
This Irish soda bread has a moist, nutty wheatiness with a dense, subtle sweetness, and crunchy crust. It has loads more flavor than normal bread and is lovely on its own but also goes perfectly with cheese, soup, marmalade…we could go on. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to make and seems to keep for a week without becoming stale or dry.–Wild at Heart
Irish Soda Bread FAQs
The straining process that gives Greek yogurt its noticeably lush texture is also what keeps it from being suitable in this recipe. You’ll find that yogurt with a runnier consistency will help to keep your soda bread moist. Save that Greek stuff for something a little thicker and richer.
Remember that this is a quickbread, which makes it a little denser than something that has yeast to help it lift and rise. This soda bread has a dense crumb with a moist tenderness, even for a whole-wheat dough. The crust has a crisp, crunchy texture that’s perfect for holding onto all that beautiful butter.
In practical terms, slashing the dough lets the heat from the oven penetrate into the thickest part of the bread, allowing the bread to stretch and expand as it rises. For Catholics in Ireland, the symbolism can also be interpreted as a blessing by crossing the bread.
Irish Soda Bread with Walnuts
Ingredients
- Mild vegetable oil, for the baking sheet or pan
- 2 cups walnut halves or pieces
- Scant 4 cups whole-wheat flour, plus more for the work surface
- 1 tablespoon demerara or light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups plain full-fat or low-fat yogurt, (do NOT substitute Greek yogurt), plus more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and lightly oil either a baking sheet (if you prefer to make a free-form, traditional round loaf) or a loaf pan (if you'd rather a more contemporary loaf.)
- Blitz half the walnuts in a food processor until you have a coarse powder. Chop the remaining walnuts into largish chunks.
- Place all the walnuts in a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt, and mix well to ensure the baking soda is evenly dispersed.
- Stir in 2 cups yogurt and gently combine, mixing first with a whisk or wooden spoon and then switching to your hands, until a soft dough forms. The dough will be a shaggy mess, but bring the ingredients together as best you can, being careful not to knead the dough as this bread benefits from being handled as little as possible.
☞ TESTER TIP: Different yogurts have different moisture contents. We found that depending on the yogurt used, you may need to work the dough a little more than you expect or you may even need to add a few tablespoons or even up to 1/2 cup more yogurt.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. If you're going to bake it in a loaf tin, form the bread into a log shape and drop it into the tin. If you're going to bake it in the traditional round, form it into a ball, place it on the oiled baking sheet, and score a deep cross into the top using a sharp knife.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the loaf is well risen and browned. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes—if, that is, you can manage to keep your hands off it for that long.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Everything I love about this recipe is right there in the intro. It’s crazy easy to make and delivers “moist, nutty wheatiness with a dense crumb and crunchy crust.” I baked it in the evening and we enjoyed it for breakfast the next morning—and for a couple of days after that. We tried it with butter, peanut butter, honey, and sharp Cheddar.
Wow, is this bread good. And—dare I say it?—it might even be good for you. I love the combination of whole-wheat flour, coarsely ground walnuts, and coarsely chopped walnuts. The result is nutty and, thanks to the yogurt, incredibly moist.
Super simple, indeed! What an absolutely lovely twist on the standard white flour soda bread, yielding a more nutritious bread. Also, thanks to the walnuts, this bread has plenty of great flavor and texture. It’s moist, has a nice crumb for a quick bread, and the crust was not only appropriately crunchy but also beautifully golden brown after the 50 minutes of baking time called for by the recipe.
This is a great recipe for Irish soda bread and is definitely something every cook should have in his or her arsenal as it’s almost too easy. I was hoping for a dense, rustic loaf of bread, and this recipe turned out to be just what I wanted. Not only was it what I was craving, but it also came together very quickly, and I’m sure that I’d have all the ingredients on hand at any given time. I would enjoy eating this bread in the morning with a touch of jam.
Easy, delicious, and versatile—this humble bread offers so much! It’s ever so slightly sweet but mostly neutral tasting, so as the description says, it goes well with many things: good old butter, jam, cheese (blue cheese with walnut is a no-brainer), salads, etc. It’s nice and dense, too, so a little goes a long way.
This is a really quick bread with good flavor and texture. I liked that the flour measurement was given in weight.
I really loved the flavor and texture of the walnuts in this bread and couldn’t stop at just one slice. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about this recipe at first. The dough was still quite dry and crumbly after incorporating the yogurt with the dry ingredients, and it didn’t come together as well as I’d hoped. Nevertheless, I proceeded to form it into a round, slice the top, and bake it in the oven. The smell of toasted walnuts and warm wheat were overwhelming and absolutely irresistible. Once baked, the outside of the loaf still looked too floury and quite crumbly. Much to my surprise, though, when I sliced the loaf, a moist yet dense, nutty, heavenly slice of bread revealed itself!
This soda bread surprised me in a good way. Based on the ingredients, I expected an overly dense bread that was one-dimensional in flavor. Instead, I got a hearty bread with a cornbread-like texture and great nutty flavor and crunch from the walnuts. The yogurt adds some moisture to the bread, and I think it helps the bread from being too dense. The brown sugar adds a touch of sweetness.
The crust of this Irish soda bread was crunchy and the interior had a good distribution of walnuts throughout. It tasted pleasantly of walnuts without being overpowering. I would make this bread again and found it easier and tastier than the soda bread I normally make.
This soda bread has really good flavor and it is, indeed, easy to make. It took about 45 minutes to bake.
This is one yummy soda bread and so easy to make. Just throw everything together, mix, and bake. Super easy.
Yum! I got a delicious, slightly sweet, slightly salty, nutty soda bread. I’ll take my hunk straight up with some salty butter.
Just tried this for the first time . It’s so easy and simply delicious 🤗
It looks perfect, Colette. Lovely photo.
Gorgeous, Colette!