Oatmeal Irish Soda Bread
Oatmeal Irish soda bread is a hearty, everyday loaf made with rolled oats, honey, and dried apricots. Leavened with baking soda rather than yeast, it has a sturdy crumb and a deeper, more savory flavor than traditional white soda bread.
If you’re looking for a more traditional soda bread or brown bread, you can find those recipes here as well. But if you’re in the mood to try something a little different, this oatmeal version is worth a look.
If you keep a sourdough starter, you can make Sourdough Irish Soda Bread or Sourdough Irish Brown Bread with your discard.
Recipe Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: Lightens the crumb and keeps the bread from becoming too heavy.
- Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: This recipe uses a mix of all-purpose flour and rolled oats for a balance of structure and flavor. The oats add texture and flavor to the bread.
- Dried Apricots: The bright flavor of dried apricots works well with the earthy oats. Other dried fruits can be substituted if you prefer.
- Honey: This is not a very sweet bread, but a touch of honey adds flavor and moisture to the loaf.
Got sourdough discard?
This oatmeal soda bread can also be made with sourdough discard. The bread is still leavened with baking soda — the discard adds flavor, not fermentation.
See the recipe card notes for the exact substitutions.
How to Make Oatmeal Irish Soda Bread
Here’s what the recipe process looks like at each stage. Refer to the recipe card below for measurements and exact instructions.
- Work the butter into the dry ingredients then add the chopped apricots.
- Add the wet ingredients all at once.
- Mix until most of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball.
- Transfer the loaf to a parchment lined sheet pan. Cut a deep X onto the surface.
- Brush the loaf with buttermilk and sprinkle with oats.
- Bake until well-risen, golden brown and the interior temperature is 200F. Cool completely before slicing.
Tips for making Oatmeal Soda Bread
- This dough is so easy to make you don’t need a mixer. Mixing by hand helps ensure that you won’t over work and toughen the dough.
- The dough can be a little sticky. If your hands get coated with the sticky dough don’t try to wash it off with water, it’ll just get stickier and leave a mess in the sink. Dip your hands into the flour bin to coat them. Holding your hands over the trash can, rub them together vigorously and the sticky dough will come off easily.
- Cutting a deep X in the top of the loaf before it goes in the oven ensures that it will rise evenly without splitting in random places.
- If the apricots on the surface of the dough burn in the oven, just pick them off (careful, they’re hot) when the bread comes out of the oven.
Storage
Oatmeal Soda Bread is best the day it’s baked, but will keep at room temperature for 2-3 days. Do not refrigerate. Soda Bread can be frozen as a loaf or pre-sliced.
Oatmeal soda bread with apricots is quick to make and easy to enjoy any time of year.
More Irish Inspired Recipes
- Honey Kissed Irish Whiskey Cake
- Irish Brown Bread
- Baileys Pot de Creme
- Baileys Bundt Cakes
- Baileys Cheesecake
- Baileys Chocolate Macarons
- Guinness Fudge Cake
- Triple Guinness Cake
- Irish Tea Brack
- Irish Apple Cake
- Irish Coffee Trifle
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Oatmeal Soda Bread with Apricots
Ingredients
- 15 ounces all purpose flour (3 cups, see note)
- 3 ½ ounces old fashioned rolled oats (1 cup)
- 1 ounce granulated sugar (2 tablespoons)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ounces unsalted butter (¼ cup)
- 6 ounces dried apricots (about 25, diced into ½" bits)
- 12 ounces buttermilk (1 ½ cups)
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ ounces honey (2 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F. Line a ½ sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine 15 ounces all purpose flour, 3 ½ ounces old fashioned rolled oats, 1 ounce granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Work 2 ounces unsalted butter into the flour with your fingers until there are no lumps larger than a pea. Toss 6 ounces dried apricots (diced) into the dry ingredients to disperse.
- Combine 12 ounces buttermilk, 1 large egg and 1 ½ ounces honey and whisk to combine. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk into the well and mix with a wooden spoon until almost all the dry ingredients are absorbed.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead about 5-10 times until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a large ball and place it on the prepared sheet pan. Flatten the top a little then cut a ½-¾" deep X onto the top of the loaf. Brush the loaf with some more buttermilk and sprinkle with oats.
- Bake 45-50 minutes. The loaf is done when you tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow and the surface is golden brown Internal temperature should be about 200 °F.
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I love Soda bread looking forward to trying
Definitely worth baking . Try a slice with a slice of sharp cheddar, delicious.
Very nice recipes. I will try them. Thank you for sharing.
This bread looks heavenly! I love the addition of apricots!
Thanks, Andrea.