This has got to be the easiest loaf of bread in the world! I wish I had known how to make soda bread ages ago. This vegan Irish soda bread is my new favourite side dish!
No Rising Time
Ready In 45 Minutes, Start To Finish!
No Kneading
Rustic
Hearty
And Best Enjoyed Straight From The Oven!
6 Ingredients For This Vegan Irish Soda Bread
No yeast, no kneading, and no rising time makes soda bread so incredibly simple and hassle free to make!
Traditionally, Irish soda bread is made with flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk. I have seen some recipes that include eggs and others that sweeten the bread with sugar and incorporate dried fruit.
For this vegan version of an Irish soda bread I stick to the basic ingredients but use a combination of white and whole wheat flour AND make a dairy-free “buttermilk”.
- White All-Purpose Flour (for a bit more soft and fluffy texture)
- Whole Wheat Flour (for some added nutrition and rustic flavour)
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Soy Milk (the base of the thick vegan “buttermilk”)
- And Lemon Juice (to make the soy milk sour and thicken)
Homemade Vegan “Buttermilk”
Although not true buttermilk, homemade buttermilk can be made by adding an acid to milk and allowing the mixture to sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes. The acid sours the milk and thickens the consistency making a decent substitute for real buttermilk.
Kitchn has a good blog post describing the difference between true and homemade buttermilk.
Just as a homemade buttermilk can be made using a dairy milk, it can be made using a plant based milk!
Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to 1 cup soy milk and allow to thicken at room temperature for at least 5 minutes.
You will be able to see a noticeable difference in the milk once it has soured, thickened, and some clumps have formed. Although this homemade vegan “buttermilk” won’t be as effective as the real thing… I find it works quite well!
I prefer to use soy milk because it has a nice thickness to it but you could use any other unsweetened non-dairy milk if soy is not an option for you! Your homemade vegan “buttermilk” will react with the baking soda in this recipe to add some extra leavening power!
How To Make Vegan Irish Soda Bread
This vegan Irish soda bread recipe comes together so quickly!
- Start by making your “buttermilk”. Add the lemon juice into the milk and set aside for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime; mix the flours, salt, and baking soda.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the thickened “buttermilk”.
- Use your hand to mix the “buttermilk” with the dry ingredients until the flour is fully incorporated.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat all sides to coat with flour.
- Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or coated with a bit of oil (you can bake the loaf in a cast iron pan too if you have one!). Flatten the dough into an 8 inch disc so the centre will cook in the short cooking time.
- Cut a deep cross into the loaf with a sharp knife (and poke each quadrant to “let the fairies out” as the Irish do!).
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 – 35 minutes until the loaf is golden, it looks dry in the cuts you made, and sounds hollow if you tap the bottom.
Recipe Cost
This loaf of easy vegan soda bread costs us roughly CAD $1.63 to make!
My homemade vegan “buttermilk” costs roughly $0.76 vs. about $1.50 if I were to purchase traditional buttermilk from my grocery store.
So what do you think? Let me know in the comments below if you try this vegan Irish soda bread and what you serve alongside it!
Try my Vegan Irish Guinness Stew to stick with the theme!
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Vegan Irish Soda Bread On The Table In 45 Minutes!
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The quickest loaf of bread in the world! This vegan Irish soda bread uses homemade “buttermilk” and some whole wheat flour for a rustic loaf!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup soy milk (or unsweetened plant milk of choice)
- 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅓ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
*All the ingredients for this recipe are from our pantry and freezer tips!
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a bit of oil. You can also bake this loaf in a cast iron pan if you would like.
- Start by making the “buttermilk” in a glass measuring cup or bowl. Stir lemon juice into the soy milk and allow the mixture to sit and thicken for at least 5 minutes. *I tend to use just a touch under 1 ½ cups of milk. If you use the full 1 ½ cups and your dough is quite wet, you may just need to add more flour when you shape the loaf. If you use less milk and the dough is too dry to come together just add some more milk.
- In a large bowl, mix the flours, salt, and baking soda.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the thickened “buttermilk” into the well. Use your hand to mix the buttermilk into the dry ingredients. (The traditional way is to form your hand into a claw, lower it into the mixture, and move your hand in a circular motion to mix the buttermilk with the dry ingredients).
- Tip the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface. If the dough is quite wet, pat flour onto the sides of the dough and then flip the ball of dough over so all sides are floured.
- Transfer the ball of dough to your prepared baking sheet and flatten the ball of dough with your hand into an 8 inch disc. *If you bake the bread as a round loaf you will need to increase the baking time. Flattening the dough into a disc ensures that it will cook through in the shorter baking time.
- With a sharp knife, slice a deep cross into the loaf. This deep cross also helps the loaf cook through (see the pictures in the blog post for reference). To comply with Irish legend, you can also poke each quadrant with your knife to “let the fairies out”! Decorate the top with sprinkled oats or seeds if desired (some brushed butter helps them adhere, you can also lightly press them into the dough to help them stick better).
- Bake the soda bread for 30-35 minutes until the loaf is golden, the bread doesn’t look wet in the slits, and it sounds hollow if you tap the bottom of the loaf (careful, the loaf will be hot!).
- Cool your soda bread on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then enjoy! This bread is best enjoyed warm and on the same day it is made. However, I do find that storing the bread in the fridge and toasting the leftovers makes a nice rustic toast for the next couple of days. Try it with my Easy Vegan Irish Stew!
Notes
Approximate Cost: CAD $1.63. The homemade vegan buttermilk costs us roughly $0.76 vs. roughly $1.50 for traditional store-bought buttermilk.
Feel free to add a few tablespoons of sugar to your loaf along with some raisins or other dried fruit for a sweet soda bread.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Thrifty How-Tos
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Irish
Lena
This was a very easy bread recipe. However, I’m inexperienced at making bread so I should have watched the video and then I would have known how moist/dry the bread was intended to be. Mine was too wet and hard to handle, but it still turned out fine. We enjoyed it with the Irish Stew !
Kathryn Alexandre
I’m glad to hear that it turned out fine in the end. It can definitely be hard to handle if it’s too wet. I’m sure trying to cut a cross in it was a pretty sticky venture! If the whole 1 1/2 cups of “buttermilk” is used then it will likely need to be patted with flour in order to shape the loaf. Hopefully the video will be a good guide if you try it again!
Sonja
Wow, I just took it out of the oven and had a piece of it (couldn’t wait for 5 minutes) and it is really delicious! I made my first soda brad during my A Levels, when I was in school in 2010 but it was always too moist in the middle (in Germany we say “klitschig” ) . This one was just perfect! I think, next time I’ll make the Irish stew and serve it together.
I found your blog just a week ago and really like your recipies!
Kathryn Alexandre
I’m so glad you loved this one and it was cooked all the way through for you. Really flattening it into a disk makes a big difference I think. Thank you for taking the time to let me know and for leaving a 5 star rating! If you make the Irish stew feel free to deviate a little from tradition and add in some beans or lentils for a bit of protein too!