This Vegan Irish Soda Bread recipe is super easy to make and takes only 5 minutes to stir together. There's no yeast, no proofing, and no kneading required just simple ingredients that produce a thin golden crust, and soft, tender bread crumb. An easy vegan soda bread recipe for beginners to make on St. Patrick's Day or any other day of the week.
Traditional Irish soda bread is a quick bread that uses baking soda and buttermilk instead of yeast to rise. The acid in the buttermilk reacts with baking soda to create air bubbles resulting in a perfectly risen dough.
This vegan Irish soda bread recipe is quick and easy to make from scratch. The texture is soft and buttery and slightly sweet like a scone with flecks of sweetness from the chopped raisins in every bite. It's especially delicious toasted then slathered in butter with homemade mixed berry jam.
My family loves homemade bread - ALL of it from vegan banana bread and vegan cornbread to no knead overnight bread and vegan monkey bread. If you have a weakness for easy vegan bread recipes too, this vegan soda bread is sure to be a new favorite.
Ingredients
A classic Irish soda bread is made with just 4 pantry ingredients: flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt. However, there are as many variations to that traditional recipe as stars in the sky. Here's what you'll need for this tasty vegan version which has no eggs or dairy:
- Flour: Unbleached all purpose flour.
- Baking soda: Baking soda acts as a leavening agent in place of yeast to make this vegan quick bread rise.
- Baking powder: This is an optional leavening ingredient that my Aunty uses in her Irish soda bread recipe. I like the extra lift it gives to the bread, but you can easily skip it with good results.
- Sugar: Both my Aunty Kaye's and Ina Garten's Irish soda bread recipes call for more granulated sugar than I prefer so I cut the sugar to 2 tablespoons. Feel free to increase the amount of sugar to suit your taste.
- Salt: I use fine table salt.
- Vegan butter/margarine: For tender texture, moisture, and flavor.
- Vegan buttermilk: Vegan buttermilk helps keep vegan baking tender and moist. Plus it activates the baking soda to make the bread rise up.
- Plant based yogurt: Use plain or vanilla yogurt (or vegan sour cream) to add tanginess and extra body to the soda bread.
- Raisins/Currants: We don't love currants, so I use raisins (or dried cranberries), but I chop them up so they resemble the size of currants.
- Optional mix ins: My Aunty's authentic Irish soda bread recipe includes caraway seeds (1 tablespoon), Ina Garten likes orange zest in her famous Irish soda bread recipe, and some people like to add a handful of cheese. Feel free to put your own fingerprints on this vegan soda bread recipe.
How to Make Easy Vegan Soda Bread
This is an uncomplicated and foolproof Irish soda bread recipe (dairy free version). It's a good bread recipe for beginners because it's reliable and takes only 5 minutes to mix together. Let's make a loaf together:
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 400º F. Butter a 9" cast iron pan.
- Vegan Buttermilk: In a large measuring cup mix together the soy milk and white vinegar. Set aside to curdle.
- Mix dry ingredients together: Measure* your dry ingredients straight into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together. *Use a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method (see recipe notes for details).
- Add wet ingredients: Make a well in the flour mixture add in the vegan buttermilk, melted butter, plant based yogurt, and chopped raisins. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together. The dough will be sticky. Don't over mix the dough.
- Shape the bread: Flour the work surface, turn out the dough, and sprinkle a light dusting of flour over the dough ball. Using your hands, gently form the dough into a round shape (~7"). Flatten the rounded dough slightly.
- Cut an X: Transfer the soda bread to the prepared cast iron pan or parchment lined pan. Slice an X (about ½" deep) in the top of the dough with a sharp knife. (see photo)
- Bake: Bake for 40-55 minutes or until the soda bread is golden, the internal temperature is 195º F (90º C) and the loaf sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom crust. Remove from the oven.
Baking Tips & FAQ
- Homemade vegan buttermilk: Vegan buttermilk is quick and easy to make at home. Buttermilk is the secret ingredient in Irish soda bread and it has a couple important jobs. It reacts with the baking soda to make the bread rise, and it adds wonderful flavor!
- Vegan yogurt: I swap ¼ cup plant based yogurt (you could also use vegan sour cream) for ¼ cup buttermilk to add extra body in the bread. If you don't have any on hand, just use 1 ¾ cup vegan buttermilk.
- Don't overmix the dough: Just like vegan biscuits or scones, you want to be gentle with the dough to keep the crumb tender. Be careful not to overwork the dough or it gets tough.
- Sticky dough: The dough is sticky. Dust your work surface and hands with enough flour to handle the dough without sticking.
- Score the top of the dough: Using a sharp knife score the dough ball with an “X” (½" deep) before baking. This helps the center bake through.
- How long do I bake the soda bread?: I give a range of 40-55 minutes to bake the soda bread because so many factors will affect the bake time: how accurate your oven temperature is, what kind of pan you use, how thick you make the round loaf, etc.
- How to know when the soda bread is ready?: When you tap the bottom of the bread loaf it should sound hollow. If you have an instant read thermometer, the center of the loaf should be 195° F (90° C). If the cut parts are quite pale, the bread is not done yet.
- Do I have to use a cast iron skillet? No, use a 5 quart or larger Dutch oven (no lid), a metal pie plate or even a baking sheet with parchment paper.
How to Store, Freeze and Reheat
Room Temperature: Cover and store the soda bread at room temperature for 2-3 days or wrap and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Freeze individual slices or the whole loaf. Wrap in plastic wrap, a layer of aluminum foil and finally seal in a large freezer bag. Freezes well for 2-3 months.
Thaw: When ready to serve, thaw at room temperature. Then warm in the oven, microwave or toast the slices and enjoy with butter and jam.
More Vegan Bread Recipes
If you love homemade bread, but you're nervous about making it, here's a few easy vegan bread recipes to try (that anyone can make):
- Best Vegan Banana Bread
- Ultimate Vegan Cornbread
- Easiest Overnight No Knead Bread
- All Purpose Refrigerator Dough
- Vegan Dinner Rolls
Did you make my Vegan Irish Soda Bread recipe? If so, please leave a comment and a rating below. I'd love to see your photos too! Tag me on Instagram or Facebook!
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Easy Vegan Irish Soda Bread
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INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups all purpose flour (510 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
- ¾ - 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (more to taste)
- 3 tablespoons dairy free butter/margarine, melted
- 1 ½ cups vegan buttermilk*
- ¼ cup plant based yogurt (plain or vanilla)
- ¾ cup currants or chopped raisins
INSTRUCTIONS
- Homemade Vegan Buttermilk: In a large measuring cup, stir together 1 ½ cups soy milk (or another non dairy milk) and 4 teaspoons white vinegar (apple cider vinegar or lemon juice). Set aside to curdle.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Grease a 9" or 10" cast iron skillet (or similar) with softened vegan butter or use a slice of parchment paper. Melt the butter.
- Dry Ingredients: Whisk together the flour*, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. *Measure 4 cups of flour using a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method (see notes). Remove ½ a cup of flour and set aside.
- Wet Ingredients: Make a well in the flour mixture add in the vegan buttermilk, plant based yogurt, melted butter, and chopped raisins (currants). Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. The dough will be sticky- add more of the reserved flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Shaping the loaf: Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Add a sprinkle of flour over the sticky dough ball (from the reserved flour) as needed. With lightly floured hands, gently shape the dough into a round loaf (~6-7"). Flatten the rounded dough slightly. Do not overwork the dough or the bread will be dense instead of tender.
- Score the bread: Transfer the round to the prepared cast iron pan. Using a sharp knife, score a large 'X' (~½" deep) in the top of the dough ball (see photos). This allows the center to bake.
- Bake the bread: Place the bread in the preheated 400º F oven and bake for 40-55 minutes or until lightly golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Internal temperature 195º F (90º C). Loosely tent the bread with aluminum foil if its taking on too much color.
- Let cool: Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for ~15 minutes before slicing.
NOTES
- Flour: I measure out 4 cups of flour (510 grams on a kitchen scale) then remove ½ a cup before mixing the flour into the dough. I add only as much of the remaining ½ cup flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface and my hands.
- Measuring flour without a kitchen scale: Use the spoon and level method. Don't scoop the flour directly out of the flour bag with your measuring cup (the flour is too compacted). Use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Then scoop spoonfuls of flour to fill the measuring cup. Level off the flour with flat side of a butterknife.
- Vegan Buttermilk & Plant Based Yogurt: You can use all buttermilk, but I swap out 20% of the buttermilk for yogurt to thicken up the buttermilk and add flavor and tenderness to the soda bread.
- Baking Powder: My Aunty's traditional Irish soda bread recipe includes baking powder and baking soda. I recipe tested using just soda and also with both. I like the extra lift from adding the baking powder so I include it in my recipe. The choice is yours to add it or skip it.
- Pan Options: Use a 9-10" cast iron skillet, a low side Dutch oven (no lid), a metal pie plate or a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- How to tell when vegan soda bread is done: When you tap the bottom of the loaf it will sound hollow. If you have an instant read thermometer, the center of the loaf should be 195° F (90° C). If the cut parts are quite pale, the bread is not done yet.
- Storing and Freezing: Wrap the Irish soda bread in plastic wrap and tin foil or place in a ziplock bag or an airtight container. Store at room temperature for about 2-3 days or freeze it for up to 2-3 months.
This recipe is from simplyceecee.co food blog. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images or republish this recipe without prior permission. Thank you.
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