A very classic though Vegetarian recipe for Irish soda bread With just four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt and vegan buttermilk. It’s a delicious quick bread with a delightfully crispy crust and a dense but soft crumb and it’s ready in 45 minutes!
I’ve been making a vegan Irish whole wheat soda bread for almost two decades now, and I love it. But after eating soda bread in Ireland, when we visited the country a few years ago and ate the real thing, I wanted to make a traditional Irish soda bread that tasted even more authentic than my whole wheat version, albeit vegan.
Classic Irish soda bread uses buttermilk, and for that first soda bread recipe, which I posted in 2009, I made a vegan buttermilk with non-dairy milk and vinegar. The result was great, but I knew I could do better.
So to make a good soda bread, which uses only four ingredients like the traditional Irish recipe, I now use my cultured vegan yogurt to mix dairy-free buttermilk (you can use store-bought vegan yogurt). In addition to making the bread healthier, vegan buttermilk adds some fat to the crumb, keeping it moist and adding a delicious, buttery flavor.
Some Irish and many American versions of soda bread include raisins and/or caraway seeds, and you can certainly add them if you wish to this basic recipe. Other versions include butter, eggs and sugar. I’ve intentionally kept this recipe simple, as traditionally meant, and it’s a great treat with a pat of vegan butter and/or jam.
Index
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s vegetarian but it’s the real thing–and it’s delicious! This vegan Irish soda bread is flavorful with a fluffy crumb and crispy crust—just as it should be.
- It tastes authentic. Vegan buttermilk adds a lot of authentic flavor to the recipe as well as some healthiness.
- It’s fast. Irish soda bread is one of the quickest breads you can make (this one-hour sourdough bread is another). The only leavening agent in soda bread is baking soda or bicarbonate, hence soda bread. The alkaline soda reacts with the acidic buttermilk, creating carbon dioxide bubbles, which give the bread its rise, requiring no yeast. This bread takes about 45 minutes to go from start to finish.
material
- All purpose flour. The flour for Irish soda bread should be low in gluten because it’s a bread where you don’t want gluten to develop. It may sound counterintuitive, but think of a soda bread as more like a scone or biscuit than a yeast bread. You can use cake flour to make this bread, with better results. Or replace three tablespoons of white flour with three tablespoons of cornstarch.
- Vegan Buttermilk: Vegan yogurt + Non-dairy milks such as almond milk, oat milk and soy milk. I use my vegan cultured cashew curd for this recipe (here’s a recipe for a vegan instant pot curd). If the curd is not too thick, add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the mixture.
variety
- To make this a whole-wheat soda bread, replace 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour.
- To make this a sweet bread, add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the dry ingredients and whisk.
- Add 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds to the dry ingredients before mixing in the buttermilk.
How to Make Vegan Irish Soda Bread
Make vegan buttermilk by mixing vegan yogurt with non-dairy milk.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in 1 ½ cups of buttermilk.
Make a fist with your hands and mix the buttermilk into the flour in a quick circular motion, just until the dough comes together. Add remaining buttermilk, a little at a time, if needed. You can also mix with a wooden spoon.
The dough will look wobbly and feel sticky, but that’s okay. Don’t knead it to make it smooth – you don’t want gluten to develop.
Turn the dough onto a well floured surface.
Shape the dough into a disk using your hands and press the top down and the edges down. Flip the dough once so the smooth surface is up, but remember that this is a rustic bread and you don’t need a very smooth disk of dough – it should look crispy.
Place the dough in a cast iron pan or on a baking sheet (no need to line with parchment paper or a silicone mat, although you can if it makes you feel better). Using a sharp knife, cut a deep cross into the loaf, almost but not all the way to the bottom.
Bake the soda bread in a preheated 450-degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden-brown on top. The bread should sound hollow when you tap it with your knuckle. After 10 minutes, remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack. You can slice the bread hot or at room temperature.
Serving advice
Recipe FAQs
To make this bread with whole wheat, substitute whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour for 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.
I have a delicious recipe for a vegan and gluten-free Irish soda bread. To make it with vegan buttermilk instead of the plant milk and vinegar combo, replace it with vegan buttermilk made according to this recipe.
There are many superstitions and stories behind the Irish soda bread cross. Some believe it was created to ward off demons and/or fairies and ward off evil. Others believe it is a blessing and a way of saying thanks. Superstition notwithstanding, the science behind cutting a cross into soda bread is to help the bread bake in the center and rise as it bakes.
Storage instructions
Irish soda bread should be eaten the day it’s made, and tastes best when it’s fresh. It can be stored in the fridge or even frozen, but it is best eaten within a few days. Irish soda bread makes great toast, so if you have some lying around that you made a few days ago, toast it and spread some jam or butter on it.
- Keep in fridge: Place soda bread in an airtight container or bag and refrigerate for up to four days.
- freeze: Freeze bread in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to three months. You can freeze whole loaves or slices.
More delicious vegan bread recipes
If you like this recipe for Irish Soda Bread, check out our more vegetarian Irish recipes at Holy Cow Vegan!
Vegan Irish Soda Bread
A very classic but vegan recipe for Irish soda bread with just four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and vegan buttermilk. This is a delicious bread with a delightfully crispy crust and a dense but soft crumb.
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Serving: 12 pieces
Calories: 164kcal
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instructions
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Make vegan buttermilk by mixing vegan yogurt with non-dairy milk.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
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Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in 1 ½ cups of buttermilk.
-
Make a fist with your hands and mix the buttermilk into the flour in a quick circular motion, just until the dough comes together. Add remaining buttermilk, a little at a time, if needed. You can also mix with a wooden spoon. The dough will look messy but that’s okay. Don’t knead it to make it smooth – you don’t want gluten to develop.
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Turn the dough onto a well floured surface. Shape it into a disk using your hands. Flip the dough once so the smooth surface is up, but remember that this is a rustic bread and you don’t need a very smooth disk of dough – it should look crispy.
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Place the dough in a floured cast iron pan or on a baking sheet. Using a knife, cut a deep cross into the bread, almost but not quite to the bottom.
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Bake the soda bread in a preheated 450-degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden-brown on top. The bread should sound hollow when you tap it with your knuckle. After 10 minutes remove from pan and place on a rack to cool. You can slice the bread hot or at room temperature.
Recipe notes
- To make this a whole-wheat soda bread, replace 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour.
- To make this a sweet bread, add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the dry ingredients and whisk.
- Add 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds to the dry ingredients before mixing in the buttermilk.
Storage instructions
Irish soda bread should be eaten the day it’s made, and tastes best when it’s fresh. It can be stored in the fridge or even frozen, but it is best eaten within a few days. Irish soda bread makes great toast, so if you have some lying around that you made a few days ago, toast it and spread some jam or butter on it.
- Refrigerate: Store soda bread in an airtight container or bag and refrigerate for up to four days.
- Freeze: Freeze bread in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to three months. You can freeze whole loaves or slices.
nutrition
Worship: 1pieces | Calories: 164kcal | Sugars: 30g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated fats: 1g | Sodium: 296mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg
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