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!!
FANTASTIC
as good as my Nans used to be ( from Ireland ).
I have tried many irish soda bread recipes over the years and this is by FAR the very best and also so quick and easy … Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe that i make at least once every week since i found it 👍👍
Worked well – another excellent recipe here. It might have been a bit “cakier” in texture than a yeast-raised bread, but it toasted well. I had it with poached eggs for breakfast, and toasted with honey for lunch. (I didn’t like it so much with vegemite…) I’ll be trying this one again!
Hi, can you use dairy free milk almond milk for this?
Cannot have any dairy foods
So good. I came across lamb neck chops really cheap today so I made Irish stew. I just had to make soda bread to mop up the gravy. My 11yo daughter inhaled it all!
My favourite bread Nagi, but you forgot to let the fairies out 😂
I had some left over kefir that was a bit too acidic for our taste . Used it in this recipe – perfect ! I shall make it again – maybe even today . My Irish husband says it’s just like his granny’s
Hi Muriel, sounds like an interesting idea. Did you substitute kefir for the butter milk 100%.
My partner LOVES this, and his family are Irish. So 10/10. So easy and turns out perfectly every time.
I made this and everyone liked it. I had tried a similar recipe that also called for 1 tbsp of molasses but it was a smaller loaf. Do you think that could be added?
Absolutely delicious.
Even on my first attempt this is the closest I have tasted to the soda bread my cousin used to make every morning on the farm in Ireland.
The ingredients are extremely simple – its the know-how that matters here. Thank you Nagi – as always your notes and instrucitons gave me the know-how in this recipie.
Previously made this recipe and it had a metallic taste and smell .I didn’t realise the sodium bicarbonate was out date made this time with fresh sodium bicarbonate and it’s excellent. Very tasty
Hi Nagi,
Can you please help to unjumble my brain!? When using plain flour do I add the 1 3/4 cups (wholemeal) as plain flour. 🤔. Thankyou.
Made it in the breadmaker, mixing < than 10 min on the cake program. Then baked at 390 for 40 min on the bake program. Turned out fabulous!
I tried this loaf tonight to go with my kinda-irish beef stew. My Irish husband said it was EXACTLY like his Mums (that’s a good thing) and the kids all loved it no matter if it was Irish or not! Thanks Nagi!
Hi,
Can you make this recipe with gluten free flour?
Can recipe be halved? Does gluten-free flour work?
You can halve the recipe but I don’t recommend g/f flour. N x
Awesome bread! So easy-very moist. Will definitely make again and again!
Woo hoo!! I am happy you liked it J!! N x
If you wanted to add grated cheese to the soda bread, what would be the optimum amount to add without changing the texture or rising of the loaf. When adding cheese to anything I tend to work with the theory that (a lot) more is better. That might not work so well with the soda bread.
I’m sorry L.S. but I haven’t tested the maximum cheese amount you can add so I am not sure – start with 3/4 cup and see how you go! N x
I was given this for breakfast when I stayed in Southern Ireland by my landlady. It was delicious!
I’ve baked this, it’s sooo easy and tasted exactly like the one from the Airbnb. Thank you!!!!!
Hi Nagi,
This looks Fabulous! I will have to give it a try.
I have been dabbling (and baking) various sourdough recipes which has been a tad* Amazing!
I would love your take on a really good sourdough recipe!
As you really know how to write recipes Amazingly and simply for us aspiring cooking folks 😉
Thanks
Cathy x
This is the first no yeast loaf that I would definitely make again. My loaf was ready at the 33 minute mark.
Thanks Nagi!