Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread {Yeast Free, Lightened Up}

Your favorite, classic Irish Soda Bread only lightened up and made a little healthier!

St. Patricks Day is coming up so I decided to search for Irish Soda Bread Recipes and immediately became intimidated.   I haven't had the best experiences in the past with making my own breads.  

Then I found this one on allrecipes.com and it had the word "easy" in the title and I was intrigued.   This recipe didn't require yeast (which also intimidates me) and  I decided to make it healthier.

Full disclosure, I am not a huge bread lover. But I do have fond memories of eating homemade Irish Soda Bread around St. Patrick's Day.

Even though my mother was 100% Italian, she made it every year for our family (my father is 100% Irish!).

Let's be honest, you don't have to be Irish to love Irish soda bread.

Am I right?

I always try to recreate what foods I remember my mother making as a child. She left us when I was only 15 so I don't have that many memories.

But what I do remember, I try to recreate in a healthier version. It makes me happy to share these foods (and memories) with my kids.

I love toasting a thin slice and then melting Kerrygold butter on top. By the way, Kerrygold is an Irish butter that is my favorite by far.

It's velvety smooth and melts perfectly every single time. It used to be hard to find but now it's in all the grocery stores.

My mother would use this for sandwiches and even French toast which was always fun. I bet this would also be incredible in my Overnight French Toast Casserole.

Now, that's a great idea!

I love creating recipes that taste just as delicious as the original but are also lightened up and healthier. Now back to how I do this...

I used whole wheat pastry flour to add some fiber to this bread.  I also cut the sugar in half since I added some raisins, which add natural sweetness.  

I also substituted plain Greek yogurt for some of the buttermilk who adds protein and reduces the fat.

I still used buttermilk though, even though I cut it down. Buttermilk gives homemade bread a wonderful consistency.

I tried omitting it completely and wasn't satisfied with the final product.

Lastly, I used my favorite, good old coconut oil instead of butter and it came together beautifully.   If you love Irish Soda Bread, why not try this healthier one?  

I mean, everyone is Irish on St. Patricks Day, right?

By the way, feel free to keep the butter in this recipe if you don't have coconut oil. I like to cut back in dairy which is why I used the coconut oil, but butter still works great in this recipe too.

The raisins are also optional. It's all about your personal preference. We like the raisins over here in the Kelly house, except my middle guy who will literally sit there for 15 minutes picking them out.

Whatever makes you happy, little dude.

Personally I like the added sweetness and texture. But you can also cut back to ¼ cup raisins if you'd like.

And go nuts wasting your time picking out those little pieces of raisins....sigh...

Irish Soda Bread

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Author: Lauren Kelly

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unrefined sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅓ cup coconut oil softened
• ▢ ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ▢ ½ cup reduced fat organic buttermilk
• ▢ 1 egg beaten
• ▢ ½ cup rasins
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
• ▢ ¼ cup reduced fat organic buttermilk

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet or pizza stone with flour.
• In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• Add melted coconut oil, yogurt, buttermilk and egg and mix well.
• Pour batter onto floured pizza stone or floured surface. Knead for 5-8 minutes adding raisins at the end.
• In a small bowl, combine melted coconut oil and ¼ cu buttermilk. Stir well.
• Cut a cross shape into batter. Brush the coconut oil/buttermilk mixture on top.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Brush remaining coconut oil/buttermilk mixture on top of bread.
• Bake another 20-25 minutes until completely cooked.

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Adapted from allrecipes.com

I know it might sound weird to some, but this tastes AMAZING with peanut butter on it. But then again, everything tastes delicious with peanut butter.

Or my good old faithful, Kerrygold butter.

But you guys know I could spread peanut butter on just about anything and be happy. Right there along side peanut butter is it's BFF almond butter.

Man, give me some natural crunchy almond butter with salt and I am one happy lady.

I love this bread when it's fresh out of the oven and the outside is warm and crusty and the tender and soft inside. Note that this bread doesn't use any yeast at all.

I know many bakers who love using yeast when they bake, but for me it never comes out right.

But then again, I am not a true experienced baker. That could be the problem right there.

Therefore, I wanted to simplify this recipe even more and leave the yeast out entirely. The texture was still perfect.

It's a little dense, but not particularly heavy.

If you are looking for some more St. Patricks Day treats here are some Easy Pretzel Shamrocks or some Shamrock Quesadillas.  Try them and let me know what you think.  

I mean, how cute are these Pretzel Shamrocks?

They are ridiculously simple to prepare, even your little ones can make them! I like recipes like this that kids can feel independent and do most of the work themselves.

In my opinion, it's never too early to get our little ones in the kitchen.

And who doesn't love a portion controlled, sweet and salty treat?

Here are some other healthy, homemade bread recipes I thought you might like:

Healthy Soft Seed Sandwich Bread from Ambitious Kitchen

The Easiest Whole Grain Vegan Seeded Bread from Minimalist Baker

Homemade Dairy Free Honey Whole Wheat Bread from Joy Food Sunshine

Please come back and let me know if you made any of the recipes I shared today, including my delicious Irish Soda Bread! I love hearing from you!

Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!