Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

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Old fashioned whole wheat Irish soda bread that tastes like a mix between cinnamon raisin and rye bread. Perfect for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!

A few years ago, I did Ancestry DNA and found out that I’m 31% Irish/Scottish! This seriously explains so much – like my fair skin, my childhood obsession with butter (I used to eat it plain) and my life-long love for potatoes.

As soon as the results came in, I immediately started brainstorming all sorts of the Irish recipes that I could put an EBF spin on, LOL. Cabbage soup, Shepherd’s Pie, any and everything with potatoes . . . so that’s where the idea for an Irish soda bread recipe started.

Irish soda bread made which whole wheat and raisins.

Why do They Call it Irish Soda Bread?

I’ll blame my newfound Irish heritage on this question . . .  first things first, it’s called soda bread because traditionally, it’s made from just baking soda, flour, soured milk and salt. It is a traditional Irish dish and still very prevalent in Ireland! Have you ever had it?

How Do you Eat Irish Soda Bread?

There are a ton of different ways to enjoy Irish soda bread! My favorite way is to warm it up in the toaster/toaster oven and spread butter, jam or nut butter on top. You can also use it for salad croutons or enjoy a slice with soup or stew . . . the options are endless. I think I’m going to whip up another batch of this bread for a festive St. Patrick’s Day breakfast!

How to Make Healthy Irish Soda Bread?

To make the classic Irish soda bread a bit healthier, I used a mix of whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour, which is lighter than regular whole wheat. Of course, if you can’t find whole wheat pastry flour, regular all-purpose flour will work great.

I also made my own non-dairy buttermilk by adding apple cider vinegar to almond milk. This is a technique I learned a few years ago and it works like a charm. The apple cider vinegar gives the milk a tang similar to buttermilk and it also helps make the bread rise by activating the baking soda.

Irish soda bread batter in a mixing bowl.

 

Overall, making soda bread isn’t intimating at all – even cutting in the butter isn’t a big deal. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, no worries because there are many pastry cutter substitutes! You can use a fork, your food processor or a cheese grater to cut the butter into small pieces and incorporate it into the dough.

Whole wheat Irish soda bread dough with raisins in a mixing bowl.

Once your dough is ready, you simply form it into a rounded, disk-shaped loaf a few inches thick and 7 to 8 inches wide, place on a prepared baking sheet and bake. It bakes for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and crisp on the outside and and inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Irish soda bread wheat dough on a baking sheet.

I have to say that I LOVE this bread. It’s a little on the dry side, but that’s the way Irish soda bread is supposed to taste, and the sweetness from the raisins mixed with the caraway seeds make it taste so good. I basically ate a whole loaf to myself in 2 days. 🙂 

Irish soda bread made which whole wheat and raisins. Loaf is resting on a wire cooling rack.

More Easy Bread Recipes

Be sure to check out all of the quick bread recipes on EBF!

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4.41 from 10 votes

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

Old fashioned whole wheat Irish soda bread that tastes like a mix between cinnamon raisin and rye bread. Perfect for celebrating St. Patrick's Day!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients  

  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar, brown sugar works too
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 Tablespoons caraway seeds
  • 4 Tablespoons cold butter
  • 2 cups raisins, finely minced
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 scant cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet.
  • Mix dough: Thoroughly combine flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and caraway seeds. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until finely blended and stir in minced raisins.
  • Make buttermilk: Make the buttermilk by adding 1 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar into a 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Add almond milk until you reach 1 1/2 cups of liquid.
  • Add wet ingredients: In a small bowl, beat the egg and the almond milk mixture. Add to flour mixture. Gently stir and fold until just combined. Form dough into a rounded, disk-shaped loaf a few inches thick and 7 to 8 inches wide.
  • Bake: Place on prepared baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, mark top of loaf decoratively with 1/2-inch deep knife slashes. Bake on the middle oven rack for 50 – 60 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/10 of recipe | Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 24g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Bread
Cuisine: Irish
Keyword: rish soda bread
Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!

About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

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23 Comments

  1. I’ve never had soda bread but it looks fantastic! Nicely done!! You’re not the only blogger not indulging in green beer this year – too bad for us!

  2. I liked that you put dried fruit and caraway seeds in it! That’s an addition to consider for next time. Who says one can only have Soda bread on St. Patrick’s Day?
    🙂

  3. Looks good! I tried a sample at Trader Joe’s this past week. Theirs was very hard/crusty and they served it with Kerry Gold Butter.

  4. 5 stars
    Easy and turned out perfect! It looked just like the pictures posted above. The only changes I made were using one cup of raisins (since that was all I had), and using the light brown sugar (since I didn’t have coconut sugar). It went perfectly with my slow cooked corned beef, carrots and brussel sprouts! Thanks for sharing this with us!

  5. 5 stars
    I left out the raisins because I was pretty sure it wouldn’t please my whole crowd and it was a total hit! Soda bread was new to all of us and we all loved the caraway flavor!

  6. 5 stars
    I made this for my roommates on St Patrick’s day, and once again, Brittany’s recipes hit it out of the park. MAKE THIS BREAD!!

    1. Ahh that makes me so happy to read! I’m so glad you enjoyed this bread. Thanks so much for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I really appreciate it. <3

  7. 5 stars
    I just made this a few minutes ago and I love it! The caraway seeds and raisins really give it more of a rustic flavor for me rather than simply a sweet scone taste that I’ve gotten from the grocery store. Very happy with this!

    1. Woo! So glad to hear this was a hit for you, Sarah. Thanks for leaving a review and star rating, I really appreciate it.

  8. The “dough” had the consistency of a thick batter, although I followed the directions precisely, so I had to bake it in a loaf pan. I am hoping it will bake up deliciously.

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