Lightly sweetened with honey, this whole grain spelt soda bread is a deeply flavourful, very simple loaf. Soda bread is made with baking soda or bicarbonate, not yeast, so it’s ready to bake immediately after mixing with no rise time. This recipe is dairy- and egg-free.
For more beginner-friendly spelt recipes, try my simple spelt bread recipe, vegan spelt naan, or spelt pancakes.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Flour: this recipe has been specifically developed with whole grain spelt flour. You could try replacing 50% with another whole grain flour like einkorn or emmer. If using light spelt, you will have to increase the amount of flour slightly.
- Milk: I haven’t tested this with dairy milk but it should work perfectly well as a substitute. I’m sure you could use buttermilk and omit the vinegar as well but again haven’t tested it.
- Vinegar: any type of vinegar will work. Use lemon juice if preferred.
- Honey: the type of honey used will change the flavour of the loaf slightly. This is a good recipe to use a very strong honey so that the taste comes through. Substitute maple syrup for a fully vegan recipe.
Step by Step
Step 1: mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Step 2: stir in the milk mixture to form a shaggy dough.
Step 3: shape into a round and cut a cross in the top.
Step 4: bake until golden brown and cool before serving.
Recipe Notes
Soda bread recipes made with butter will naturally be a little easier to work with if that’s what you’re used to, due to the solid fat content. Keep in mind that this is a whole grain soda bread recipe made with a lower-gluten flour and flour your work surface accordingly.
There is always some variation in terms of how much liquid different flour will absorb, even if it’s the same ‘type’. My whole grain spelt might not be quite the same as yours. If you’re an experienced baker you can adjust the recipe slightly to account for this – look to the step-by-step images above to see what the texture should look like. I tested this recipe in Denmark and Germany using both home-milled flour and store-bought.
How to Store
Storage: this stores surprisingly well for a quick bread and will keep for at least three days, depending on temperature and humidity levels, and still have a pleasant texture. Keep in a sealed container at room temperature. It starts to dry out after a couple of days.
Freezing: I find soda bread always gets a bit crumbly after thawing from frozen, so know that if you choose to freeze it. Transfer fully cooled slices to an airtight container or freeze the whole loaf for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature.
Expert Tips
- Don’t add more flour: especially if you’re using the metric measurements (which I always recommend) resist the urge to add more flour. It is a fairly wet dough but keep in mind that whole grain flour will absorb more water than sifted or white and that the dough needs to be wet in order to have a good oven spring and nice interior texture.
- Keep the vinegar: it’s necessary in order to react with the baking soda. If you omit the vinegar you will have an unpleasant taste to the loaf and it won’t rise as well.
- Cool before slicing: for the best texture, cool fully before slicing, at least a couple of hours. It tends to crumble when sliced too soon.
More Whole Grain Recipes
Whole Grain Einkorn Sourdough Bread
Rye and Spelt Seed Bread
Khorasan Pancakes
Overnight Emmer Bread
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Whole Grain Spelt Soda Bread
Description
Ingredients
- 400 ml (1 ⅔ cups) non-dairy milk or use dairy milk (untested)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 500 grams (3 ⅓ cups whole spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking sheet.
- Add the milk, vinegar, and honey to a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine, being sure to mix the honey in.400 ml (1 ⅔ cups) non-dairy milk, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk or stir to combine.500 grams (3 ⅓ cups whole spelt flour, 2 teaspoons sea salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula to form a shaggy dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with more flour. Shape the dough into a ball, then transfer to the baking sheet.
- Score the top with an X, cutting about ⅓ of the way into the loaf.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool fully on a wire rack before slicing and serving. You can cut it while still warm but it has a tendency to crumble.
- Store at room temperature for up to three days. Soda bread can be frozen but I find it rather dry and crumbly after thawing.
Notes
- Don’t add more flour: especially if you’re using the metric measurements (which I always recommend) resist the urge to add more flour. It is a fairly wet dough but keep in mind that whole grain flour will absorb more water than sifted or white and that the dough needs to be wet in order to have a good oven spring and nice interior texture.
- Keep the vinegar: it’s necessary in order to react with the baking soda. If you omit the vinegar you will have an unpleasant taste to the loaf and it won’t rise as well.
- Cool before slicing: for the best texture, cool fully before slicing, at least a couple of hours. It tends to crumble when sliced too soon.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.