Delicious, crusty wholemeal bread in under 40 minutes? Yes it is possible! My Easy Wholemeal Soda Bread is amazing warm from the oven and perfect with soups and salads, or for taking on a picnic.
I really love soda bread. I like normal bread too, and I know it’s not that hard to make (as a kid my mum used to make homemade bread several times a week and I helped a lot!), but it is time consuming and, to tell the truth, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of kneading – I just don’t have the patience for it!
Soda bread, on the other hand, can be made in less than the time it takes normal bread to rise and involves NO KNEADING!!
The particular joy of soda bread is the large and very crusty crust – if you love crusty bread, you will LOVE soda bread!
It is perfect for popping in the oven with a stew, or making to go with soups or salads, or why not whip up a loaf of this Easy Wholemeal Soda Bread and take it on your next picnic? It’s also gorgeous with a little supper platter of cold meats, cheeses and olives (one of my all time favourite meals!). And if you do have any left the next day, it makes fabulous toast for breakfast!
I made this Easy Wholemeal Soda Bread to go with my Creamy Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup, which I shared earlier this week, and it is a simply divine combination – plus it is a doddle to make the two together.
Simply make the bread and pop it in the oven, then get on with the soup. Pop the vegetables in the oven to roast and then you’ll have a good half an hour to read a book, drink a glass of wine or paint your nails (or, in real life, sort the kids/dog/cat out, do a load of laundry, answer your 57 new emails…), and then just remove the bread from the oven, finish off the soup in the blender and voila – a healthy homemade meal without the hassle…and all in under an hour!
Help – I can’t find buttermilk! What can I use instead?
Soda bread is not made with yeast, but rather it is traditionally made with buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda, (AKA baking soda) which help it rise (though not quite as much as a conventional loaf). Both buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda are usually readily from supermarkets these days, but if you are having trouble tracking down buttermilk, use the same quantity of regular milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar also work) stirred into the milk to sour it…it will work just fine! Alternatively you can use a 50/50 mixture of yogurt and milk in place of the buttermilk.
What about if I want to make this soda bread dairy free?
If you need this to be dairy free or vegan simply use your regular dairy free milk instead of the buttermilk, plus 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. Or check out my recipe for No Buttermilk Soda Bread (Vegan & Dairy Free).
Easy Wholemeal Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 350 g wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (see notes)
- 285 ml buttermilk (for alternatives see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F. Dust a baking tray (I actually use a pizza tray) with a little plain flour.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together thoroughly. Tip in the buttermilk and stir to combine.
- Keep stirring until the ingredients come together as a dough, then squidge together to form a ball.
- Place the ball of dough on your baking tray and cut a deep cross in the centre. This is really important as it helps the centre of the bread to cook properly – so cut nice and deep, almost to the bottom.
- If you wish, you can dust the loaf with a little flour, then place the bread in your preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Serve with soup, salad, or cheese, olives and cold meats.
Notes
(2) You can make this recipe dairy free / vegan by using dairy free milk instead of regular milk, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
(3) Baking soda is the same as bicarbonate of soda, however it is not the same as baking powder. Make sure you use baking soda/bicarbonate of soda in this recipe. Baking powder will not give the same result! Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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This is my kind of bread – hearty and crusty and easy to make! Pinned:) #CookBlogShare
Thanks Monika – totally agree. Hearty and crusty, easy to make bread is the best!! Eb x
yummy – I love how easy soda bread is to make and that it can be made so quickly. That soup looks delicious too – I will pop over to take a look x
Me too – it’s great being able to have fresh bread in just 40 minutes!! Eb x
Mmmmmm….. (scratches head!) Wonder if this would work gluten free? What is the crumb like?? x
I can imagine it would work well gluten free…it’s quite dense and chewy with a very crusty crust. Eb x
I’ve made this a couple of times now and it’s AMAZING!!!
I even tried cutting the recipe in half because sometimes a full loaf is too much for 2, I cut the recipe in half and it was just as good.
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe
Yaaay! I am o happy to hear that. Delighted you like it so much and thank you for taking the time to let me know and especially for the 5* rating! Eb 🙂
I love to make bread and soda bread is a great quick, go to loaf. This looks and sounds delicious, perfect with soup! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
It is definitely my quick and easy go to loaf. I do love ‘proper’ bread, but so often find I just don’t have the time – this is great as it can be ready in just 40 minutes! Eb x
I’m dying to make my own bread, I just have got round to it, this is making me feel inspired! Thanks #brillblogposts
Thanks – it’s lovely making your own bread, but I often don’t have time – this soda bread is great when you want fresh bread in a hurry!! Eb x
hi is this plain (ap flour) or self raising? thanks
Hi Jemma. I use plain wholemeal flour in this recipe. You can also use wholemeal bread flour, if you prefer. Hope you enjoy it! Eb 🙂
Hi there can I use wholemeal self raising flour.
Claudia
Hi Claudia, I am afraid not. Well, you can – it will be edible, but it won’t taste like bread… more like a giant scone! Eb ?
Could this be made with buckwheat flour rather than wholemeal? In these crazy times, I’m struggling to get wholemeal flour, but have buckwheat flour in the pantry.
Oh, I am sorry to hear that, Ben – yes crazy times indeed! I’ve never tried making soda bread with buckwheat flour, but I see no reason why it wouldn’t work. I’ve tried lots of different flours in soda bread and it’s always turned out great. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes! Eb 🙂
Thank you for the reply. I’ve actually managed to get hold of some wholemeal flour. I’m making it tomorrow to have with olives, cheese and a selection of salamis.
Yay! I am so happy to hear that. It’s so hard to get flour right now, isn’t it? I just used up the last of my plain flour yesterday *sob* Hope you enjoy the bread – love the sound of olives, cheese and salami to go with it – YUM! Eb 🙂
Can you make the dough ahead of time and rest it a couple of hours before baking?
I can’t be 100% sure, Andrew, as I have never tried… the beauty of soda bread is that is doesn’t need resting/proving. But I can’t imagine it would do any harm! Let us know what happens if you try… Eb 🙂
Brilliant recipe!
Yay! So happy to hear that. Eb x
first time making soda bread recipe quick and easy and the bread is nice with soup
Yay! Thank you for this lovely feedback, Martin – I am so happy to hear that! Eb 🙂
This bread is so simple to bake. Thanks for making the instructions available to us, ( I like how the servings size can be adjusted from 1 Slice to 20 at the touch of the slider. ) Had my first loaf today with a vegetable soup, Yum Yum. Sincere Thanks.
Thanks Noel – I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for this lovely feedback 😀
My first ever attempt at making soda bread and it turned out great! Used milk and white wine vinegar instead of buttermilk. Making this with wholemeal flour only though, we found it rather heavy on the stomach and harder to digest (may just be too different from our usual diet). Can I also use 50/50 wholemeal & plain flour without adjusting anything else in the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Carolin, good to hear it turned out so well for you. Yes, you can absolutely use half wholemeal and half plain flour – this combination works brilliantly. Eb 🙂