enough buttermilk to make a thick, shaggy dough. It should be a little wet and sticky. If the dough is too wet to work with add a tablespoon of flour or just enough flour to make it manageable. Sticky dough rises more easily than a dry dough so you want to keep  this dough pretty moist since we are working without yeast for the rise.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench and knead 5 to 10 times – just enough to form a ball. Do not work the dough any more than this.
• Pat the dough into a disc about 1-inch high.
• With a sharp knife, slice and “X” pattern into the top of the dough about 1/2 inch deep.
• Place dough on a rimmed baking sheet (affiliate link) lined with parchment paper (affiliate link) and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. (I baked mine exactly 30 minutes). 
• The dough will be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. The internal temperature will be about 175 degrees F to 180 degrees F when tested with a digital kitchen thermometer (affiliate link). A skewer inserted into the center of the loaf should come out clean or with a couple of crumbs attached.
• Allow the bread to cool slightly before slicing. Best served warm or at room temperature.

Mix the Dry Ingredients in a bowl

Addition the buttermilk - batter should be shaggy and a little sticky

Lightly knead dough 7 to 10 times & form into a disk about 1.5 inches high

Cut a slit into the dough to allow steam to escape

Baking 30 to 40 minutes

Slice and serve.

Traditionally, this soda bread recipe is best when consumed shortly after being baked, as it was originally intended, when it was baked almost every day in Ireland as a daily bread.

This is a great easy camping bread and can be made using a Dutch oven over a turf fire. Great with that steaming bowl of campfire chili.

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5 from 2 votes

No Yeast Irish Soda Bread

This No Yeast Brown Soda Bread takes only 4-minutes to put together and a quick 30-minute bake in the oven. No proofing needed! This dense, Europen-style bread has a crusty exterior and a moist crumb - It's just perfect for dabbing up the sauce in your favorite soups and stews. This recipe makes a 1-lb loaf.

Course Breakfast, lunch, Main Course, main meal

Cuisine Irish

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 16 slices

Calories 126kcal

Author Ronda Eagle | Kitchen Dreaming

Ingredients

For the Homemade Buttermilk Mixture:

• 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 cups Whole Milk - [See Notes]
• 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon

For the Bread Dough:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Almond flour or whole wheat flour - [See Notes]
• 1 tsp Baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp granulated sugar

Instructions

• Preheat over to 425 degrees F.
  
• In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the milk and lemon juice (or vinegar) and stir to combine. Set aside. The mixture will curdle and clump into homemade buttermilk.
  
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
  
• Add enough buttermilk to make a thick, shaggy dough. It should be a little wet and sticky. If the dough is too wet to work with add a tablespoon of flour or just enough flour to make it manageable. Sticky dough rises more easily than a dry dough so you want to keep  this dough pretty moist since we are working without yeast for the rise.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench and knead 5 to 10 times - just enough to form a ball. Do not work the dough any more than this.
  
• Pat the dough into a disc about 1-inch high.
  
• With a sharp knife, slice and "X" pattern into the top of the dough about 1/2 inch deep.
  
• Place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. (I baked mine exactly 30 minutes). 
  
• The dough will be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. The internal temperature will be about 175 degrees F to 180 degrees F when tested with a digital kitchen thermometer. A skewer inserted into the center of the loaf should come out clean or with a couple of crumbs attached.
• Allow the bread to cool slightly before slicing. Best served warm or at room temperature.

Notes

1. An equal amount of buttermilk may be substituted for the Milk with lemon (or white vinegar).
2. An equal amount of whole wheatflour may be used to replace the almond flour.
3. Nutrition is calculated based on the recipe as written. Additions, omissions, or substitutions will change the calculated values shown. The addition, omission, or substitution of ingredients will alter the nutritional information shown. Nutrition percentages are based on a 2000-calorie diet. The FDA recommends 80 micrograms of vitamin K.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

No Yeast Irish Soda Bread

Amount Per Serving (1 slice)

Calories 126 Calories from Fat 27

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 3g 5%

Saturated Fat 0g 0%

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 224mg 9%

Potassium 25mg 1%

Total Carbohydrates 19g 6%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 0g

Protein 3g 6%

Calcium 1.8%

Iron 7.5%

* (Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)

Serving Suggestions:

Traditional Irish Stew

Bangers Mash Onion Ale Gravy

Irish Mussels in Ale

Beef and Guinness Stew

This post was last updated on June 2nd, 2019