Barley & Honey Soda Bread

Name: Barley & Honey Soda Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: One round loaf
Ingredients: 1½ cups barley flour (180 g); 1½ cups whole wheat flour (180 g); 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping (125 g); 1½ tsp baking soda; 1 tsp kosher salt; 2 tbsp honey; 1¾ cups buttermilk (420 g); 2 tbsp rolled oats, for the top

The Miller's Loaf

A round, craggy loaf of barley and whole-wheat flour with a little honey, raised with buttermilk and baking soda. No yeast and no kneading: mixed, shaped and in the oven in fifteen minutes.

Make-aheadVegetarian

Prep15 min

Cook40 min

Rest/rise30 min

YieldOne round loaf

At the table: Room temperature all session, wrapped in a towel.

Not yet table-tested. This recipe is written from standard, well-known methods and has not been through our test tables yet. The badge changes when it has.

Crafting formula

Challenge★★★☆☆

Reward300 XP

TrainsBladeDoughSauce

Prestige ranks

As written: a quick soda loaf.
Bake it in a preheated, covered Dutch oven for a crackling crust, taking the lid off for the last 15 minutes.
Bake a true yeasted barley loaf from a sourdough starter you keep yourself.
Shape small rolls, glaze with honey as they come out, and serve warm in a linen-lined basket with herb butter.

Cooking at Hearth. The dish as written. Simple, honest, done well.

Stock your pantry to see what you are missing.

Hero sheet

Why nowBarley bread was the everyday loaf of medieval England. Barley flour gives it a sweet, nutty taste and plenty of fiber.

Barley & Honey Soda Bread — Illustration generated with AI, not a photo of this recipe.

Ingredients

Party size

One batch: One round loaf.

Kosher salt means Diamond Crystal. With Morton kosher salt, use about half.

Method

Heat the oven to 425°F and line a sheet pan with parchment.
Whisk the barley flour, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk the honey into the buttermilk. Pour it into a well in the flour and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms.
Look forStop as soon as there's no dry flour. Overmixing makes it tough.
Turn the dough onto a floured counter and shape it with floured hands into a 7-inch round. Don't knead. Set it on the pan.
Cut a deep cross in the top with a sharp knife and scatter the oats over it.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a rack at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Look forDeep brown, and it sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom. 200°F in the middle.

Make ahead

Best on the day. Wrapped, it keeps 2 days; toast it after that. Freezes 1 month.

Holding

Room temperature all session, wrapped in a towel.

Allergens

Contains wheat/gluten (barley, wheat), milk. Always check labels on packaged ingredients.

Notes

Baking soda arrived in the 1800s. Medieval barley loaves were yeasted or sourdough and much denser; this is the quick, lighter version.

No buttermilk: stir 2 tablespoons lemon juice into 1¾ cups milk and let it stand 5 minutes.

Tavern Night

This dish's twist table (d6)

1–2	The classic stands. No twist. Cook it as written.
3	Herb swap. Caraway seeds or chopped rosemary in the dough
4	Acid strike. Serve with a sharp cheddar and apple slices
5	Plating challenge. Shape 8 small rolls instead and bake 20 to 25 minutes
6	Host's boon. The Host picks any twist above, or the table invents one. The safety rule still applies.

Roll before you start cooking. No twist ever changes a time, a temperature or how done something must be.