Wheaten and Soda Bread: An Ulster Staple
Some bakes belong to a place. Wheaten bread in Belfast is one of them. It has been on tables across the North for generations, and for good reason. It is simple, honest and deeply satisfying. At Krumb Bakery on the Ormeau Road, we make our wheaten and soda bread from scratch every day, because these are the loaves that matter most.
Wheaten Bread Belfast: A Proper Ulster Staple
Wheaten bread is a soda-leavened bread made with wholemeal flour, giving it that distinctive earthy flavour and dense, tender crumb. There is no yeast, no long ferment. Just flour, buttermilk, bread soda and a hot oven. Done right, it is one of the most satisfying things you can bake.
At Krumb we make our wheaten bread the traditional way. Small batches, from scratch, every day we are open. It comes out of the oven warm, with a dark crust that yields to something soft and flavourful inside. The smell alone is worth the visit.
It is the kind of bread that does not need much. A thick slice with real butter is the classic for a reason. Add a piece of cheese from our larder and you are sorted. You can also pick up our Batch Loaf if you want a softer, white-bread alternative to take home alongside it.
Soda Bread Belfast: The White Counterpart
Alongside our wheaten, we bake soda bread in Belfast every day. Where wheaten uses wholemeal flour for that nuttier, deeper flavour, soda bread uses white flour for a lighter, softer texture. Same principle, same simplicity, different character.
Both are part of what we think of as the essential Ulster bread shelf. They are the loaves that go with everything: soup, cheese, eggs, smoked salmon, or nothing at all but butter. They are the bakes that feel like home.
At Krumb, we take both seriously. These are not afterthoughts. They sit alongside our sourdough, seeded sourdough, batch loaf and focaccia as part of a full bread range that we are genuinely proud of.
Irish Bread with Heart and History
Wheaten and soda bread are Irish bread in the truest sense. They developed here because the soft wheat grown in Ireland and the North suits soda leavening better than commercial yeast. The baking tradition grew around what the land could produce. That is the kind of food history worth respecting.
At Krumb, we are not reinventing these breads. We are making them as they should be made: by hand, with good ingredients, fresh every day. Founder Sadhbh Baker spent 15 years in some of Ireland's finest bakeries before opening Krumb on the Ormeau Road in 2024. These breads are part of that heritage and she bakes them with the care they deserve.
We champion Northern Irish producers across everything we make and serve. The quality of the flour, the buttermilk, the ingredients we choose: it all feeds back into the loaf. Every last krumb of it.
How to Enjoy Wheaten and Soda Bread
There are very few wrong answers here, but here are some favourites:
- Warm with butter. The classic. Non-negotiable.
- With Ballylisk or Hegarty's cheese from our retail larder. Both are brilliant Northern Irish cheeses that pair beautifully with wheaten.
- As part of a savoury plate. Come in for breakfast or lunch and build something simple and satisfying.
- Toasted the next day. Wheaten toasts well. A slice the morning after with a strong coffee from Lucid Coffee Roasters is a very good start to the day.
Questions We Get Asked
Do you bake wheaten and soda bread every day?
Yes. Both are part of our daily bread bake at Krumb, Wednesday to Sunday. We work in small batches so come early for the freshest pick.
Can I buy a whole loaf to take home?
Absolutely. Our breads are available to take home as well as eat in. A fresh wheaten loaf from Krumb makes a brilliant gift too.
Do you stock anything to go with it?
Yes. Our retail larder includes Ballylisk and Hegarty's cheese, Honest Toil olive oil, Olives Et Al and other brilliant independent producers. Everything you need for a proper spread.
Order online: Batch Loaf and more on click and collect.
More from the Krumb journal
Come and see us at 258 Ormeau Road, Belfast, BT7 2FZ. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 9am to 4pm. Click and collect available online. Bake It Nice.