Homemade Soda Bread

Homemade Soda Bread is a rustic, no-yeast loaf made with a blend of wholemeal and plain flour, gently leavened with bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar, and moistened with tangy buttermilk. It's a quick, wholesome, and diabetes-friendly bread with a hearty crust and soft crumb, perfect for everyday meals.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings Slices

Ingredients

Instructions

Sift together the flours, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
250 g wholemeal plain flour, 200 g plain flour, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 25 g unsalted butter
Quickly stir in the buttermilk and combine until a dough is formed.
300 ml buttermilk
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Mould into a round shape, place onto a lightly floured baking sheet, cut a cross in the top, and sprinkle with a little flour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 5 and bake for 25–30 minutes, until it sounds hollow when tapped.

Notes

When sieving wholemeal flour, add back any bran that stays in the sieve after sifting.

You could add 75g mixed dried fruit and 1 tsp of mixed spice for a great fruit bread.

This soda bread is ideal for slicing and freezing – pop the slices straight into the toaster.

Freezing instructions: Homemade Soda Bread is suitable for freezing once cooked. Slice, then wrap in foil to freeze. You can then use slices as required.

Nutrition