Easy Cheese Soda Bread

5 from 2 votes

What do you get when you cross the speed and simplicity of soda bread with the delicious sharp tang of cheddar cheese? This totally awesome Easy Cheese Soda Bread! Packed full of flavour, very easy to make and ready in just 40 minutes – with no kneading, or proving!

Course Bread

Cuisine Irish

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings slices

Calories 219kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

150 g plain white flour (see Note 1)
200 g wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon baking soda (see Note 2)
100 g mature cheddar cheese (see Note 3), grated
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (see Note 4)
200 ml milk regular or plant-based (see Note 5)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F. Dust a non-stick baking tray with a little flour.
In a large bowl, mix together the flours, salt, baking soda and grated cheese.
In a jug mix together the vinegar and milk.
Pour the milk/vinegar mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Bring the dough together into a ball using your hands. The dough should just come together into a ball, but shouldn’t be wet and sloppy. If it doesn’t all come together add a splash of water. If it’s too wet and sloppy add a touch more flour.
Roll the dough into a ball and place on your prepared baking tray.
Flatten the ball a little and then cut a deep cross into it. The cross should go almost to the base of the loaf – but not quite!
Bake the loaf in your pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes until cooked all the way through and golden on top.
Ideally, serve warm – straight out of the oven!

Video

Notes

You can use any combination of flours you like (white, wholemeal, granary, rye etc.) but make sure that you use regular 'plain' / 'all purpose' flour NOT bread flour and NOT self-raising flour.
Be sure to use baking soda (which is the same as bicarbonate of soda) DO NOT use baking powder, which is a different thing entirely!
I personally prefer to use cheddar cheese in this recipe, but feel free to experiment with other cheeses, such as Stilton, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Camembert or Chèvre.
Alternatively, you can use white wine vinegar or lemon juice. At a push you could use red wine vinegar, but DO NOT use malt vinegar or balsamic vinegar.
I have successfully used regular cow's milk, almond milk and oat milk here. You can use any plant-based milk you like here, but beware that strongly flavoured milks, such as hazelnut or coconut will affect the taste of the bread (which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your preferences!)
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition