5-MINUTE TASTY IRISH SODA BREAD WITH SEEDS: high fibre; egg & butter free; easy

Healthy bread that's super quick and easy, tasty and beautifully textured - make it top of your home baking list

Easy-Peasy 5-min prep Irish Soda Bread with Oatmeal & Seeds
'... so tasty, fresh or toasted, for so little effort!' 

Irish Soda Breads are a lifesaver in busy households: there's no kneading or rising, no preservatives, salt is controlled.  This tasty loaf  takes just 5 mins to measure, mix and slide into the oven.

This simple recipe is free of butter or eggs, relying on low-fat buttermilk and baking soda for the rise.  

It's a lovely tender bread that is also very healthy.  It makes great toast, and freezes well.

This recipe is perfect for small households.

Cost: £1'ish for common wheat; 75p more for organic spelt  (1/2024)

Makes: small loaf (that won't last long!)

Ingredients:

175 gm plain flour (67 used Sharpham Organic wholegrain spelt but any flour will do) 

 50gm oatmeal

handful sunflower seeds

handful pumpkin seeds (opt)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

min 180ml-max 240 ml buttermilk or vegan substitutes (67 used a combo of yoghurt, milk & buttermilk - see Tips) 

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven or air fryer to 200c/390F
2. The tin size is important to prevent underbaking. Line a 21x11cm/8.4x4.5in (large'ish) loaf tin with a strip of greaseproof paper, ends extending to make removing the bread easily; the loaf will rise beautifully but not very high
3. In a good-sized bowl, mix dry ingredients including seeds; make a depression in the centre
4. Shake buttermilk thoroughly OR make your own (recipes below)
5. Only when the oven/air fryer is ready and you can immediately put the bread dough in, add about 200 ml buttermilk (67 usually finds 210ml about right for wheat flour BUT 180-190'ish ml for spelt flour)
6. Stir with a fork until liquid is absorbed; mixture will be thick but malleable; if it looks and feels dry, add more buttermilk tablespoon by tablespoon 
7. Scrape into the tin; quickly smooth out surface with spatula or offset palette knife
8. Place in oven immediately without resting (the buttermilk immediatelyactivates the baking soda; the dough starts rising and will deflate if not baked right away)
9. Bake 30-35 mins; bottom should sound hollow when tapped; if not, turn loaf over, return to oven 5 mins 
10. Serve warm with butter, at room temp or toasted
11. 
    Freezing: cool completely on the same day as it is baked; slice the bread, separate slices with a square of greaseproof paper, slide into a sealable sandwich bag; freeze and remove slices as needed

Comments: 

'My goodness, this is tasty for so little effort!  The toast is especially good. I'll be making this again.' Retired writer

Tips:

• Replace 100gm plain flour with wholegrain flour for a healthier mix 
• No buttermilk?  Replace with: 75% dairy or plant yoghurt + 25% milk or water  OR
• 100% whole dairy/plant milk with 2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice stirred in and rested 10 mins

Please leave a comment in the box below

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission