This Vegan Irish Soda Bread is the perfect recipe for your Saint Patrick's Day celebrations! Simple, with just 6 ingredients, this is done in no time.
Irish Soda Bread is a traditional Irish recipe that uses baking soda as a leavening agent instead of yeast like in regular bread or sourdough bread. The result is a flavorful loaf of bread that is dense and crumbly.
The bread is mixed with some herbs and dried currants or raisins to give it extra flavor. It goes very well as a breakfast bread with some butter or jam, or as a side of bread with a meal.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfect for St. Patrick's Day - Make this recipe to have on hand during Saint Patrick's Day for a truly Irish treat!
- Great toast or dessert bread - Toast this on a pan or in a toaster for a breakfast base, or eat it with sweet additions for dessert!
- Easy & Simple Recipe - This recipe doesn't require any yeast or difficult rising like normal bread recipes do!
What you need for this recipe
Ingredients and Substitutions:
- Flour - I used a mixture of all-purpose flour and spelt flour, but just all purpose or whole wheat all purpose works too.
- Non-Dairy Milk - Any non-dairy milk will work as long as it is unsweetened and plain.
- Vinegar - I used apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar works too. Do not skip this step. The acid in the vinegar is necessary for the baking soda to activate and allow the bread to rise.
- Vegan Butter - I highly recommend using Earth Balance vegan butter sticks!
- Flavorful Additions - I added caraway seeds and raisins OR dried currants.
- Sugar - Regular white cane sugar.
- Baking Soda - Be sure to use baking soda, not baking powder. They are not the same and one cannot be substituted for the other.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Prepare the Dough
Preheat the oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
Begin by whisking together the vinegar with the non-dairy milk in a separate bowl or cup to create a vegan buttermilk.
Next, gently toss the dried currants or raising in about 1 teaspoon of flour, so that they don't clump when baking.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk or sift together both flours, baking soda, and sugar.
Using a pastry cutter or the tines of a fork, break the cold butter into the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Use hands if necessary.
Combine the dried and floured currants or raising with the dry ingredients.
Step 2: Mix wet ingredients
Create a small well in the middle of the flour mixture and slowly pour the vegan buttermilk mixture into the well, stirring continuously.
Mix until the buttermilk is well incorporated and the dough becomes sticky and slightly wet.
Sprinkle flour over a clean surface, like a countertop.
Flip over the mixing bowl and let the wet dough fall onto the floured surface.
Knead the dough by folding it over itself about 5 times until it is no longer very sticky, adding more flour as needed.
Step 3: Bake
If necessary, gently shape the kneaded dough into a round shape.
Place the dough on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Use a bread lame or a very sharp knife to gently score and X shape on the top.
Place in the oven and bake at 375º Fahrenheit for about 35-40 minutes, until lightly golden.
Place on a cooling rack and cool for at least 15 minutes, until cool to the touch.
Slice and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Since baking soda is the only leavening agent in this recipe, do not skip it and do not substitute it at all.
- If you can't find or don't have spelt flour, you can use just all-purpose flour.
- Instead of dried currants, golden raisins work very well.
- Pair this with vegan butter, nut butters, and jams. Eat irish soda bread as a breakfast food or as a side to a meal.
Recipe FAQs
For any bread, making it without commercial yeast requires another form of leavening. One form is by using a sourdough starter with wild yeast, and the other is by using baking soda like in Irish soda bread.
Traditionally, Irish soda bread uses buttermilk, eggs, and butter. However, this recipe uses vegan butter and buttermilk, and substitutes the eggs.
The use of the word "soda" in Irish soda bread comes from the use of baking soda instead of traditional yeast.
Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Irish Soda Bread
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Spoon or Spatula
- Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Sharp knife or bread lame
Ingredients
- 1½ cups All-purpose Flour
- ½ cup Spelt flour
- ½ tablespoon Caraway seeds
- 1 cup Almond milk
- 1 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Sugar
- ½ cup Dried currants or raisins
- ¼ cup Vegan stick butter Earth balance is best for this
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
- Begin by whisking together the vinegar with the non-dairy milk in a separate bowl or cup to create a vegan buttermilk.
- Next, gently toss the dried currants or raising in about 1 teaspoon of flour, so that they don't clump when baking.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk or sift together both flours, baking soda, salt and sugar.
- Using a pastry cutter or the tines of a fork, break the cold butter into the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Use hands if necessary.
- Combine the dried and floured currants or raising with the dry ingredients.
- Create a small well in the middle of the flour mixture and slowly pour the vegan buttermilk mixture into the well, stirring continuously.
- Mix until the buttermilk is well incorporated and the dough becomes sticky and slightly wet.
- Sprinkle flour over a clean surface, like a countertop.
- Flip over the mixing bowl and let the wet dough fall onto the floured surface.
- Knead the dough by folding it over itself about 5 times until it is no longer very sticky, adding more flour as needed.
- If necessary, gently shape the kneaded dough into a round shape.
- Place the dough on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Use a bread lame or a very sharp knife to gently score and X shape on the top.
- Place in the oven and bake at 375º Fahrenheit for about 35-40 minutes, until lightly golden.
- Place on a cooling rack and cool for at least 15 minutes, until cool to the touch.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Since baking soda is the only leavening agent in this recipe, do not skip it and do not substitute it at all.
- If you can't find or don't have spelt flour, you can use just all-purpose flour.
- Instead of dried currants, golden raisins work very well.
- Pair this with vegan butter, nut butters, and jams. Eat irish soda bread as a breakfast food or as a side to a meal.
Caitlin says
I forgot the salt because your instructions don’t ever mention the salt?
Emily says
Hi Caitlin! Sorry about that! I fixed the recipe and made sure the salt is included. I hope it still turned out alright!