The other day I was catching up on the latest season of The Great British Baking Show—I’ve been avoiding it as much as possible because I was sure I’d miss Sandi too much and while yes I do miss her, the show is still great—but anyhow, I digress. I was watching the bread week episode and their signature challenge was to create a soda bread and one of the contestants, Hermine I believe, made an everything bagel soda bread and I thought that was such a genius idea. The judges loved it and I’m sure I would’ve loved it as well if I had tried it, and so then I got to thinking that perhaps I should recreate that idea for the blog and so here we are. This Everything Bagel Mini Soda Bread is the perfect combination of bagel and soda bread and it’s a great recipe to make this St. Patrick’s Day, especially if you’re looking to switch things up a bit this year. Make them into mini loaves like I did or one giant soda bread, either way, it needs to be made.
In a large bowl, whisk together together the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add in the butter and rub with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
**Tip: You want to work rather quickly so that the butter doesn’t get too warm. Cold butter allows the soda bread to rise higher and get flakier.**
Stir in the chopped smoked salmon, 2 tablespoons of the bagel seasoning, and sliced scallions until evenly combined.
**Note: Most stores nowadays have bagel seasoning in the spice aisle, but if you can’t find it for some reason, you can make your own. Chances are you probably already have most of the ingredients in your spice drawer. It’s basically poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.**
Add the chilled buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it comes together to form a rough dough. Again, don’t over-work the dough at this point.
Transfer to a lightly floured work surface, knead a few times and divide into eight even pieces.
**Tip: You can weigh them out to make them all the same size (which helps bake them evenly) but if you just eyeball them, you’ll be okay. These don’t have to be perfect.**
Gently form each into rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them out evenly. Using a sharp knife, score an X on the top of each. Sprinkle with the remaining bagel seasoning.
Bake in a preheated 375°F oven until golden brown, about 20 to 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve them with cream cheese (I like an herbed cream cheese that I top with capers) and sliced red onion, cucumbers and tomatoes. It’s basically like a bagel but in soda bread form.
You can make them into mini soda breads like I did, but you could also turn it into one large loaf. If you go the large loaf route, you’ll have to bake it for longer, I’d say about 45 to 55 minutes at the same temperature.
They’re also good with some great Irish butter if you’re not into the cream cheese/bagel angle, or if you want these for an accompaniment for dinner.
These freeze really well, if you want to save some for later. Just place in a freezer storage bag and then thaw in the fridge. Then just rewarm in the oven for a few minutes. They’re so good! Let me know if you have any questions or comments below. Stay safe out there my friends.
Everything Bagel Mini Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, cold and diced
- 4 ounce smoked salmon diced
- 3 tablespoons Everything Bagel Seasoning divided
- 4 scallions sliced
- 1 cup buttermilk chilled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the butter and rub with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the smoked salmon, 2 tablespoons of the bagel seasoning, and scallions until evenly combined. Add the buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it comes together to form a rough dough.
- Transfer to a lightly floured work surface, knead a few times and divide into eight even pieces. Gently form each into rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them out evenly. Using a sharp knife, score an X on the top of each. Sprinkle each with the remaining bagel seasoning. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 22 minutes.
Could I leave the smoked salmon out and still have the bread come out ok? These sound so good but hubby not into smoked salmon. Thanks
You definitely can leave it out, without affecting the bread. You could also add bacon instead if you’d like!
Hi! I’m looking forward to trying out this recipe but I’m the meantime, I’m obsessing over the clear flower shaped bowl in this post. Would you share where you got them? 🙂
Hello! Thank you so much. So I got those at Pier One Imports a while ago. I hope they’re still there for you!
A batch of these just came out of the oven. Oh. My. Goodness! They are so yummy and easy. Good recipe!
This is absolutely fantastic! Jon. No yeast thingy things to deal with. I will report back after Good Friday which is the plan. I have been scrolling hook and nails to find that Everything Bagel seasoning here in Canada but no luck… yet. Will make an executive decision with a possible alternate. What’s your take on using Gluten-free rice flour with gluten-allergies for this recipe? Thanks!
These were absolutely delicious (I didn’t use the salmon). They are more like a biscuit than soda bread. May try your idea of the bagel seasoning and individual loaves but without butter for a more traditional soda bread. These froze really well, too! Thanks for the recipe.
Had a hunch these would be delicious, and splurged on good butter and doubled the recipe to deliver to friends, and I am so glad I did!! About to make some deliveries, thanks for a great recipe and an easy opportunity to share with friends!