Irish soda bread is a traditional quick bread from Ireland, made without yeast and using baking soda as a leavening agent. It is known for its dense texture and slightly tangy flavor, typically achieved by combining flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk. This version is with a buttermilk alternative of course.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 250 g plain white flour
  • 250 g plain wholemeal flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1½ tsp baking soda
  • 350-400 ml unsweetened soy milk (or oat milk)
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

Steps

  1. Set your oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the white flour, wholemeal flour, salt, and soda
  3. To make a buttermilk alternative, mix the soy milk with the acidic apple cider or lemon juice.
  4. Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture. Mix gently while working your way from the center until a sticky dough forms. If the dough feels too dry, add a little more milk, the dough is supposed to be shaggy.
  5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a round loaf. Handle the dough as little as possible to keep the bread tender.
  6. Place the shaped dough onto the prepared baking tray. You can sprinkle some flour on the top of it so it looks nice and using a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of the loaf — this helps the bread cook evenly and it looks good.
  7. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, then rotate the pan so the bread bakes evenly everywhere and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown.
  8. I know it’s hard but let it cool off for a few minutes