Irish Oatmeal Soda Bread ~ I’ve made this authentic Irish quick bread even more delicious with the addition of oat flour…you won’t find an easier, or more tasty quick bread anywhere ~ it’s ready in under an hour!
Soda bread is a traditional Irish bread made without yeast, and leavened with baking soda and buttermilk
It’s been made on a daily basis for generations. This bread has a unique texture and a charming simplicity. Maybe you fist encounter it when you’re putting together a St. Patrick’s Day menu, but once you try it, it will become one of those recipes you turn to again and again. Bread this quick and easy doesn’t come along every day.
I’ve used one of my favorite ingredients to bump up the flavor and texture of this Irish oatmeal soda bread ~ oat flour!
It’s naturally sweet, and adds so much to almost anything you bake. And guess what? You don’t need to go out and buy anything special, you can whip up your own by processing regular oats, either rolled or steel cut, in a food processor or high speed blender. I used my Vitamix and it took less than a minute. The resulting flour is silky and really delicious. For more details, check out my post about how to make your own oat flour.
TIP: If you can get past the scraggly looks of this bread, you’re a wise person because you’ll have a wonderful go-to bread recipe that can be hot on your table in less than an hour.
The characteristic cross is cut into the dough with a sharp knife just before baking to allow the bread to rise…and to let the fairies escape!
what to serve with soda bread
- Corn and Cheddar Cheese Chowder
- Finnish Salmon Soup
- Mushroom and Brie Soup
- Potato Soup with Bratwurst
Irish Oatmeal Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk (possibly a little bit more)
Instructions
- Set oven to 425F
- Whisk the flours, salt, and soda together in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center, and add about 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk. Gradually mix the flour and buttermilk, adding the remaining buttermilk if your dough seems too dry. The dough will have a rough texture to it.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead briefly until it comes together. Form into an 8 inch round disk. Transfer to a baking sheet and cut a cross in the top with a sharp knife.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. It should sound hollow when you rap the bottom.
- Let cool for a few minutes, but then enjoy it while still warm, with some good Irish butter, of course!
Cook's notes
- If you want a real treat, Make Your own Butter to have with your bread!
69 Comments
Kasumi
April 2, 2020 at 5:09 pmNovice baker here! I tried this recipe because I found it after reading your oat flour recipe, but also because it seemed so easy! Didn’t have buttermilk or regular milk, so I attempted a substitute with watered down heavy cream & white vinegar. Unfortunately, my loaf came out quite doughy and dense, and took 3x as long to bake! Do you think the heavy cream was the problem? Would love any other tips, thanks ???
Sue Moran
March 16, 2021 at 6:23 amThe cream could have contributed to the problem, but it also sounds like it didn’t bake through, have you checked your oven temperature with a thermometer?
Kristen
March 31, 2020 at 3:53 pmThis bread is so delicious with butter & jam! Can’t wait to toast it for breakfast tomorrow!
Sue
April 1, 2020 at 8:53 amHomemade bread is the best 🙂
Robyn
March 25, 2020 at 2:39 pmHi Sue
Such a great easy delicious recipe thanks. I’m the only one eating this could I halve the recipe?
Thanks so much be well
Robyn
Sue
March 25, 2020 at 3:24 pmI think that should work fine Robyn.
Robyn Gleason
February 28, 2020 at 12:47 pmSooooo good and super easy to make. I have some digesting issues so it’s nice to finally enjoy some bread without any problems.
Thank you Sue :))
Catherine Dalon
October 13, 2019 at 4:50 pmOh. My. God.
THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you for making REAL soda bread!!! My mom was born in Ireland, she came here after WWII. Real Irish soda bread does NOT HAVE SUGAR IN IT!! It makes me crazy to see recipes using sugar. Nope.
This looks excellent, as are all your recipes.
I would like to try it half oat flour and half white flour.
When I make my moms with whole wheat flour, I use 1 cup white to 3 cups whole wheat.
I can’t wait to try it!!!
Cate Dalton
Sue
October 14, 2019 at 8:42 amSoda bread is such fun to make, I’ve got a couple of other recipes I’m dying to share. I have a whole wheat ‘brown’ soda bread recipe on the blog too!
Karleen Elliott
June 4, 2019 at 8:04 amCan I substitute the buttermilk for water?
Sue
June 4, 2019 at 8:45 amSure, that would be interesting!
Darlene
April 15, 2019 at 2:11 pmI made this recipe last night and you’re right, it was super easy! I added 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds and 2 cups of buttermilk. I bake for 25 minutes but next time I will keep it in longer. There’s nothing like homemade bread and this being so easy with no sugar is perfect for me! It was scrumptious! I wish I could show a picture because it came out really pretty not scraggly at all.
Sue
April 15, 2019 at 2:16 pmThat’s great to hear Darlene, but mine always come out scraggly, you must have done something right!
Darlene
April 13, 2019 at 7:50 pmHi Sue I want to make this recipe but I love caraway seeds. Do you think I can add them without changing the recipe too much?
Sue
April 13, 2019 at 8:16 pmAbsolutely!
Norene
February 19, 2019 at 8:56 pmWhere can i get oat flour?
Sue
February 19, 2019 at 9:13 pmMost large supermarkets sell oat flour in the flour aisle, or in the health food section. You can find it online, and also make it yourself, just take rolled oats and process them with a food processor or high speed blender until they become finely ground.
Ofelia Arias
February 23, 2021 at 5:38 amCan I use only oat flour?
Sue Moran
February 23, 2021 at 6:07 amI haven’t tried Ofelia, but if it were me I’d experiment with using more oat flour but still retaining some wheat flour for structure and texture.
Deb
October 5, 2018 at 6:14 amI just made this yesterday after looking for an authentic recipe when we returned from a vacation in Ireland. So glad I found your recipe! I did tweak it a bit, used 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup of “Irish” flour (from King Arthur) which is a grainy wheat flour and 1 cup of oat flour. I also added about 1/3 cup of quick cook steel cut oats (McCann’s) and rolled old-fashioned oats combined. I loved finding the recipe without sugar. Used all your proportions and made it in a loaf pan, and we love it! I didn’t think 30 minutes would be long enough, but it was perfect. So far just with butter (Irish!) and warm from the pan, but can’t wait to try toasted with jams. Thank you for the keeper!
Sue
October 5, 2018 at 5:48 pmI’m thrilled that this bread lived up to your Irish experience, that’s the highest compliment 🙂