Here is a savory quick bread filled with bold flavors. Sharp cheddar, fresh green onions and nigella seeds create a wonderful blend of flavors and colors. This is an easy bread to make at home and perfect to serve anytime, be it breakfast or dinner.
Soda breads are easy to make quick breads. It is called a soda bread as the leavening used is baking soda/powder. Compared to yeasted breads the chances of making mistakes are minute with these recipes. Not only is it less time consuming, but beginner friendly as well.
Another point in favor of this particular recipe is that it is high in flavor. The crusty outside and the soft and colorful inside makes for a satisfying combination. In other words, you are not going to miss the yeast here.
The recipe is fairly simple and straight forward. There is flour, baking soda, the seasonings, and buttermilk.
Cheddar and the green onions bring more moisture to the bread. Since these flavorings are moist take extra care not to knead the dough unnecessarily.
Flour
Since it is soda bread all purpose flour works well here. But if you have only bread flour that will work too. Cake flour, on the other hand, will not be a good idea.
Baking Soda
Baking Soda is what makes this bread soft and airy. Make sure that your baking soda is active. I am using only ½ Tsp here, so it is important that the soda is of good quality.
Buttermilk
Baking soda needs an acid to activate it. Buttermilk is the traditional ingredient of choice here. But you can use other acidic ingredients as well – specifically yogurt or diluted lemon juice. Buttermilk being a dairy product adds more body and depth of flavors to the bread.
Flavorings
Cheddar and green onions bring a wonderful contrast of colors to this bread. The bright specks of orange and green is a lovely sight as you cut into this loaf. I add nigella seeds as it is a great complement to and intensifies the oniony flavors.
You could use shredded or chopped cheddar. The only thing to remember is not to chop the cheese and the onions too fine. If they turn into a paste as the bread bakes the texture is not going to be pleasing.
Optionally you can add a tsp of crushed red pepper to add a bit of heat and color to the recipe.
It is such an easy and simple recipe that you will make it again and again. So when St.Patrick’s day rolled in we made this for breakfast – and well for dinner. Trust me it pairs well with omelets as well as roasts.
Cheddar and Green Onion Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 3 C All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda (Notes)
- ¾ Tsp Fine sea salt
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 C shredded sharp cheddar
- ¾ C Chopped scallions only the green parts
- 1 Tsp Nigella seeds
- 1 – 1 1/4 C Buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Line a baking tin/ cookie sheet with parchment paper or coat the pan with oil.
- Mix flour, salt, baking soda, and the sugar together. Add the cheddar, scallions and nigella seeds to it and mix well. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and gently mix until all the flour is moistened and begin to stick together.
- Use your hands and gently knead the dough into a ball shape. (If the bowl is not large enough dump the dough out onto a floured work surface.) if the dough is too sticky dust the hands with flour to prevent the prevent it from sticking.
- Pat the ball into 6 to 8 inch disc. Use a sharp knife to mark an X on top. Place in the heated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the tops are lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven. Cool in pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 20 to 30 minutes (barely warm) before slicing.
Video
Notes
Important: Nutrition Values are estimates. Actuals vary based on ingredients and serving size.
Tony Kincl
Tuesday 19th of April 2022
Delicious. So easy to make. A big hit with everyone at the table. I used 1 1/2 teaspoons soda as suggested and it rose nicely. I used a Mexican cheese mix just because I had it and it worked great. Will try next time with better cheese because I’m sure it would be even better. May thy to make with jalapeño instead of green onions because I like that combo as well. Seems like a good base for many combinations. Maybe some bacon or ham mixed in? Can’t wait to make again. Super good left over toasted with some butter.
Jolie
Tuesday 30th of March 2021
Wonderful flavor however 1/2 teaspoon baking soda is not enough to make it rise so it was a bit dense. Normal Irish soda bread has one to two teaspoons of baking soda to react with the buttermilk. Will add more next time.
Syama
Tuesday 30th of March 2021
Hi Jolie, I tend to use less soda as in this recipe the mix-ins play key roles. Freshness of soda also matters. Adding more than 1/2 tsp of soda per cup of flour will leave an after taste. So maybe increase it next time to 1 or 1 1/2 Tsp. That said, you do have a point and I will note that in the recipe. Thank you for letting me know. Syama.