#Soda Bread

[dduane]

Peter Mum's Soda Bread Recipe

With work around here the way it is at the moment, most likely EuropeanCuisines.com won't be up again until the end of the year. (shrug) Such is life.

With that in mind, here per @the-book-of-night-with-moon 's request is the famous soda bread recipe that brought people to the site again and again for a couple of decades. If the recipe below seems very plain, that's because the way soda bread is done in North America and elsewhere in the world is not how everyday soda bread's made in Ireland. No fruit, no sugar—except for an optional spoonful if the baker likes it: I omit it—no nuts or other similar addenda: nothing but flour, salt, soda and (ideally) buttermilk. (Breads here that do have fruit and whatnot are referred to as "tea breads" or "fruit soda".)

The ingredients:

450 g / 1 lb / approximately 3 1/4 cups flour (either cake flour or all-purpose)

Optional: 1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Between 300-350 ml / approx 10-12 fluid ounces buttermilk, sour / soured milk, or plain ("sweet") milk, to mix

If you're using plain milk, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to the dry ingredients. This is perfectly legit; lots of professional bakers in Ireland do their soda bread this way, without the buttermilk and with additional raising ingredients besides baking soda.

So: preheat your oven to 200C / 400F. Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients together well in a good-sized bowl, and then add the liquid and mix everything together. Like this:

That raggedy texture you see in the middle of the video is exactly what you want, and part of the secret of getting soda bread to rise properly. You have to get the loaf done as quickly as you can, so that the rise in the oven is maximized; and with minimum handling. This isn't a bread that needs to be kneaded. Just get it into a soft, mostly-cohesive lump as quickly and gently as you can, and shape it into a round about an inch to an inch and a half thick.

Finally have ready a really sharp knife to do that final cross-cut, which allows the loaf to spread and rise fully. Be careful to slice, not press. You don't have to cut incredibly deep: from a third to halfway down the round is plenty. ...There's endless online lore about how this is supposed to let the fairies out. Fond as I am of fairies, I prefer to think of it as letting the chemistry and physics out. (shrug) To each their own.

As soon as the oven's come up to heat, shove the loaf into the center of the oven on a nonstick baking sheet—I used a silicone mat here, but more for the look of the thing than any real concern about the loaf sticking—and bake it for 40 minutes. When you're done, it should look something like the one in the picture at the top of the post. It'll be easier to eat if you let it cool down most of the way; and a lot easier to slice if you put it in a paper or plastic bag overnight.

Anyway, tomorrow, so @petermorwood won't sulk, I'll make soda bread in the farl style instead of the above style that some of the locals call "cake". Farl's done on a griddle and cut into quarters for baking, and its geometry makes it uniquely suited (as Peter's father used to say) for eating large amounts of butter without a spoon. :)

ETA: attn @middleagedandoutoftouch: Check out the gluten-free soda bread from Ballymaloe. ...And there seem to be quite a few more of them out there: try this Google search.

#soda bread #baking #recipe #recipes #Ireland

[petermorwood]

One for St Patrick’s Day, also a recipe for any day when you don’t have any bread and want some really soon.

Best eaten with a generous spread of salted butter, Irish if you can get it (Dylan doesn’t do this, he has a thinness to maintain) or used to chase the last toothsome dregs of Irish Stew, Dublin Coddle, Strong Farmer’s Soup - or indeed stuff from outside Ireland such as chilli, goulash, Sauerbraten and any other tasty savoury thing whose last toothsome dregs need chased...

It makes washing the plates so much easier. ;->

Normally at this point I’d link to my Mum’s 4-or-maybe-5-generation-old recipe on European Cuisines, but the site’s not back up yet.

Instead this link goes to Sotsil’s Wordpress page, which not only gives full credit (Yay!) but adds some fun extra observations, including various ways to improvise buttermilk if you can’t find the real thing.

Here it is.

Here’s a pic of the last time we made it:

That photo, Dylan’s video and Sotsil’s page all show the oven-baked “cake” version more associated with the South. The North, where I come from, uses the same ingredients and method, but cooks with a skillet / griddle on the stovetop.

That version looks like this:

Here it is with the traditional “wee cup of tea”.

Remember how I said something about butter? Jam, too.

Either warm from the griddle or after being split and toasted, the butter does A Trick, and melts down into the bread. This was the way my Dad liked it.

The melted butter of course makes room for more butter, if you like butter (Dad did) though biting into it after that can be an adventure.

If you can manage a slice of street pizza without getting grease on your chin elbows, you’re halfway there already...

#food and drink #st patrick's day #my mum's soda bread #soda bread #butter

[fullcravings]

Double Chocolate Irish Stout Soda Bread

#double #chocolate #irish stout #soda bread #bread #baking #recipe #st paddys #tw alcohol #alcohol #guinness #stout #bakerstable

[haveyoueatenthis]

#ireland #soda bread #polls

[morethansalad]

Vegan Irish Soda Bread Scones (Gluten-Free)

#vegan #gluten free #breakfast #irish cuisine #american cuisine #st. patrick's day #scones #soda bread #oat flour #almond flour #dried currants #plant milk #apple cider vinegar #vanilla #coconut oil #maple syrup #sea salt #jam

[not-available-for-comment]

Right so I’m unreasonably proud of myself. I was experimenting with making buckwheat almond bread and somewhat accidentally produced a very delicious gluten free wholemeal soda bread. I was toying with this as a way of developing a somewhat diabetic friendly bread but honestly this is good eating regardless.

Note that I was using stone ground buckwheat, if yours is more refined you may need to tweak the liquid a bit.

Buckwheat Almond Soda Bread

2.5 cups buckwheat

0.5 cups almond flour

1 ts baking soda

1 ts baking powder

1/2 Tb salt

1.25 cups whole milk buttermilk

0.5 cups water

2 Tb sunflower seeds to top (optional)

Sift together dry ingredients and whisk to combine if necessary. Stir in water and buttermilk. The batter should be thick but slightly loose. Scrape into a buttered 9x5 loaf pan. Top with sunflower seeds if using. Bake ~35-40 minutes at 375F. Let sit 10 minutes in pan before turning out to cool on a wire rack. Let cool completely before slicing.

Delicious with butter, jam, cheese, cold cuts and pickles, fried egg…

#gluten free #low carb #recipes #rocky rambles #soda bread

[fattributes]

Vegan Irish Soda Bread with Dried Fruit

#food #recipe #breakfast #bread #soda bread #cranberry #raisins #orange #caraway #baking #vegetarian #vegan #dairy free

[nocturna7]

#cranberry #walnuts #soda bread

[punkbakerchristine]

wouldn’t be st. paddy’s day without a little loaf of soda bread (with some raisins, too!) ☘️🍞

#bread #homemade bread #soda bread #st. patrick’s day #st. patricks day #st. paddy’s day #amateur baking #amateur cooking #paul hollywood recipe #mine #baking #baked goods #bakers of tumblr

[rustbeltjessie]

January 28: Our dinner that night was herb, cheddar, and pine nut soda bread and chicken noodle soup, both homemade and so delicious and comforting.

#rust belt jessie #my photos #food #home cooking #recipe #comfort food #chicken noodle soup #soda bread

[dduane]

Just came to say that your Irish soda bread recipe reached me here in Central Florida and I made it on a whim and it was absolutely delightful. Thank you for sharing ❤️

I'm so glad! Thanks for letting me know.

(And tomorrow I need to do this again, because I did promise @petermorwood that I'd make him some farl. He's not a fan of the "cake" style of soda bread: possibly a regional thing, or possibly because too much of the butter can leak out of it...). :)

#soda bread #baking

[cuppa-and-a-view]

Chai and Watercolour

Cuppa: Mighty Chai with milk and sugar

View: watercolour work in progress. I'm really enjoying learning watercolour, it's challenging in just the right way.

Snack: home made Irish-style wheaten soda bread (made in the slow cooker! I'm so proud) with butter.

Hopefully this marks a new start of actually posting regularly! Apologies to those of you I abandoned in the middle of Kyoto.

#tea #black tea #Chai #Masala chai #snacks #bread #soda bread #Irish wheaten bread #Art #My art #Watercolour #Traditional art #Fantasy creatures #Hippocampus

[screampotato]

Today I made Irish wheaten soda bread in the slow cooker!

The recipe I used isn't perfect, next time I'll use less salt, but it was really good and the texture was great.

Anyone who's worried it might still be infested with fairies because there's no cross cut on top to let them out, don't worry. It has a cross on it, so they escaped, then I turned it upside down after baking because the bottom was more browned than the top.

If anyone can recommend a really good wheaten bread recipe please do, I'd love to make this again and have the flavour closer to the stuff you get in the shops in Ireland.

#bread #soda bread #irish soda bread #slow cooker #slow cooking #crock pot #baking #fairies

[fullcravings]

Irish Soda Bread French Toast

#irish soda bread #soda bread #french toast #food #breakfast #dessert #baking #st paddys #recipe #cinnamon #maple #twoofakindcooks

[warnerhassan]

Breakfast Bread - Spotted Dog Irish Bread A simple version of Irish soda bread with raisins is baked in a cast iron skillet. This is a vintage recipe handed down through the family.

#st. patricks day #bread #flour #family #dog irish #soda bread #grandmother

[morethansalad]

Green Irish Soda Bread (Vegan)

#vegan #appetizer #soda bread #st. patrick's day #irish cuisine #bread #whole wheat #pastry flour #plant milk #spinach #apple cider vinegar #oats #caraway seeds #sea salt #💚