This is a simple recipe for a fruit soda bread baked in your crockpot, using tropical dried fruit – papaya, pineapple, apricots and raisins.
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Easy to prepare
This is such a quick and easy bread to prepare so was just the ticket to whip up one day so we could enjoy it for after-school snacks and also breakfast the next day.
Soda bread is a bread I turn to when short on time; as you don’t need yeast or to leave the dough to rise it can be in and cooking in just five minutes.
Clearly this can be baked in the oven too but I love the results that can be achieved when baking it in my slow cooker.
With a golden crust like this without needing to turn on the main oven it is a great option for summer when you don’t want to overheat in the kitchen.
Soda bread
Soda breads are so versatile as you can have them savoury (like my red pepper and thyme soda bread which I love to serve with cheese and salads) or sweet like this one.
This tropical “island” mix of dried fruit has a pretty mix of colours as well as tasting great.
Soda bread is originally an Irish recipe of course, which is leavened with baking soda (also know as bicarbonate of soda).
It is a great option if you want bread but have either no yeast or no strong bread flour.
As well as plain white or wholemeal soda bread it is traditional to make a sweet soda bread with raisins.
I’ve given that a twist with the special tropical style dried fruits I’ve used in this recipe.
How to serve
We enjoy warm slices of the resulting slow cooker fruit soda bread loaf slathered in butter as an after-school snack and it was also great toasted for breakfast and snacks.
I usually grab a carton of buttermilk to use to make soda bread from the supermarket, it’s very cheap.
But if you don’t have buttermilk you can add white wine vinegar to milk instead, which has a similar end result.
Once you slice the loaf you can see all the fruit inside, every slice is loaded with tropical fruity flavours. Great for snacking!
Tips for a golden crust in the slow cooker
The simple trick to getting a golden crust like this in your slow cooker is to flip the loaf over for 30 minutes at the end of cooking.
I use the baking parchment lining the slow cooker pot to pull out the loaf, then just drop it back in upside down.
Then your crust is uniformly baked without an oven in sight!
Ingredients
Check out the quantities in the recipe card further down the post.
- self raising flour
- bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- salt
- sugar
- dried fruit – either a tropical mix or you can substitute with raisins or sultanas if you prefer
- buttermilk
- egg
Step by step
- Mix the flour, bicarb, salt, sugar and dried fruit in a bowl.
- Pour in the buttermilk and stir together.
- Bring together with your hands then transfer the dough to a floured surface and form into a round loaf shape. Slash the top of the loaf.
- Line your slow cooker pot with baking parchment and place the loaf inside the pot.
- Beat the egg and brush over the dough (egg wash).
- Cook for 3 hours on high, with a tea towel under the lid.
- For the last half hour, turn the loaf over to brown the top.
More soda breads
More soda bread recipes you might like:
- blackberry and apple spelt soda bread from Tin and Thyme
- roasted pepper and thyme soda bread
- wholemeal Irish soda bread from Farmersgirl Kitchen
- slow cooker mozzarella soda bread
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Fruit Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 350 g self-raising flour
- 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 150 g island dried fruit mix papaya, pineapple, apricot, raisins
- 284 ml buttermilk 1 pot
- 4 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 egg beaten, to glaze
Instructions
- Mix the flour, bicarb, salt, sugar and dried fruit in a bowl.350 g self-raising flour, 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 0.5 tsp salt, 150 g island dried fruit mix, 4 tsp granulated sugar
- Pour in the buttermilk and stir together.284 ml buttermilk
- Bring together with your hands then transfer the dough to a floured surface and form into a round loaf shape. Slash the top.
- Line your slow cooker pot with baking parchment and place the loaf inside the pot.
- Beat the egg and brush over the dough (egg wash).1 egg
- Cook for 3 hours on high, with a tea towel under the lid.
- For the last half hour, turn the loaf over to brown the top.
- Remove from the pot and allow to cool, then slice to serve.
Laila says
I have made both the mozzarella bread and this one from your website in my slow cooker many times and I love both recipes! Many thanks for sharing and for showing me how to make buttermilk 🙂
bakingqueen74 says
That’s great!
Amy - Baking with Granny says
Oh! This has all my favourite dried fruits in! And bread in a slow cooker? Definitely need to give this a go!
bakingqueen74 says
Thanks Amy 🙂
Sus // roughmeasures.com says
Mmmmm I need a big chunk of this tonight! Looks very tropical!
munchies and munchkins says
That looks so good Lucy! Love the tip for tipping it over xxx
Jacqueline says
What a great idea to add fruit and it looks so colourful and appealing.
Jo @ Jo\'s Kitchen Larder says
Your soda bread looks great! It always astounds me that you can actually bake in slow cooker! Mine hasn’t felt the love for a while, might need to try and do some baking! 🙂
Marion says
Hi there
I live in Spain and haven’t seen – so far – buttermilk in the supermarkets. We have almond milk and coconut milk. Would either of these be good to use, please? Thank you.
bakingqueen74 says
Hi Marion, you could use the option I mention in the post and add a tbsp of white wine vinegar to 250 ml of milk to make your own buttermilk. Hope that helps!
Marion says
Thank you. I did notice the suggestion, but I’m afraid I couldn’t do the white wine vinegar option, so perhaps will have to give this one a miss, which is a shame because it looks truly delicious.
bakingqueen74 says
I believe lemon juice has the same effect as the vinegar to make the buttermilk, could you try that or do you need to avoid milk?
bakingqueen74 says
Actually Google tells me you can also use a non-dairy milk with vinegar in soda bread, though I’ve never tried it myself.
Marion says
Lemon juice sounds good to me. I’ll give it a shot – one tablespoon?
Many thanks.
bakingqueen74 says
I’d say so yes 🙂
Marion says
I’m just mixing my ingredients – and I found buttermilk yaay. Do I add the sugar and beaten egg with the salt etc? Thanks.
bakingqueen74 says
Sugar goes in the dough and egg is to brush over as a glaze. Will update recipe when I’m able to!
Marion says
Oh flip, I’ve added the egg instead of keeping it until the end. Didn’t read that when searching for when to add the sugar. Oh well, fingers crossed. It can’t hurt, can it?
Bee says
Use lemon juice rather than the vinegar to make buttermilk. I think any vinegar would work.
bakingqueen74 says
Yes I am sure you are right, that’s all I have in the cupboard hehe! Lemon juice is a good option too.
stephanie says
This looks lovely. Does it matter what size slow cooker it is cooked in?
bakingqueen74 says
Thank you! I forgot to say, I made this in my 3.5 litre oval slow cooker. I’d say it would be fine in any size!