No Yeast, No Kneading, No Waiting: The Secret to Perfect Homemade Irish Soda Bread

Ever since the lockdown back in 2020, it’s become common for many people to spend their time baking bread at home, though things changed completely after life went back to normal. Now quite few people are willing to waste several precious hours of their free time on something like this, so the bread-baking tradition has now gone down in its popularity.

Luckily, there are other types of bread recipes that won’t make you spend your entire day in the kitchen, including the recipe for Irish soda bread that many really enjoy.

Ingredients: 450 g of flour (you can use a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour), 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt, 400 ml of kefir or plain yogurt.

Sieve the flour into a large bowl to aerate it and remove any lumps (this will improve the bread’s texture). Add the baking soda and salt to the sieved flour and mix thoroughly so that the baking soda and salt spread evenly through the flour.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the kefir or yogurt. It’s important to use a sour product, since it will react with the baking soda to create the right texture for the bread.

Gently mix all the ingredients with your hands or a wooden spoon. Do not mix the dough for too long, so it doesn’t become dense. As soon as the ingredients are combined and the dough becomes consistent, quit mixing.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape it into a round or oval loaf. There’s no need to knead the dough too much; just shape it as you like.

Move the loaf to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to make a cross-shaped cut on the surface of the loaf so the bread rises and bakes evenly.

Place the loaf in an oven preheated to 220°C and bake for 30–35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and there is a hollow sound when you tap the bottom of the loaf.