Want to make soda bread without buttermilk? No problem! My No Buttermilk Soda Bread takes just 40 minutes to make, involves no kneading or proving, and is suitable for vegans and those following a dairy free diet…and anyone who just doesn’t happen to have any buttermilk handy!
I LOVE soda bread – for me it is one of the most wonderful things ever invented. Bread that you can make in less than 40 minutes, which involves no kneading and no proving and only 10 minutes hands on time AND only a few simple ingredients – but yet you still get all that warm, comforting, homemade bread smells and tastes AND all that ‘I just made my own bread’ smugness 😉
BUT there’s one big catch with soda bread – BUTTERMILK! It’s hard to track down, doesn’t last long…and I often forget to buy it…or else it gets missed off my supermarket delivery with that big fat ‘NO SUBSTITUTE AVAILABLE’ note next to it – gah!
Also having to have buttermilk on hand means you can’t just make regular buttermilk soda bread on a whim. And of course buttermilk makes it completely unsuitable for anyone following a dairy free or vegan diet…
But the thing is soda bread is SO EASY to make without buttermilk…and do you know what? It tastes exactly the same! (I used to taste wine for a living, so believe me I would notice if it tasted different…and it doesn’t!!)
So how do I make soda bread without buttermilk? Simple! Substitute buttermilk with the same quantity of a fairly neutral tasting dairy free milk (I like to use oat milk – my current fave brand is Oatly) and add a tablespoon of something acidic – I like to use apple cider vinegar, but lemon juice or white wine vinegar work brilliantly too. Don’t worry – your bread won’t take of vinegar…but the acidic element will react with the baking soda and make the bread rise.
If you don’t need this to be vegan or dairy free, you can of course just use normal cow’s milk…but you will still need that tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
As for the flour element – you can use anything you want, but I went for a mix of white and brown flour…and then threw in a handful of oats for good measure. But I have also made this with rye flour, which tastes delicious, and you can add in any nuts and seeds you fancy. Pumpkin seeds are particularly yummy in soda bread.
One thing to note – soda bread is not the same as yeasted bread. While it does rise, it’s more dense and ‘stodgy’ than normal bread. The dense texture is something I personally love, but it’s not to everyone’s taste – so I thought I better warn you!
It also doesn’t keep as well as normal yeasted bread…but that’s OK because it’s so delicious, there’s not likely to be any left…and if you do have some that’s gone a bit stale…it makes GREAT toast!
As for what to serve this with – this bread is perfect with a wholesome vegetable soup!! You can have the bread cooking away in the oven, while you prepare your soup on the stove. Alternatively, this No Buttermilk Soda Bread is great with a simple salad, a vegetable stew, a curry…or whatever you want to pair it with! I made this particular loaf to go with my Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup (also vegan) and it was the perfect pairing.
But this No Buttermilk Soda Bread would also go brilliantly with my Spicy Moroccan Chickpea Soup, my Butternut Squash, Chilli and Coconut Milk Soup or my Butternut Squash, Cauliflower and Red Lentil Dhal.
If you love soda bread, you might like to try my Rye and Pumpkin Seed Soda Bread or my Easy Wholemeal Soda Bread.
No Buttermilk Soda Bread (Vegan & Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 200 g plain white flour
- 150 g wholemeal flour
- 50 g oats plus extra to scatter on top
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda see note 1
- 300 ml neutral tasting dairy free milk see note 2
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice, or white wine vinegar – see note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / 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. Add the oat milk and vinegar, 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 and a sprinkle of oats, then place the bread in your preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Serve with soup or salad or anything else you fancy! (And don’t forget it makes great toast the next day…)
Notes
- 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!
- Try to use a fairly neutral tasting dairy free milk such as oat milk, cashew milk, almond milk or soy milk. A strongly flavoured milk such as coconut milk will give this bread a coconutty taste! (which is fine…so long as that’s what you are after!) Of course if you don’t need this recipe to be dairy free / vegan you can use regular milk.
- Use a fairly mild tasting acidic element – for example lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar – using something stronger, such as malt vinegar, will result in your bread having a vinegary taste!
- Flour does vary in absorbency, so you may find if you add all the buttermilk (or buttermilk alternative) your dough is too wet. To avoid this, add the liquid slowly and stop when the dough is soft and sticky but still able to hold a shape.
- If you find your dough is too wet, add extra flour until it is able to hold its shape.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Want to find more great vegetarian meal ideas? Check out my collection of Easy Peasy Vegetarian & Vegan Recipes…
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I use yogurt rather than buttermilk because it can be hard to get hold of buttermilk but this sound ideal for those who want a diary free version. I I love that soda bread is so easy to make
Funny you say that living in London!! Whereas I find it’s easy to get hold of despite living in deepest darkest rural Sussex, as my local Tesco stocks it! For me the real pain is not being able to make it on a whim…but milk and apple cider vinegar are always things I have in stock so it’s easy peasy! And it really doesn’t make any difference whether you make it with dairy free milk or regular milk or buttermilk – it tastes the same and works the same, so perfect for anyone on a dairy free or vegan diet. Eb x
lol Its probably because I very seldom go to large supermarkets. I expect I could get it at my big tescos but that means getting in the car I have 6 mini/metro supermarkets within 5 mins walk so i tend to use those or independents and of course borough market.
Oh I wish I had your setup! We do have a couple of nice shops in the village – butchers, bakers, greengrocers – that sort of thing, but I couldn’t do my shopping for the whole week there. Luckily Tesco man comes to me 😀 But I would LOVE to have borough market on my doorstep!! Eb x
Looks great Eb, I don’t know why I don’t make bread more often, I think I just forget, but now you’ve reminded me I might go and make a loaf. Pinned!
I am the same! I love homemade bread and it’s so easy…but I have to say sometimes I am out off by the kneading and proving…I am too lazy for the kneading and too impatient for the proving! That’s why I love soda bread so much…no kneading, no proving and ready in 40 minutes – perfect! Eb x
Looks amazing, I love soda bread!
Thanks Jess – soda bread is so good, isn’t it? I love how quick it is to make and how delicious it tastes 😀 Eb x
I love soda bread – add some black treacle for an authentic Irish taste that goes really well with cheese!
Can I ask – re the chickpea soup recipe – whether you now find you use a high speed blender enough to justify the price? Thanks!
Oooh treacle…yes that makes it taste amazing…as a general rule I try not to add extra sugar into my recipes, but for a special treat I could make an exception! For me personally, my blender is definitely worth the price! I use it an awful lot…for soups, sauces, pastes, dips like hummus, smoothies etc. And whilst it is on pricey side, it does a really good job – I particularly like the fact it can actually cook soup…and also I love that when I make hummus it slightly ‘cooks’ it too and so softens the flavour of the garlic. And the smoothness is just incredible – it makes super smooth soups and hummus. In fact perhaps my only complaint is that sometimes it does too good a job…occasionally I find myself using a stick blender so it’s not too smooth…e.g. for chunky soups. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Thanks that sounds great, the idea of quick hot soups really appealed (and there’s a good Kenji recipe for five minute tomato soup using one too).
It’s honestly brilliant! I was so sceptical when I first tried it – but it worked a charm – hot, nutritious, delicious soup in under 10 minute – can’t argue with that!! Eb 🙂
I used to make soda bread all the time (also with yogurt instead of buttermilk most of the time) but you’ve reminded me that I haven’t made any for absolutely ages. We always have oat milk in the fridge (for some reason the toddler won’t drink cows milk) so I’ll have to give this a go very soon.
Sounds like a good plan! Oat milk is my current favourite non dairy milk. It’s perfect for smoothies! I really can’t get on with cow’s milk in smoothies for some reason…not sure why but I just don’t like it at all. And so it seemed like such a logical choice for this oaty vegan soda bread. Eb x
Oatly Barrista Edition. Better than real milk.! In fact I have just used some to make this recipe and it’s in the oven right now. The smell of cooking bread is wonderful. I did add a teaspoon of treacle myself. The 30 minute wait though?
Oooh – I’ve not tried their barista edition, but I like their standard version… I shall have to seek out the barista version. And love the idea of adding treacle! Eb 🙂
This looks so tasty. I’ve given up buying buttermilk because like you said it doesn’t last very long and can be hard to get hold of. I’ve been making my own with milk and lemon juice for a while now but never thought to use dairy free milk to make it vegan. Great idea x
Thanks Cat. It works just the same and tastes the same too…and so is perfect if you need to make dairy free or vegan soda bread. Eb x
Such a great tip to use the vinegar for acidity you would normally get from buttermilk. I love baking bread but usually go for yeasty loaves although every time I bake soda bread I wonder why I’m not baking it more often lol. Next time it will be your recipe Eb and no worrying about getting buttermilk! 🙂 x
Loving that you’ve made this vegan, also I always have plant milk and vinegar around so could easy whip up soda bread without having to hunt down buttermilk which is a revelation!
Thanks Kat! It’s so great to be able to make soda bread without having to have buttermilk 😀 Eb x
Making bread always makes me so so happy! I also used to ‘hunt’ for buttermilk years ago and never seemed to find it, then I made a scone recipe by Vicki, and I was blown away when one of the steps included making your own buttermilk with milk and vinegar (or lemon juice, can’t remember now). That was one of the best revelations ever, since it’s such a pain to get buttermilk! I’ve never tried with Oatly so I’m glad to know it works that way too! Your loaf looks absolutely delicious. Ive pinned it on about 15 boards hahaha!
It can be a bit of a pain to buy buttermilk…though my local Tesco stocks it, so it’s usually OK so long as I remember to buy it and it’s in stock. But the no buttermilk way is so much better as I can just use things I always have in my kitchen…so freshly baked soda bread is only ever 40 minutes away – yey!! And you don’t need to do that faffy thing that some recipes call for – mixing the milk and the vinegar and leaving it to stand…just chuck it all in and bake!! Eb x
Looks like a delicious loaf Eb. I can’t say that I have ever had difficulty tracking down buttermilk….. perhaps no one else buys it where I live. Either way, I have mostly made my own since we went gluten free many years ago. Many of the early recipes I tried called for home-made buttermilk (using either white wine vinegar and milks or lemon juice…. either work well)….. so it sort of just became the norm in our house. x
No, I don’t have a huge difficulty here either, as my big Tesco stocks it…but it’s a pain when it’s out of stock…and means you can’t just make buttermilk on a whim! But no buttermilk soda bread works just as well, tastes just as good and is just as easy to make – so WIN WIN!! Eb x
I’m totally with you on how easy soda bread is Eb! It can be such a pain (literally quite often) kneading regular bread dough and then having the patience whilst it prooves. Twice! It has been a while since we made soda bread, but we’ve actually got everything in the cupboards for your version – you’ve inspired me 😀
Angela
I must confess I lack both the patience and the time to make ‘proper’ bread. I do do it occasionally. But I am much more likely to make soda bread as it is so quick and simple. I’d love to know how you get on if you make this recipe 😀 Eb x
Hi Eb, thankyou for a really good recipe. I just made my first vegan soda bread.
Apart from i actually forgot to put the salt in, it’s very lovely. I have to say that my crust
is quite hard, and I’m fearful for my teeth 🙂 It’s really beautiful texture inside though.
Any tips about the crust?
Lx
Hi Lucia! Thanks so much for the lovely comment about my recipe! Oooh good question about the crust. Aach the thing is, I am a really big fan of crusty bread, so that’s just how I like it (and I haven’t lost a tooth yet 😉 ) But I appreciate not everyone loves super crusty bread! I have a couple of suggestions you could try – one would be to wrap the loaf in a clean teatowel or a plastic bag as soon as it comes out of the oven. The steamy environment it creates should serve to soften the crust. The other is to try and create a more steamy environment in your oven while the bread is cooking. For example, fill a roasting tray with water and put it on a shelf below the one you cook your bread in. Hope those tips help – do let me know if you manage to achieve a softer crust!! Eb x
Is it possible to use whole wheat flour in this recipe instead of white flour? Would whole meal flour still be required?
You can use whatever flour you like in this recipe! It is really flexible. The only thing I would say is that if you use all wholemeal/wholewheat flour it does result in slightly denser loaf (which is why I use a mixture) but if you don’t mind the slightly denser texture, then 100% wholemeal/wholewheat is very good – it tastes delicious!! Eb 🙂
Can I use almond flour or coconut flour?
Honestly, I am not sure. I have never tried it with either. If you do give it a go, please let me know how it went! Eb 🙂
Couldn’t believe how quick and easy this was! Tasted great and i toasted some this morning which was lovely ?
Thanks Amanda. So pleased you liked it. Ooh yum, soda bread toast – that is good!! Eb 🙂
Thank you for the recipe. I just made this today and it came out perfectly! I had a piece of it with a veggie stew. So tasty!
Yay! So pleased you liked it and worked out so well for you. Thanks so much for letting me know – means a lot! Eb 🙂
Thank you for the foolproof recipe! Just made this and it turned out absolutely divine! Took your advice to put a roasting tray with water in the bottom of the oven and ended up with a crunchy but not teeth breaking crust. Perfection ❤️
Thanks so much for this lovely comment, Samantha! So pleased it turned out so well and that you liked it so much. And thanks so much for taking the time to let me know – always puts a smile on my face. Eb 🙂
The bread is amazing! So simple I have made bread for friends and family. Just a quick note…I substituted non-dairy milk with coconut milk and the result is great! Very tasty and slightly sweetish. The dough is a little more sticky to handle but it makes a big difference to the taste. Thank you!
Thanks Rodney! I’m so pleased to hear that you like this bread so much. I LOVE the idea of using coconut milk – I HAVE to try that!! Eb 🙂
This always turns out tasty but it’s really flat the ‘dough’ is always very wet and runs and I’m unable to roll it I to a ball and make any sort of cut.
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks
Hi Rachna, thanks for this – I’m so pleased it always tastes good. I’m not quite sure why the consistency is so different to when I make this. The only thing I can suggest is that you add the milk in slowly and stop when you have a regular dough-like consistency (it should be just like normal bread). Take note of how much milk you use so you know for next time. Good luck and let me know how you get on! Eb 🙂
Hi
Could you tell me if 197cal is for the whole loaf of the soda bread please
Hi Trish, Sadly not! 197 kcal is per slice. I have assumed 8 slices per loaf (though I’ll admit that’s a pretty generous slice!!). All the calorie counts you see on my blog (and most other recipe websites, as far as I know) give you the calorie count per portion, so you just need to check to see how many people it serves or how many slices (for bread, cake etc.) and then times that by the calories per portion to get the total calories! Annoyingly bread always has lots of calories (well except for the cheap bough stuff which is mostly air!) – why is it always the things that taste yummiest that have the most calories? *SIGH* Eb 🙂
Made this bread before work and it came out great. I realized that my wet-measure was dirty, so measured out 300g of unsweetened cashew milk. No problems. One thing I might do in the future would be to cover the dough with foil during the first half of baking, to keep the crust a little bit softer.
Yay! So pleased you enjoyed this recipe Jenna. I love a really crusty crust, but I totally get that that’s not to everyone’s taste – covering with foil is a great idea! Eb 🙂
Hi, Will this recipe work with gluten free flour?
Hi Eileen, I’ve never tested it with gluten free flour so I can’t be 100% sure, but there is no reason why it shouldn’t work – soda bread is much more forgiving than normal bread! Do let me know how you get on. Eb 🙂
This came out great! Was looking for a simple vegan soda bread recipe. This comes out more like an “ancient grains” type bread but in a good way. I used rolled oats and vanilla almond milk. I put a glass bowl with water on the bottom rack and put a few peppercorns, cloves, and raisins in it to give it just a hint of extra flavor. I put in a linen cloth after coming out the oven and served about 1.5 hrs later, still warm. The bread was nice and soft doughy inside (but not wet) and crispy crust. A bit on the salty side. Everyone loved it.
Yay! I am so happy you liked this so much. Sorry you found it a bit salty – I guess saltiness is such a personal thing – it tastes just right for me, but I guess not for everyone… At least it’s an easy fix for next time! Eb 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful dairy free recipe! It was easy enough that my toddler did most of the work by herself. Just one question though: our bread was a bit uncooked in the middle. Would that be from
1) overworking the dough
2) putting it on the wrong height oven rack (should it be placed on the top, middle, or lower rack?)
3) or do I just need to leave it in the oven longer next time?
Thanks in advance!
Yay – so happy you like this and delighted to hear your toddler was able to do most of it herself. Almost certainly all you needed to do was cook the bread a little longer to avoid it being uncooked in the middle. Different ovens are slightly different, so sometimes it takes slightly longer. I personally put this bread in the middle of the oven, but again, because ovens vary, this might be different for you – just do a little experimentation and see what works best for you/your oven. Eb 🙂
Made this last night and it was delicious!! So easy and yummy. I love that I could use what was already in my pantry to celebrate St Patricks Day. My fiance loved it too. Thanks for the recipe!!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that. Thanks for taking the time to let me know! Eb 🙂
Hey can u use self raising white flour as cannot find plain flour anywhere!!
I am afraid not. Well, you can – it will be edible, but it won’t taste like bread… more like a giant scone! Fingers crossed you find some plain flour soon. Eb 🙂
Here we are, having to stay indoors to avoid the spread of Covid 19. What a joy I could make this for my husband who is one of the lucky ones being able to work from home for now. He is from the UK and loved this. Don’t know why I haven’t made it before? Being vegan is a bonus as that is the life we choose.
I only had plain flour (will get whole meal flour next shop), and the bread was a triumph first try. I used lemon juice and also added a few sunflower seeds on top. So, So good. I am going to experiment with the basic recipe to make herbed loaves, fruit and nut loaves. Just so good to have this foolproof recipe. Thank you.
Yay! I am delighted to hear this. And I love the sound of your plans for experimentation with other flavours! Do let me know how you get on with that. Eb 🙂
Hi, I’m wondering about your use of the word proving. Here is the U.S. I’ve only heard the term proofing, or proof, in reference to bread rising. It’s interesting that the words are so similar. I wonder if this is a British thing or if we just changed it to suit us. Interesting,
The bread looks great!
Hi Linda, great question – I had to look it up as I was curious too! It seems that ‘proving’ is the British spelling and proofing is the U.S. spelling, but they mean exactly the same thing! Eb 🙂
Currently sheltering at home and am out of bread. Found and tried this recipe; it produced a wonderful, crusty dense loaf. I did add caraway seeds and 1 packet of sugar-free sweetener. Easy to make and delicious. Many thanks for the lovely, tasty recipe. ?
Be safe!
Thanks for this lovely comment, Rozanne. So happy to hear that you liked my bread so much – and I love the idea of adding caraway seeds! Eb 🙂
Hello, thanks for sharing this recipe! If we halve the recipe, should we also halve the baking time?
Hi Kat – no it will probably need more than half the baking time, but less than the full baking time. I’ve never actually tried to cook it for half the time, but I’d guess it would take about 20-25 minutes. I’d check it at 20 mins and see what you think, then give it an extra 5 mins if it doesn’t quite look done yet. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
This recipe is in GRAMS – you have no idea how much that eases my mind! And how long I’ve looked for a soda bread recipe in GRAMS ?
I could convert but still it wouldn’t feel right somehow lol and
I don’t use cups/imperial system where I live but will be making this soon!
Thanks so much! Love the website x
Aw, yay – so pleased the fact my recipe is in grams made you so happy! And thank you for your kind comments about my website. Hope you enjoy the bread! Eb 🙂
Hi there. Would you mind explaining why not baking powder? I assume its because baking powder already has the acid but I saw a similar recipe adding both bicarb and baking powder so just curious as even when I do just baking soda I always seem to be able to taste it. Am I putting in too much? Thanks so much.
Hi Susan – good question! Whilst its true that you can use baking powder to make bread rise, there is also a flavour aspect to using baking soda / acid in soda bread. Both the baking soda and the acid have quite distinct flavours, which give soda bread it’s distinctive ‘tang’. Baking powder generally has a neutral taste and so you don’t get that classic soda bread flavour. I guess if you don’t like that flavour, then baking powder would be a good option… but personally I love the flavour that the baking soda and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice or white wine vinegar) bring. If you wanted to use baking powder in this recipe, you would also need to use more of it… I believe the ratio is 3:1 – so in this recipe you would need 3 teaspoons of baking powder (instead of the baking soda and acid), but I’ve never tried this recipe with baking powder, so I don’t 100% know. If you do try this successfully with baking powder, do let us know! Thanks again – Eb ?
This is such a fantastic recipe – we are baking a loaf ever few days as it gets wolfed down by both my DF and milk-drinking daughter.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Aw, yay! I am so happy to hear that. Thanks for taking the time to let me know! Eb 🙂
It’s fantastic simply with water & vinegar.
Oh that’s good to hear! I’ve never actually tried it with water rather than milk. Good to hear it works so well! Eb 🙂
Thank you so much for the recipe! Since I went vegan I have been craving soda bread badly, can’t wait to try it!
And for all those who look for buttermilk- if you live in Ireland or UK, you might have a Polish shop near you, buttermilk is very popular in Poland so you can always find it there!
Aw, yay! So happy to hear that. And thanks so much for the Polish shop tip! Eb 🙂
If I use rye flour, what would the substation be? Thank you!
You can swap rye flour in for the same quantity of normal flour. You can use either all rye flour or a mix of rye and plan white flour… if you go for all rye, this makes quite a dense loaf, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing… it just depends how much you like rye… personally I LOVE it! Eb 🙂
This recipe is my new go-to for quick, easy bread to have with soups, or as a hearty snack. I added sunflower seeds, which add a nice little crunch. Contrary to your saying it makes great toast the next day, my husband and I have found it stays soft and fresh for several days, in a sealed container! With the non-vegan soda bread I have made in the past, it definitely went crusty very quickly. Thank you!
Aw, I am so happy to hear this! And so good to hear it keeps so well for you. Thanks for the lovely feedback and especially for the 5 STAR rating! Eb 🙂
Hi Eb
What a find to come across your recipe for soda bread. Im not really a baker, maybe the odd pie & scones, I like to make scones. I decided to make your soda bread straightaway using almond milk that I always have in, It was so simple, I would be happy to make this every day. It turned out perfect, it is delicious. Thank you so much for your generosity In sharing
Yay! I am so happy to hear that. Thanks for this lovely feedback and especially the 5* rating! Eb 🙂
Hi Eb, I haven’t read all the comments, so someone might have mentioned using Bextarter as a substitute for buttermilk, it’s readily available here in Ireland (including in Tesco). though I think it’s a by-product of the wine industry. It’s a white powder, 2 teaspoons per loaf. By the way I think you should warn people that using more than 1 tsp of soda will not give more rise but will turn the bread green.
Oh that’s very interesting. Thanks for the tip, Edward! And a very good point about the soda too, thanks for highlighting this. Eb 🙂