If you are looking for a quick and easy bread recipe, then you have come to the right place. Irish Soda bread made with buttermilk does not contain any yeast – so there’s no kneading involved – which means you can have this delicious seed-packed loaf on the table is less than an hour. What are you waiting for?
Seeded Irish Soda Bread with Buttemilk
This seeded Irish soda bread is jam-packed wih goodness. It is made with half wholemeat and half regular flour and is crammed with pumpkin and sunflower seeds. For added goodness it contains sesame and linseeds (otherwise known as flaxseeds).
It is delicious served fresh out of the oven, smeared with butter. Or you can use it to mop up the juices from your favourite soup or stew. And if there is any left over, you can even make sandwiches for your lunch.
There is no yeast in this bread. Insead, bicarbonate of soda is used. The buttermilk reacts with the bicarb to form tiny bubbles which cause the dough to rise. Consequently, you don’t have to spend hours kneading and waiting the the dough to rise. Just combine all the ingredients, pop it in the oven and you have a mouth-wateringly good loaf of seeded Irish soda bread in under an hour. You can’t get easier than that!
How to make Seeded Irish Soda Bread with Buttermilk
Ingredients
To make one loaf of bread you will need the following ingredients.
- 200g each of wholemeal and plain flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda – don’t use baking powder. It won’t rise properly if you do.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 25g pumpkin seeds + 1 tablespoon to sprinkle on top of the loaf before baking.
- 25g sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon each of:
- linseeds (flax seed)
- sesame seeds (untoasted is fine but you can use toasted if that is all you have)
- black treacle – dip your spoon in oil before measuring this out. The treacle won’t stick to the spoon.
- sugar – you could substitute this for 1 tablespoon of honey if you prefer
- sunflower oil – that is all the fat that you will need for this recipe
- 500ml buttermilk
Steps
Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 360F
Grease a 8″ x 4″ loaf tin and set aside
1 Place ingredients in a mixing bowl 2 Mix to combine 3 Pour into a loaf tin and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds 4 The finished product!
Place the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
- Measure the wholemeal flour into a mixing bowl and sift the plain flour on top
- Add the salt, sugar and bicarbonate of soda and stir briefly to combine.
- Add all the seeds and and stir to mix through.
- Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, treacle and oil and mix well to combine
The texture should be a soft dropping consistency – similar to a cake batter. If it seems too thick, you can thin it down with a splash of milk.
Bake
Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds.
Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 40 – 45 minute.
The loaf will be cooked when a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out cleanly. Alternatively you can knock on the bottom of the tin. If the loaf if cooked, it will sound hollow.
Your questions answered
If you don’t have any buttermilk, you can use any one of these alternatives:
– Add 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk
– Add 1 and 3/4 teaspoons cream of tarter to 1 cup of milk
– Use 1 cup of plain yoghurt in place of the buttermilk
Buttermilk contains lactic acid, and this reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to form tiny bubble of carbon dioxide which causes the bread to rise.
You can wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and store it in your freezer for up to 6 months.
To use, remove from the plastic wrap, cover with a clean tea-towel an let it stand on the counter until it has defrosted.
You can store the loaf, in a plastic bag, for up to 3 day at room temperature.
This loaf is delicious, fresh from the oven, with butter and jam or marmalade. You can also serve it with soups and stews, or use it to make sandwiches. It is delicious served as part of a ploughman’s platter, with cheese and pork pies.
Equipment
You probably have all of this equipment in your kitchen already. In case you are missing something, I’ve included some handy links to items on Amazon that you may find useful.
- Mixing bowl – Amazon have a nice old-fashioned earthernware mixing bowl, which is ideal for mixing cakes and breads.
- Spatula – silicone spatulas are great because they won’t scratch your pots and pans
- 8″ x 4″ loaf tin – or 29cm x 15cm if you prefer metric measurements!
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What to serve with seeded Irish soda bread
My favourite way to serve this seeded Irish soda bread is with Irish Seafood Chowder, but it would also go well with Orzo Pasta Summer Salad for a deliciously healthy lunch.
Irish Seafood Chowder Orzo Pasta Summer Salad
Recipe – Seeded Irish Soda Bread with Buttermilk
Seeded Irish Soda Bread with Buttermilk
Ingredients
- 200 g Wholewheat flour
- 200 g Plain flour
- 25 g Pumpkin Seeds
- 25 g Sunflower Seeds
- 1 Tablespoon Linseeds (flax seeds)
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 500 ml (1 pint) Buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon Black Treacle
- 1 Tablespoon Sunflower oil
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
Instructions
- Measure the wholewheat flour into a large mixing bowl
- Sift in the plain flour
- Add the seeds , the bicarbonate of soda, the sugar and the salt and stir together.
- Make a well in the centre and add the buttemilk, treacle and sunflower oil.
- Mix well to combine
- Pour into greased 8" x 4" loaf tin
- Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon pumpkin seeds
- Place in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, or the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
- Remove from the oven.
- Serve warm with butter. Or serve with your favourite soup or stew.
Notes
- 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice mixed with 1 cup of milk
- 1 cup plain yoghurt
- 1 and 3/4 teaspoons of cream of tartar mixed with 1 cup of milk
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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