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November 19, 2020 · 1 Comment

Irish Soda Bread recipe without buttermilk

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Dairy free Irish soda bread made with ginger beer, dried fruit and nuts. Great side dish, breakfast bread, or snack. Fun recipe for kids in the kitchen. Explore with food science.

This year-of-staying-home has found me doing lots of things I never used to do, like gardening and learning to play chess.

It’s also led me to expand on the things I already do. I love baking, but I like quick stuff. Don’t send me to a complicated recipe. I like baking muffins, bar cookies and brownies. But, all those sweets — well, they’re only good in moderation. Ya know?

So, inspired by an episode of the Great British Baking Show, I decided to try my hand at Irish soda bread.

Irish soda bread on cutting board

One of my kids is allergic to dairy, so I tried my hand at an Irish soda bread recipe without buttermilk instead.

The HIstory of Irish soda bread

The history of Irish soda bread dates back to Native Americans, though many cultures have their own version of this recipe.

Native Americans used potash as a leavening agent to make soda bread. Combining the potash with buttermilk (or sour milk) gives the bread its texture.

Historical anecdotes suggest that the Irish took the baking method back to Ireland after visiting the Americas and used it to survive the great potato famine.

The bread is simple to make using inexpensive ingredients, important to survive a famine.

Many cultures have their own version, but the Irish seem to have made the bread famous — and so the name “Irish soda bread” is most popular.

Making Irish soda bread without buttermilk

I would never have thought to make Irish soda bread since my kiddo can’t have buttermilk. But, I watched a competitor on the Great British Baking Show making Irish soda bread without buttermilk and had to give it a try.

It turns out that making Irish soda bread without buttermilk is quite easy. There are many recipes for vegan soda bread online, using various ingredients like soda or stout instead of soda bread with buttermilk.

After reading a bunch of recipes for making Irish soda bread without buttermilk, I decided to make my Irish soda bread recipe with ginger beer.

I like to pack nutrition into everything, so to make a heartier Irish soda bread, I added dried fruit and nuts to my recipe. It turned out great — perfect for breakfast or a quick snack!

Irish soda bread on cutting board

Irish Soda Bread Recipe without buttermilk

Irish soda bread is a quick bread traditionally made with baking soda and buttermilk to leaven the bread. This vegan Irish soda bread recipe uses ginger beer instead of buttermilk and is packed with dry fruit and nuts for a hearty snack or breakfast.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 29 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course Breakfast, lunch, Snack
Servings 16

Equipment

  • bread pan
  • Mixing bowl
  • cutting board

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp sugar can use brown sugar if preferred
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 12 oz ginger beer one bottle is usually 12 oz
  • 1 cup dried fruit
  • 1 cup nuts chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350° and spray bread pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Chop nuts and set aside. This is a great step to have kids do with supervision.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt until well combined.
  • Stir in the ginger beer until combined. Do NOT over-stir the bread just combine ingredients until all are wet (that's the scientific magic of soda bread).
  • Fold in the nuts and dried fruit, mixing in just a bit. (You can omit the fruit and nuts entirely for a plain soda bread)
  • Pour/Dump (it's a thick batter)
  • Bake for 40 minutes. Check for doneness and bake up to an additional 10 minutes.
  • When cooked completely, cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
  • Turn out onto the wire rack to cool completely.
Keyword bread, dairy free, quick cooking

Guess what? It worked! Science is AMAZING! We really enjoyed this bread, absolutely perfect as a side dish with creamy butternut squash soup!

Parents, if you’re doing school at home these days, this is a fun, edible science experiment.

If you like this recipe, check out these:

  • Greek Yogurt Blueberry Muffins
  • Pineapple Coconut Cake
  • Tangy Mango Salsa

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Comments

  1. Dorenda says

    March 18, 2022 at 11:32 am

    5 stars
    This was absolutely amazing! I did leave out the nuts and doubled the dried fruit (raisins). Might have overdone it by having 2 thick slices with dinner, but it was worth it! I was afraid the ginger beer would overpower the bread with ginger, but it didn’t. Definitely a keeper for my family.

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