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    Home » Recipes » Bread

    Published on May 24, 2020. Modified on Sep 19, 2023 by bakingqueen74. This post may contain affiliate links. 2 Comments

    Easy White Soda Bread

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    Jump to Recipe
    Text/image collage for Pinterest.

    Soda bread is a really quick and easy loaf to make, my recipe for easy white soda bread uses plain flour for a simple loaf of bread with great results!

    A loaf of soda bread on a wooden cutting board, with some slices cut to show the inside.

    If you are looking for a simple bread recipe you don’t need strong bread flour and yeast for then soda bread is ideal.

    Jump to:
    • How soda bread rises
    • Ingredients
    • Step by step
    • Serving suggestion
    • Variations
    • Storage
    • More soda bread recipes
    • Recipe
    • Reviews

    How soda bread rises

    Soda bread takes its name from the bicarbonate of soda (or baking soda) used in the recipe. The bicarb reacts with buttermilk or soured milk (find out how to make this quick and easily at home below) to produce tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide which make the loaf rise and make the bread lighter.

    As there is no yeast involved, the process of making soda bread is much faster, and soda bread is classed as a quick bread.

    Close up of soda bread after baking, on baking tray.

    Ingredients

    You only need a few store cupboard basics to make this easy white soda bread.

    Ingredients for soda bread, bowl of flour, vinegar, salt, milk, bicarbonate of soda.

    Here is what you will need, grab the quantities from the recipe card at the bottom of the post!

    • plain flour (white) – you might think you always need strong bread flour to make bread but not at all with soda bread, plain flour (all purpose flour) or self-raising both work well
    • bicarbonate of soda – or baking soda – this is what makes your soda bread rise and gives it a light texture.
    • milk – although it is traditionally made with buttermilk, this can be hard to get hold of. Luckily soda bread can also be made by making your own soured milk at home by stirring white wine vinegar (or lemon juice etc) into normal milk and leaving it to stand for about ten to fifteen minutes. The acid in the vinegar (or lemon) makes the milk more acidic and it starts to curdle or form curds, and thicken. I use milk in my recipe as I often can’t get buttermilk from the shops. You can switch the milk and white wine vinegar for buttermilk (1 pot, usually 284 ml) if you can obtain it.
    • white wine vinegar – use a tablespoon of vinegar to make your milk sour, after leaving it to stand for 10-15 minutes it will have thickened.
    • salt – if you leave out salt when baking bread it will taste very bland, so always include it for a great-tasting soda bread.
    • egg – as an egg wash to brush over the dough before baking, this gives it a good colour
    Close up of sliced soda bread loaf on a wooden cutting board.

    Step by step

    Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this soda bread recipe perfectly every time.

    Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.

    Pour a tablespoon of white wine vinegar into the milk in a jug and leave to thicken for 10-15 minutes. Once it has thickened you can continue with the next step.

    Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

    Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl.

    Pour in the milk.

    Stir together the ingredients and it will start to come together as a dough.

    Stirring together the mixture to form a dough, making soda bread, close up of bowl and contents with wooden spoon.

    Once combined, transfer the dough to a floured surface, bring the dough together into a ball roughly. Don’t knead, you don’t need to knead soda bread, and kneading can make it dense and heavy.

    Make two deep slashes in the top of the dough.

    Ball of soda bread dough with two deep slashes.

    Transfer the dough to a baking tray and brush on the egg wash.

    Soda bread dough with egg wash, on baking tray.

    Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and the base sounds hollow when tapped.

    Remove from the oven, leave to cool for a few minutes then devour!

    Baked soda bread ready from the oven, on baking tray.

    Serving suggestion

    Soda bread makes a rustic style loaf with a denser texture than a sandwich loaf, so it goes well with casseroles, chilli, soups, and that kind of thing in the colder months, and just as well with salads, cheese and cold meat in the warmer months.

    It is best served with lashings of butter!

    Serve it on the side of my spiced carrot soup or slow cooker tomato soup for a gorgeous lunch! Or with my vegetable filo pie.

    Variations

    • Add in herbs (dried work well as they don’t add moisture, drier fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme also go well), roasted peppers, chopped tomatoes, cheese, chunks of ham.
    • Try using some seeded flour for part of the flour content to add texture.
    • To make it vegan, use your preferred plant milk instead of milk and brush with more plant milk to replace the egg wash.

    Storage

    Soda bread is best used within 2-3 days of baking. Store it at room temperature, ideally wrapped in baking paper or similar.

    You can freeze soda bread, either whole or part of a loaf in a chunk or slices. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost it at room temperature then reheat or toast.

    More soda bread recipes

    You might also like:

    my roasted pepper and thyme soda bread

    my cheesy slow cooker soda bread

    or for a sweet spin on soda bread:

    cranberry soda bread

    dried fruit soda bread

    Pin for later

    Soda bread image and text collage.

    Recipe

    Close up of soda bread after baking, on baking tray.

    Easy White Soda Bread

    Easy white soda bread made with plain flour and milk for a simple rustic loaf of bread
    4.75 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
    Course: Baking
    Cuisine: irish
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 187kcal
    Author: Lucy Allen | BakingQueen74

    Ingredients

    • 350 g plain flour (all-purpose flour)
    • 250 ml milk
    • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
    • 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    • 0.5 tsp salt
    • 1 egg for egg wash

    Video

    Instructions 

    • Pour a tablespoon of white wine vinegar into the milk in a jug and leave to thicken for 10-15 minutes. Once it has thickened you can continue with the next step.
      Preheat the oven to 180 degrees℃ / 350 ℉.
      1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 250 ml milk
    • Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl.
      Pour in the milk.
      350 g plain flour (all-purpose flour), 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 0.5 tsp salt
    • Stir together the ingredients and it will start to come together as a dough.
    • Once combined, transfer the dough to a floured surface, bring the dough together into a ball roughly. Don’t knead, you don’t need to knead soda bread, and kneading can make it dense and heavy. Make two deep slashes in the top of the dough.
    • Transfer the dough to a baking tray and brush on the egg wash.
      1 egg
    • Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
      Remove from the oven, leave to cool for a few minutes then devour!

    Notes

    SERVING SUGGESTION
    Soda bread makes a rustic style loaf with a denser texture than a sandwich loaf, so it goes well with casseroles, chilli, soups, and that kind of thing in the colder months, and just as well with salads, cheese and cold meat in the warmer months.
    It is best served with lashings of butter!
    Serve it on the side of my spiced carrot soup for a gorgeous lunch! Or with my vegetable filo pie.
    VARIATIONS
    Add in herbs (dried work well as they don’t add moisture, drier fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme also go well), roasted peppers, chopped tomatoes, cheese, chunks of ham.
    Try using some seeded flour for part of the flour content to add texture.
    To make it vegan, use your preferred plant milk instead of milk and brush with more plant milk to replace the egg wash.
    STORAGE
    Soda bread is best used within 2-3 days of baking. Store it at room temperature, ideally wrapped in baking paper or similar.
    BUTTERMILK
    If you have managed to get buttermilk and want to make this recipe using buttermilk instead, replace the milk plus white wine vinegar with one pot of buttermilk (usually 284 ml) for a traditional buttermilk soda bread.
    Did you try and love this recipe?Then please leave a star rating and comment below to let me know how you got on!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Yvonne Robbins says

      September 10, 2023 at 5:35 pm

      Where are the actual quantities listed.?

      Reply
      • bakingqueen74 says

        September 11, 2023 at 2:38 pm

        It is all in the recipe card at the bottom of the page. Just scroll down.

        Reply
    4.75 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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