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My infatuation with Irish soda bread continues with this easy whole wheat soda bread.
Maybe because it’s so quick, easy and satisfying to make, with none of the fussiness of yeast bread?
Maybe because I’m missing my dad, who’s roots were Irish?
Maybe because it’s St. Patrick’s Day?
This is Irish chef and Balleymaloe Cooking School Owner, Darina Allen’s, Easy Whole Wheat Soda Bread from her beautiful book, Easy Entertaining: Over 250 Stress-Free Recipes and Sensational Styling Ideas (affiliate link).
Recipe Notes
She calls it a modern version of soda bread, and it couldn’t be simpler. My kind of recipe for sure.
You just mix all the ingredients for this easy soda bread together, pour the mixture into a well-greased pan and bake for about one hour. Talk about the ultimate quick bread!
It keeps very well for several days and is also great toasted.
I also read somewhere that soda bread freezes well, so I wrapped several slices in wax paper, then foil, and placed them in a zippered freezer bag that I tucked into the freezer to save me from over-indulging in this delicious bread.
Now, I can enjoy a serving or two over the next several weeks, without having to bake an entire loaf.
This makes a nice big loaf that I like to cut into 12 thick slices that I then cut in half.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Whole Wheat Soda Bread?
According to my calculations, each thick half slice of bread has about 84 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
3 SmartPoints (Green plan)
3 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
3 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
2 PointsPlus (Old plan)
If you are looking for an easy whole wheat soda bread that doesn’t require gentle kneading and shaping into a round loaf, this is the recipe for you. Enjoy!
More favorite Weight Watchers Freestyle Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day
In this short video, Darina Allen demonstrates how she makes her Easy Irish Soda Bread:
If you’ve made this Wheat Soda Bread, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Darina Allen’s Easy Whole Wheat Soda Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups stone ground whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
- 1 large egg
- 1-1/2 tablespoons canola or sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 cups buttermilk, plus a little more if necessary
- Sunflower or sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Positon a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (affiliate link) well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt and baking soda until well blended.
- In another bowl, stir together the egg, oil, honey and buttermilk until well combined.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture. Mix well and add more buttermilk if necessary, to create a soft and slightly sloppy mixture.
- Pour into the greased pan.
- Sprinkle some sunflower or sesame seeds on top, if desired.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour or until the bread is browned and crusty and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. (For a softer crust, wrap in a clean dish towel before placing on the wire rack to cool.)
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 3 SmartPoints (Green plan) 3 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 3 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 2 PointsPlus (Old plan) Darina suggests that for a healthy seed bread, you can add to the dry ingredients 1 tablespoon each sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and cracked wheat, reserving a little bit of the mixture to scatter on top before baking. I used all white whole wheat flour with good results.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe source: Easy Entertaining: Over 250 Stress-Free Recipes and Sensational Styling Ideas (affiliate link) by Darina Allen
If you like this easy recipe for whole wheat soda bread, you might also like:
- Irish Soda Bread Muffins – quick, easy, healthy and delicious.
- Irish Brown Bread Recipe – simple and hearty with oats and wheat germ.
- White Irish Soda Bread Recipe – Plain and simple with just 4 ingredients.
This sounds delicious, but am I correct that a serving is less than an inch thick and just 2.5″ across? For a slice, would it be more like 5 to 7 points? That’s still a lot less than other quick bread recipes I can find, and I will definitely be making this. Thank you.
Yes, Lana, sad but true. Bread is “expensive” on WW Freestyle, though I think good homemade bread is worth it 🙂
I only just recently learned about Darina from out cooking group. Her recipes are spot on.
Like this healthier soda bread recipe in celebration of Darina Allen and St. Patrick’s Day.