Healthy Irish Soda Bread
You only need a few minutes minutes to make this (mostly!) traditional soda bread! It’s incredibly soft, moist, and tender, even with no yeast or kneading. It’s quick and simple to make any day of the week – and it’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day too, of course! This soda bread tastes best the same day it’s made, but leftovers will keep for at least two days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature (although the crust will lose its crisp crunch).
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (270g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt (see Notes!)
- ½ cup + 3 tbsp (165mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (see Notes!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) distilled white vinegar
- optional: flaky sea salt , for finishing (highly recommended!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center. Pour in the milk and vinegar. Stir together until the flour is just incorporated.
- Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Moisten your fingers and palms with a bit of water, and shape it into a 1 ½” thick circle. (Remoisten your hands while shaping, if necessary.) Using a sharp knife, score the top with a (+) sign (see Notes!). Sprinkle the flaky sea salt on top, if using, and gently press it into the dough.
- Bake at 425°F for 27-30 minutes or until the outsides are crusty and golden and the very center feels quite firm to the touch. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Remember to measure the flour correctly, using using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much flour will cause the dough to be dry, and you may not be able to mix in all of the flour. If that happens to you, add a little extra milk (1 teaspoon at a time) until you can incorporate all of the flour.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Almost any milk except buttermilk (see below!) will work in place of the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
VINEGAR ALTERNATIVES: If you don’t have or can’t find distilled white vinegar, try to find another vinegar with a similar pH level of around 2.5 to maintain the same texture. Lemon juice has a pH level around 2-3, so it should also work.
FRESH BUTTERMILK ALTERNATIVE: Traditional Irish soda bread calls for fresh buttermilk, but since I rarely keep that in my refrigerator, I opted to make “homemade buttermilk” out of milk and vinegar. If you prefer, you can substitute ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons of fresh buttermilk for the milk AND vinegar. Because fresh buttermilk is thicker than the other two, you may need to add slightly more if you can’t incorporate all of the flour.
REGULAR SALT NOTE: I prefer my soda bread on the saltier side, so I use the full ½ teaspoon and the flaky sea salt on top. If you’re not a big salt fan, then reduce the salt in the dough to ¼ teaspoon (or a bit more than that!), and omit the flaky sea salt.
FLAKY SEA SALT NOTE: I absolutely love the bright pop of flavor from the flaky sea salt! This is the kind I use. I crumble it a bit in between my fingers so it’s not quite as coarse before I sprinkle it on top of the loaf.
SCORING THE DOUGH NOTES: I’ve found the thin blade of a fillet knife works really well for scoring dough.
The deeper you make the cuts when scoring the dough, the taller the four “peaks” on the top of the dough. If you only make shallow cuts, the loaf will most likely crack around its base. Neither really affects the flavor; it’s mainly the appearance. See the “Shape + Score” header in the "How to Make Irish Soda Bread" section in my blog post above for more information!
ADDING RAISINS: Before beginning, add ¼ cup (40g) raisins to a microwave-safe bowl. Pour water on top until they’re completely covered. Seal plastic wrap over the top (or place a lid or plate on top!), and microwave the bowl on high for 1 minute. Let the raisins sit while making the dough (or for at least 5 minutes – ideally longer, if possible!). At the end of Step 2, thoroughly drain the raisins, and gently fold them into the dough.
HOW TO MAKE INDIVIDUAL ROLLS / SCONES: Follow my instructions here!
GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten free-flour blends (I like this one from Bob’s Red Mill) will work, if measured like this.
EGG-FREE, DAIRY-FREE + VEGAN VERSION: No modifications needed!
HOW TO STORE: This soda bread is best if eaten the same day it’s made. However, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for at least two days. (If you store them in the refrigerator, they’ll keep longer – but the bread will be less moist and tender.) After storing, the crust loses its crisp crunch, so just keep that in mind!
{gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, sugar-free}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.