Spelt Irish Soda Bread

Easy and flavorful spelt soda bread recipe made with brown sugar, yogurt, beer, nuts, and raisins. For convenience, I use baking soda to help the dough instantly rise.

You can’t serve corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day without thick slices of Irish soda bread! The recipe is seriously the easiest loaf you will ever make as there’s no yeast which means no waiting for it to proof. All you have to do is mix, knead, shape, bake, and devour!

This version switches up the traditional recipe by adding a little sweetness, nuttiness, and boozy notes. Guinness adds richness and depth to each bite. Your hungry guests won’t even realize the difference in texture, and you’ll look like a superstar pulling out a warm crusty loaf from the oven, just as the timer for the corned beef summons.

How does the bread rise without yeast?

Irish soda bread is a type of quick bread, similar to buttermilk biscuits or muffins. There is no proofing like allowing the yeast to ferment and produce gas bubbles to help the bread rise. Instead, it uses baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) as a leavening agent.

The baking soda reacts with liquid from the beer and acid in the yogurt creating carbon dioxide gas bubbles, similar to yeast fermentation. The hot oven temperatures help the reaction occur rapidly, and the proteins in the dough set and lock in those bubbles for soft and tender bread.

What is spelt flour?

Spelt flour is a species of wheat, triticum spelta that can be ground into whole-grain flour with a nutty, sweet flavor, without any bitterness. It’s also high in protein and fiber, but when added to baked goods isn’t too heavy, yielding soft and tender products.

In this recipe, the flavor of the spelt flour complements the walnuts, fruit, and bitterness of the beer. Spelt has a moderate amount of gluten-forming potential, so it works great in baking applications or blended with other flours.

Can you use different types of flour?

If spelt flour is not stocked in your pantry, you can use other types of flour like all-purpose, white whole wheat, whole wheat flour, rye, and even gluten-free flour. You can also try blending various types of flour together to create a lighter taste and texture.

When substituting, just note that flours with more bran tend to soak up more water, and the opposite for the more refined varieties. Adjust the dough with more or less flour as you work and knead the dough.

Yogurt creates a tastier bread

This recipe uses yogurt to deliver a more complex flavored acidity from the probiotic fermentation in the dairy. The acids help to activate the baking soda, forming bubbles in the dough. It also provides more creaminess from the fat in the milk, making the bread more tender.

You can substitute buttermilk, however, you may need to add more flour due to the consistency being less thick compared to yogurt.

Beer works wonders for quickbread

Adding Guinness or any type of stout beer to the bread mix gives an amazing roasted flavor with a slightly bitter note. To balance that bitterness, there’s a touch of brown sugar in the mix. The effervescence from the stout, plus the reaction of the baking soda and acidity in the yogurt with liquid, makes the bread light and tender while helping the loaf rise.

Switch it up by adding nuts and fruit

Traditional Irish soda bread can be simply made with hints of licorice from caraway seeds or more savory like my bacon Irish soda bread. In this recipe fruit and nuts add interesting bursts of flavor and texture.

I use chopped walnuts, but pecans would make a lovely addition. Raisins add a slight tartness and sweetness, I use a mix of golden and Thompson varieties. Currants or dried cherries are nice swaps too. When the first slice of bread is cut, it reveals these attractive bits as an intriguing surprise.

Knowing when the bread is ready

Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness in the thickest part of the loaf. When the internal temperature reaches 180°F (82ºC), the bread is ready. Also, give the bottom of the loaf a quick tap to hear if it sounds hollow.

Irish recipes you might also like

• Guinness Beef Stew
• Instant Pot Corned Beef
• Shepherd’s Pie