Fruit Soda Bread Recipe

Fruit Soda Bread is a quick and easy teatime treat or snack. I love slices of this soft and light loaf spread with butter and sometimes jam too.

With no yeast, no proving, and no kneading, you can put it together in less than 10 minutes. And it bakes in just half an hour.

Fruit Soda Bread will keep fresh for two days or you can freeze it. You’ll also find it fantastic toasted and buttered on day two.

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As I wrote in my post about Cheese Soda Bread, it was only relatively recently that I perfected my recipe for soda bread. After some research and testing I found that this quick bread didn’t have to be weirdly hard AND unpleasantly gummy like my efforts of old. In fact, I discovered that by following a few simple yet important tips soda bread could be soft, light, and incredibly good.

So, here’s my second soda bread recipe. A lightly sweet Fruit Soda Bread that’s quicker to get on the table than cake or sweet tea breads but is just as good.

WHAT IS SODA BREAD?

For those of you entirely new to soda bread, here’s a quick lesson in what exactly it is.

Soda breads are known as quick breads. That’s because they don’t contain the yeast found in traditional breads and so don’t require any proving time.

Instead of yeast, soda breads rise due to a chemical reaction between bicarbonate of soda (which is alkaline) and an acidic liquid such as yogurt, buttermilk, or regular milk mixed with lemon juice or white vinegar. This reaction creates a gas which causes the dough to rise.

Because it doesn’t contain yeast, soda bread has a different texture to yeasted breads. It’s actually more cake-like which I think makes it perfect for Fruit Soda Bread.

MY 3 TIPS FOR THE PERFECT SODA BREAD

Whether you’re making sweet, savoury, or plain soda bread, my simple but important tips for getting perfectly light, fluffy, and tender results are unchanging.

1. Work fast. As soon as you mix the soda with liquid, it will start working. So put your skates on and get the bread into the oven within a few minutes.

2. Handle the dough as lightly as possible. Kneading will make the bread tougher, not lighter, so don’t do it. In my soda bread recipes, we don’t touch the dough with our hands at all.

3. Mix the ingredients well. It’s important that you thoroughly mix the bicarbonate of soda with the liquid and throughout the dough. Otherwise, you might get an unpleasant metallic taste or even discoloured patches (albeit harmless) in the finished bread.

INGREDIENTS FOR FRUIT SODA BREAD

As the steps go very quickly, start by having all your ingredients weighed out, prepped and ready to go.

• Flour. For my Fruit Soda Bread I use one third wholemeal and two thirds white flour. I like the extra flavour wholemeal brings and you could replace some of the white with more if you like. However, wholemeal flour does make a flatter soda bread. Alternatively, you could use all white. Note that it’s ordinary plain flour you’ll need: strong bread flour isn’t suitable for soda breads.
• Bicarbonate of soda. Raising agents can lose their power quickly once opened. If yours has been open for more than six months, even if it’s within the Best Before date, consider buying a fresh pack. To ensure you don’t use too much, swipe the blunt edge of a knife across a teaspoonful to remove excess.
• Salt. As with most sweet bakes, I add just a pinch to round out the flavours.

• Dried fruit. I make up my own mix of sultanas, raisins, and currants, but any dried is fine. If you have time, I recommend pouring over boiling water from a kettle and leaving the fruit to plump up while you do the rest of the prep. Make sure to drain well before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
• Sugar. As we’re making bread rather than a cake, I don’t like my Fruit Soda Bread too sweet. However, I do think it benefits from a little caster sugar.
• Yogurt and milk. I find that a 50:50 mix of plain yogurt and milk, stirred together, makes the best soda bread. As well as providing the acidic element needed to get the bicarbonate of soda working, the combination makes a particularly light and fluffy bread (as well as excellent Classic Sultana Scones and Very Cheesy Cheese Scones. Although buttermilk is traditionally used, it’s not always easy to find. It’s also more expensive. Alternatively, you could use a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar mixed with 250ml of milk, left at room temperature for 10 minutes, but note that the result may not be exactly the same.

You may see some soda bread recipes that include eggs and butter. But I think these are unnecessary and take it too far into the realms of cake rather than bread.

EASY STEPS TO FRUIT SODA BREAD

You’ll find a detailed recipe card at the end of this post. If you’re ready to cook now, then Jump to Recipe. Otherwise, read on for a step-by-step guide with images.

Before you get started, preheat your oven with a shelf positioned in the middle. To avoid the bread sticking, line a baking tray with baking paper and sprinkle it with a little flour.

STEP 1.

The first step is to combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. To make sure they’re evenly mixed, I stir them together then sift into a large bowl.

Next, the sugar and dried fruit are stirred.

STEP 2.

You then make a well in the centre and pour in approximately three quarters of the yogurt and milk. Different flours absorb different amounts of liquid so you may or may not need all of that suggested in the recipe.

The important thing is that you create the correct dough texture. It should be quite sticky and shaggy but still hold its shape. Use a plastic spatula or spoon to bring everything together, adding more liquid as needed.

Work fast but mix very thoroughly: if there’s any bits of bicarbonate of soda left unmixed with the liquid then, once baked, it will give an unpleasant metallic taste to the bread.

STEP 3.

Now scrape the dough onto the middle of the floured baking paper on your prepared baking tray.

Use a palette knife or similar, dipped in flour, to pat and shape the dough into a round that’s approximately 14 centimetres in diameter.

STEP 4.

Take a sharp knife, dipped in flour, and cut a deep cross into the dough but don’t go all the way through. This should ensure the middle of your soda bread gets properly cooked.

If there’s any of the yogurt and milk mixture left over, I brush it over the dough as a glaze.

STEP 5.

Immediately put in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes.  Your Fruit Soda Bread should be well risen, dark golden in colour and sound hollow when you tap it on its base.

If, like mine, your oven cooks a little unevenly, turn the tray around after 15 minutes.

SERVING FRUIT SODA BREAD

While it’s tempting to dig in straight away, I think the texture is much nicer if the bread is left until cool or even cold.

Slice through the crust and you should have a light and fluffy crumb studded with juicy dried fruit. I bet you won’t be able to resist eating a piece straightaway!

My favourite way to eat Fruit Soda Bread is the same as my Classic Sultana Scones: sliced and thickly buttered. As an extra treat, I slather on some Homemade Strawberry Jam or Apple Butter too.

You may have heard that soda bread should be eaten on the day of making as it stales quickly, although it can be frozen. However, I’ve found that stored in a polythene bag, my soda breads are still light and fluffy the next day. I think you’ll love it toasted and buttered as well.

Once upon a time, I couldn’t see the attraction of soda bread. But now I’ve perfected my light and fluffy versions, I’m making them (both sweet and savoury) all the time.

With such a quick and simple recipe, it would be fun to start being a little creative. Try soaking the fruit in different flavoured teas, or throw in some citrus zest, spices, or chopped nuts.

HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE? LEAVE A COMMENT & DON’T FORGET TO RATE IT.

5 from 2 votes

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Fruit Soda Bread

A quick and easy, light and fruity soda bread. Delicious sliced and buttered, great toasted too.

For a well risen Fruit Soda Bread, work quickly and don't handle the dough too much.

Course Snack, Bread, Cake

Cuisine British, European, Scottish, Irish, English

Keyword no knead bread, easy, quick bread, fruit bread

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 8

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 100 g mixed dried fruit e.g. sultanas, raisins, currants
• 125 ml plain yogurt see Recipe Note 1
• 125 ml milk see Recipe Note 1
• 200 g plain white flour see Recipe Note 2
• 100 g plain wholemeal flour see Recipe Note 2
• 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda see Recipe Note 3
• 1 pinch salt
• 50 g caster sugar

Instructions

1. To make the dried fruit plumper, pour over boiling water from a kettle and leave to soak while you prepare the other ingredients. Drain thoroughly.

2. Preheat your oven to 200c / 180 Fan / Gas 6 with a shelf in the middle position.

   Line a baking tray with baking paper and sprinkle it with flour.

3. Stir together the yogurt and milk.

4. Stir together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

   Sift it into a large mixing bowl.

5. Stir the dried fruit and sugar into the flour.

6. Note: from this step until you put the bread in the oven it's important to work quickly. The bicarbonate of soda is activated as soon as it's mixed with the liquid so try to get it in the oven within 3-4 minutes.

   Make a well in the centre of the flour then pour approximately 3/4 of the yogurt and milk mixture into it.

   Stir to combine into a sticky, ragged dough which still holds its shape, adding more of the liquid as needed. You may not need all the liquid, but make sure there are no dry bits of flour as this can affect the taste and even the colour of the finished loaf. See blog images as a guide to how the dough should look.

7. Scrape the dough onto the middle of the baking paper.

   Use a palette knife or similar, dipped in flour, to push the dough into a circle approximately 14 cm in diameter.

   Dip a sharp knife in flour and cut a deep cross into the dough without going all the way through.

   Optional: If you have any of the yogurt and milk left over, brush it over the top of the bread as a glaze.

8. Immediately put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes (turn around halfway through if your oven cooks unevenly) or until the bread is risen, deep golden in colour and sounds hollow when tapped underneath.

9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before slicing and serving spread with butter plus jam if liked.

   Best eaten within 2 days or can be frozen. Excellent toasted and spread with butter on the second day.

Recipe Notes

Note #1 Liquid. To activate the bicarbonate of soda which causes the bread to rise, the liquid needs to be acidic. I get best results using half plain yogurt and half whole milk. However, you can replace this with buttermilk OR 1 tablespoon of lemon juice stirred into milk and left for 10 minutes.

Note #2 Flour. You can replace more of the white flour with wholemeal if you prefer, but your soda bread will not rise as much. Do not use bread flour for soda bread, only plain flour.

Note #3 Bicarbonate of Soda. Do not use products labelled baking powder for soda bread, only bicarbonate of soda (or baking soda in the US). If your pack has been open for more than 6 months, even if it's within the Best Before date, it's probably best to replace it. Don't be tempted to use more than stated in the recipe: level a teaspoonful by drawing the flat edge of a knife across it to remove excess.

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