Molasses Oatmeal Soda Bread

A loaf of crusty, chewy, molasses oatmeal soda bread is ready from start to finish in about 1 hour!

Course bread, Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword soda bread, soda bread recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings slices

Calories 247kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

4 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ cups whole buttermilk, well shaken (plus extra for brushing the top)
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
2 tablespoons molasses
Garnish: additional old-fashioned oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, or sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet; set aside. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can use a large baking sheet greased or lined with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, molasses, and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture; stir with a fork or wooden spoon just until combined. Add extra buttermilk, one tablespoon at a time, if needed, to bring the dough together. It will be shaggy and slightly crumbly – that’s fine.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead the dough 3-4 times so that a soft dough forms, and then shape into a round loaf. Place in the prepared pan. Use a sharp knife to score a deep “X” across the top of the loaf. Brush with a little bit of buttermilk; sprinkle with about 1-2 tablespoons of oats and/or seeds.
Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 more minutes, tenting loosely with foil if necessary to prevent excessive browning.
Transfer to a wire rack and let cool before slicing and serving.

- Do not prepare the dough in advance and store it in the fridge before baking. This is because the baking soda and buttermilk start reacting immediately, so it’s important to get the bread in the oven as quickly as possible. Otherwise it will lose its leavening power.

- Add extra buttermilk to the dough, as needed, to bring the loaf together. It will still be slightly crumbly, but you don't want to see any big dry pockets of flour. Make sure that you don't add too much buttermilk and end up with a wet, dense, heavy loaf.
- Score the top of the loaf with a deep "X" (cutting about halfway down into the loaf). This allows the bread to open up in the oven, which helps it cook evenly, allowing the inside of the bread to bake through without drying out the rest of the loaf.

- Brushing the top of the bread with buttermilk helps the exterior brown nicely, and also helps the seeds adhere.

- Garnish the top of the loaf with oats and any seeds of your choice. Good options include pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds.
- Recipe adapted from Southern Cast Iron magazine.