Best Whole Wheat Soda Bread Recipes

100% WHOLE WHEAT IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• In a big mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
• Cut in butter until it reaches a coarse meal consistency. (I started with two knives, then finished the process with my fingers.).
• Add raisins.
• Combine liquids separately. Add liquids to dry ingredients.
• Mix until a soft dough forms. At some point it will become hard to stir it, and it will be better to use your hands. Kneading the dough is the best way to combine all the ingredients completely -- knead it gently until it is smooth (about 3 minutes). You can knead it right there in the mixing bowl.
• Shape the dough into two balls, and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten each ball slightly and cut an X about 1/4" deep in the top of each loaf.
• Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD WITH RAISINS (SPOTTED DOG)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment. In a large bowl, mix together flours, soda, salt and brown sugar. Swish mixture around with your hands to distribute salt and soda through the bread. Add raisins and toss mixture together to coat raisins with flour.
• Beat egg and place in a measuring cup. Add buttermilk; the liquid in the cup should measure about 1 3/4 cups.
• Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour egg/buttermilk mixture into the well. Working from the center of the bowl in concentric clockwise circles, with fingers outstretched, stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture. (You can use a rubber spatula instead if you don't like getting dough on your hands.) This should take about a half a minute at most. Dough will be sticky and ragged.
• Dust your work surface with flour, clean and dry your hands and dust with flour. Scrape out dough and very quickly and gently pat it into a 1 1/2- to 2-inch-high round and tuck the bottom edges under. (Alternatively, place in a lightly buttered 10-inch round cake pan.) Place on parchment-covered baking sheet. Moisten a knife and cut a deep cross across top of bread.
• Place in oven and immediately turn the heat down to 400 degrees. Bake 40 minutes, until the loaf is dark brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped. Remove from oven, wrap loosely in a kitchen towel (to soften the crust) and place on a rack to cool.

IRISH WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or an 8- or 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
• Sift whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together until well combined. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough that's firm enough to hold its shape.
• Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and velvety, 2 to 3 minutes. It will seem very crumbly for a while until everything gets incorporated.
• Form into a round loaf and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Cut a cross on the top of the loaf with a very sharp, floured knife. (The cross is a characteristic of soda bread.)
• Bake in the preheated oven until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when you tap on it, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

WHOLE WHEAT IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Mix milk and lemon.
• Combine dry ingredients.
• Add milk and lemon mixture (buttermilk may be used instead).
• On floured bread board (I use whole wheat) knead dough for no more than a minute.
• Shape dough into a circle with a height of about two inches.
• Place on lightly oiled baking sheet.
• With (sharp) floured knife, cut an x nearly halfway through the dough.
• Bake about 40 minutes in 400F degrees degree oven.
• Dough should sound hollow when tapped with knuckles or handle of spoon.
• Place loaf on wire rack and let rest at least an hour before slicing.

WHOLE WHEAT IRISH SODA BREAD WITH BULGUR

Steps:

• Place the bulgur in a bowl and pour on 1 cup boiling water, or enough to cover the bulgur by about 1/2 inch. Cover the bowl and allow the bulgur to sit for 30 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed and the grains are tender.
• Meanwhile preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Place the flour in a large, wide bowl and sift in the baking soda and salt. Mix in with your hands or with a wide spatula. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the buttermilk. Add the bulgur to the well, then mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl to the center using a wide rubber spatula, a wide wooden spoon or your hands, turning the bowl and sweeping the flour from the sides into the buttermilk. Mix until the bulgur and buttermilk have been incorporated into the flour, then scrape out onto a lightly floured work surface. The dough should be soft and a bit sticky. Flour your hands so it won't stick to them.
• Gently knead the dough, only enough to shape it into a ball, then with floured hands gently pat it down to a 2-inch high round, about 9 inches in diameter. Place it on the parchment-lined baking sheet and cut a 1/2-inch deep cross across the top.
• Place in the oven and bake 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Turn down the heat to 375 degrees and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf responds with a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Remove from the oven, wrap loosely in a cloth or kitchen towel, and cool on a rack.

CARAWAY WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Grease 9-inch cake pan. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk to blend. Whisk buttermilk, oil and egg in small bowl to blend. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Gently knead dough on floured surface until smooth. Gather into ball. Place in prepared pan, flattening to 1 inch high. Cut double cross in dough, cutting 1/3 inch deep. Bake until light brown, about 40 minutes. Cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

WHOLE WHEAT IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly to distribute the soda and baking powder, then add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough, similar in quality to biscuit dough but firm enough to hold its shape. Knead on a lightly floured board, for 2 to 3 minutes, until quite smooth and velvety. Form into a round loaf and place in a greased 8-inch cake pan or on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Cut a cross on the top of the loaf with a very sharp floured knife. Bake in a preheated 375°F (190°C) oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until loaf is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped. (The cross will have spread open, which is characteristic of soda bread.) Let the loaf cool before slicing very thin, soda bread must never be cut thick. Makes 1 (8-inch) loaf. Variation: For white soda bread, use 4 cups all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached, and the same amounts of salt and baking powder called for in the master recipe, but decrease the baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon. Otherwise, the bread is prepared in exactly the same way as in the master recipe.

WHOLE WHEAT BROWN SUGAR SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Prehart oven to 350 degrees; grease a baking sheet and set aside.
• Combine the flours, brown sugar,baking powder, salt, soda and caraway seeds in a food processor and pluse 2 times just to blend.
• Add butter and pluse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Pour in buttermilk and pluse JUST to combine.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board, knead 3 or 4 times and shape into a ball.
• Place dough on prepared baking sheet.
• Using a serrated knife, make an X on the top of the bread; sprinkle with caraway seeds, if desired.
• Bakefor 55 minutes to 1 hour until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing; serve with butter.

WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD WITH DRIED PEARS AND ANISE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter heavy large baking sheet. Place 4 teaspoons aniseed in small sealable plastic bag; close bag. Using mallet, pound seeds until coarsely crushed. Combine crushed aniseed and anisette liqueur in small bowl.
• Stir both flours, oats, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, molasses and melted butter in medium bowl. Whisk in anisette mixture. Make well in center of dry ingredients. Pour buttermilk mixture into well; stir until blended. Mix in pears (dough will be dense and moist).
• Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead gently until dough comes together and pear pieces are well distributed, about 2 minutes. Cut dough in half. Form each half into 6-inch round. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Using sharp knife, cut 1/2-inch-deep cross in center of each round.
• Bake until bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped and tester inserted into center of bread comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer to racks. Cool completely. (Can be made ahead; wrap in foil and store at room temperature 1 day or freeze up to 2 weeks. Thaw bread; rewarm wrapped in foil in 350°F. oven about 15 minutes, if desired.)

WHOLE-WHEAT SODA BREAD WITH RAISINS (SPOTTED DOG) BY MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment. In a large bowl, mix together flours, soda, salt and brown sugar. Swish mixture around with your hands to distribute salt and soda through the bread. Add raisins and toss mixture together to coat raisins with flour. 2. Beat egg and place in a measuring cup. Add buttermilk; the liquid in the cup should measure about 1 3/4 cups. 3. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour egg/buttermilk mixture into the well. Working from the center of the bowl in concentric clockwise circles, with fingers outstretched, stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture. (You can use a rubber spatula instead if you don't like getting dough on your hands.) This should take about a half a minute at most. Dough will be sticky and ragged. 4. Dust your work surface with flour, clean and dry your hands and dust with flour. Scrape out dough and very quickly and gently pat it into a 1 1/2- to 2-inch-high round and tuck the bottom edges under. (Alternatively, place in a lightly buttered 10-inch round cake pan.) Place on parchment-covered baking sheet. Moisten a knife and cut a deep cross across top of bread. 5. Place in oven and immediately turn the heat down to 400 degrees. Bake 40 minutes, until the loaf is dark brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped. Remove from oven, wrap loosely in a kitchen towel (to soften the crust) and place on a rack to cool. Yield: 1 large loaf (about 16 slices)

WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, salt and baking soda.
• Using your fingertips, work the softened butter into the flour mixture.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg.
• Add the buttermilk to the egg; mix well.
• Make a well in the flour and add most of the buttermilk/egg mixture - reserving about 1/4 cup.
• Use your hands to combine the dry and wet ingredients until it forms a loose dough.
• If the dough will not come together, add some or all of the remaining buttermilk/egg mixture.
• On a well-floured surface, turn out the dough.
• Sprinkle the dough with flour and shape it into a 7-8 inch circle.
• Flatten it slightly with the tips of your fingers.
• Place the loaf on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper).
• Score (criss-cross) the top of the loaf with a bread knife, cutting about 1/4 inch deep, and making three cuts in one direction and 3 more cuts crossing them.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F.
• Reduce the heat to 400 F and continue baking another 20 minutes.
• If you have an instant read thermometer, insert it halfway into the bottom of the loaf.
• The thermometer should read 190/195 F when baked.
• Let cool for 15 minutes; then serve.

SESAME WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the first 5 dry ingredients EXCEPT for 1/3 cup of the white flour.
• Add the butter, cut into bits, and cut into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
• Add oats and sesame seeds and mix again.
• Add the buttermilk gradually.
• Stir until it all forms a ball.
• Turn the dough out on a floured surface.
• Knead in the reserved white flour, as much as needed to make a soft dough.
• Divide dough into fourths.
• Shape each quarter into a round mini-loaf and flatten just a bit.
• Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange mini loaves.
• Cut the top of each loaf with a shallow "x".
• If you wish, you may brush the tops with more buttermilk and sprinkle with more sesame seeds.
• Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.
• Cool and serve.

LUSH WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a heavy cookie sheet or rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. Sift the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Drop in the chunks of butter and, using a pastry blender or two round-bladed table knives, cut the fat into the flour mixture until reduced to flakes and pea-size bits. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and stir to form a dough. It will be moist and come together in large patches. Collect, gather, and form into a mass that adheres to itself with your hands. Note that the dough should be mixed only to shape and form, as actual kneading results in a dense-textured crumb. Transfer dough to a work surface sprinkled with the wheat bran. Gently smooth and roll the dough into a well-domed sphere measuring 5 to 5-1/2 inches in diameter, allowing it to take up a light coating of the bran; the bran will adhere to the dough randomly. Place the dough ball in the center of the baking pan. With a small sharp knife, cut a 4 by 4-inch cross on top of the bread, no more than 1/4 inch deep. A deeper, longer cross will allow the loaf to bake out of shape - if this happens, reduce the baking time by about 4 minutes, as the dough will widen a little more during early baking - the bread, however, will still be delicious. Bake the bread for 40 minutes, or until set. The baked bread will sound hollow when gently tapped on the bottom with the long handle of a wooden spoon. Since the unbaked dough is somewhat dark to begin with, you will see ruddier patches on all four quadrants created by the cross-slashing. Let the bread stand on the baking pan for 2 minutes, then remove it to a cooling rack. Serve barely warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container.

WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD

Steps:

• preheat oven to 375F. Grease baking sheet (I cover with foil) Combine all-purpose flour, sugar and salt. Mix well. Cut in butter with fork, or pastry blender Stir in whole-wheat flour and rolled oats. Pour in buttermilk all at once. Mix with fork until well blended. Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead 1 minute. Shape into a ball and set on baking sheet. press into a 6-inch circle. Cut a cross in the top. Bake 40 minutes or until well browned and sounds hollow when tapped.