Reliable recipe for Irish soda bread.
September 11, 2020 9:36 AM Subscribe
I'm pregnant and craving soda bread. The internet has many, many recipes for soda bread, as you can surely imagine. I am looking for one that someone can vouch for being reliable and very good, or one that is a famous soda bread recipe used by many.
If you are some kind of expert on soda bread and can tell me what to look for in a soda bread recipe, that would be particularly fantastic.
I'm going to be eating it with butter, if that matters. Definitely not as an accompaniment to any kind of stew.
I have cooked this recipe several times and it has turned out very well. Americas test kitchen is another reliable standby; I'm having trouble accessing their site right now, but I have use their recipe from a book many times.
I did not know this until relatively recently, but baking soda and baking powder can actually lose effectiveness over time, no so much spoil, as just not work as well (baking powder moreso, because the acidic component to make it work is included in the product, but both do). Big Baking Soda says 2 years, but, for baking I tend to shoot for 6 months for baking soda I use culinarily.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:49 AM on September 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
I did not know this until relatively recently, but baking soda and baking powder can actually lose effectiveness over time, no so much spoil, as just not work as well (baking powder moreso, because the acidic component to make it work is included in the product, but both do). Big Baking Soda says 2 years, but, for baking I tend to shoot for 6 months for baking soda I use culinarily.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:49 AM on September 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oh, Darina Allen also adds a couple of variations on the Ballymaloe web site's reprint of the recipe: if you add raisins and an egg, that is called "Spotted Dog", and if you add chocolate chips and an egg, that is called "stripy cat".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:51 AM on September 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:51 AM on September 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you can find a copy of Cooking Downeast by Marjorie Standish, there is a great recipe for soda bread that I've made many times. Bake in a round Pyrex casserole dish for best results.
As a fellow carb-craving preggo, may I recommend a French butter keeper like this. You can have easily spreadable butter on hand at all times!
posted by The Librarian at 9:52 AM on September 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
As a fellow carb-craving preggo, may I recommend a French butter keeper like this. You can have easily spreadable butter on hand at all times!
posted by The Librarian at 9:52 AM on September 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Hello from Ireland. This recipe is converted for the difficulties of making true soda bread in the US. It is the recipe we use.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:01 AM on September 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 10:01 AM on September 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
I'm Northern Irish and live in London, so it's important to have a reliable recipe to keep myself supplied without good Irish bakeries!
This is what I use for soda farls, cooked on a frying pan or griddle.
*Soda farls*
*Ingredients*
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (I used soured milk, 1 cup milk and 1 tbsp lemon juice)
*Instructions*
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda.
Gently stir in the buttermilk just until dough comes together. (Try not to make it too wet or you'll need to add a bit more flour)
On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a circle about 1.5cm thick. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 4 equal pieces.
Place a large frying pan over medium heat. *Lightly* grease with oil or butter.
Once heated, add the cut farls to the pan, making sure they don't touch. If the pan is too small, cook them in 2 batches. Pan-fry until the bottom is browned, about 6 minutes, then flip and cook until browned and heated through.
Serve warm with butter and jam.
And if you want a wholemeal one.
*Wheaten Bread*
450g wholemeal flour
150g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
500-600 ml buttermilk, or milk+lemon juice or vinegar left for 5 mins. (1 cup milk + 1tbsp lemon ish)... Should work with oat milk too I think.
Mix it all up together, not overdoing it. Just enough to bring it all together.
(Edit: sprinkle a little flour and crushed oats over the top before baking, or you could use sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, whatever you like!)
Put it in an greased loaf tin, bake in preheated oven at 220c for 20 mins, reduce temp to 190C, bake for further 20-30 mins. You may want to do last 5 mins out of tin, upside down. (Can also bake it on a tray, just shape it into a round, slice a cross in it "to let the fairies out"/"bless it"/stop it splitting in weird ways, bake as above)
Should sound hollow when you tap the bottom.
Cool on a rack covered in a damp towel, or brush with melted butter.
posted by knapah at 10:05 AM on September 11, 2020 [5 favorites]
This is what I use for soda farls, cooked on a frying pan or griddle.
*Soda farls*
*Ingredients*
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (I used soured milk, 1 cup milk and 1 tbsp lemon juice)
*Instructions*
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda.
Gently stir in the buttermilk just until dough comes together. (Try not to make it too wet or you'll need to add a bit more flour)
On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a circle about 1.5cm thick. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 4 equal pieces.
Place a large frying pan over medium heat. *Lightly* grease with oil or butter.
Once heated, add the cut farls to the pan, making sure they don't touch. If the pan is too small, cook them in 2 batches. Pan-fry until the bottom is browned, about 6 minutes, then flip and cook until browned and heated through.
Serve warm with butter and jam.
And if you want a wholemeal one.
*Wheaten Bread*
450g wholemeal flour
150g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
500-600 ml buttermilk, or milk+lemon juice or vinegar left for 5 mins. (1 cup milk + 1tbsp lemon ish)... Should work with oat milk too I think.
Mix it all up together, not overdoing it. Just enough to bring it all together.
(Edit: sprinkle a little flour and crushed oats over the top before baking, or you could use sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, whatever you like!)
Put it in an greased loaf tin, bake in preheated oven at 220c for 20 mins, reduce temp to 190C, bake for further 20-30 mins. You may want to do last 5 mins out of tin, upside down. (Can also bake it on a tray, just shape it into a round, slice a cross in it "to let the fairies out"/"bless it"/stop it splitting in weird ways, bake as above)
Should sound hollow when you tap the bottom.
Cool on a rack covered in a damp towel, or brush with melted butter.
posted by knapah at 10:05 AM on September 11, 2020 [5 favorites]
I love soda bread (and other quick breads) made with soft wheat, often sold as pastry flour in the US. Irish flour descriptions work on a different system than ours, so it’s hard to be sure of an exact match.
Finely ground whole-wheat pastry flour is my favorite; Bobs Red Mill produces it, for instance. White Lily used to make soft flours in the US SE. In a pinch, replacing a fraction of All purpose flour with cake flour, or rice flour, or even almond flour would soften it up.
(Stripy cat!)
posted by clew at 10:47 AM on September 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Finely ground whole-wheat pastry flour is my favorite; Bobs Red Mill produces it, for instance. White Lily used to make soft flours in the US SE. In a pinch, replacing a fraction of All purpose flour with cake flour, or rice flour, or even almond flour would soften it up.
(Stripy cat!)
posted by clew at 10:47 AM on September 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
... the above is terribly US flour-buying advice, sorry to non-US readers. The Fresh Loaf has Canadian soft wheat advice somewhere, but poss only if you can buy it by the bushel.
posted by clew at 10:51 AM on September 11, 2020
posted by clew at 10:51 AM on September 11, 2020
Strong second for the recipe that furnace.heart linked above -- it's fantastic!
posted by Bebo at 11:59 AM on September 11, 2020
posted by Bebo at 11:59 AM on September 11, 2020
Plenty of great recipes already. If you want a pinch more calcium & vitamin C, Cheddar & green onion is a lovely variation. I printed out Jim’s recipe via Allrecipes, however that Entire Platform is a nightmare of problems, so Kerrygold has an online recipe for both white and brown variations.
posted by childofTethys at 12:14 PM on September 11, 2020
posted by childofTethys at 12:14 PM on September 11, 2020
Here is an article and recipe for soda bread by Serious Eats' Stella Parks.
posted by slkinsey at 1:55 PM on September 11, 2020
posted by slkinsey at 1:55 PM on September 11, 2020
I like the Odlum's mix. Its reasonably close, and easy. I've linked to Canadian shop (that I've bought from)
Odlums Brown Soda bread
posted by Ftsqg at 2:31 PM on September 11, 2020
Odlums Brown Soda bread
posted by Ftsqg at 2:31 PM on September 11, 2020
Do you want an authentic Irish soda bread, or the Irish-American version? I prefer the latter; this recipe is amazing
posted by shadygrove at 5:41 PM on September 11, 2020
posted by shadygrove at 5:41 PM on September 11, 2020
For Irish-American soda bread, people have been making this one for 50 years! The original calls for 2 cups of flour and 4 of shortening, I usually sub in butter but it works either way.
posted by chocotaco at 7:08 PM on September 11, 2020
posted by chocotaco at 7:08 PM on September 11, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, adding an FYI that I heard from Angela Carter, who used to own and operate an Irish cookbook shop here in New York - if you see a recipe for soda bread that also includes yeast or eggs, that's an adaptation of a more traditional recipe. Lots of "family recipes" for things got jazzed up when Irish immigrants got here and found some ingredients were cheaper than they were back in Ireland, so they would throw them in just because they could. But for the basic soda bread recipe, the buttermilk and the soda are all you need for the raising agents.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:46 AM on September 11, 2020 [1 favorite]