Oldest published Irish Soda Bread recipe found to date (July,http://www.sodabread.info/index.htm
1837 Journal of the Franklin Institute.... p.71) referencing Irish newspaper in
County Down.
A correspondent of the Newry Telegraph gives the following
receipt for making " soda bread," stating that "there is no bread to be had
equal to it for invigorating the body, promoting digestion, strengthening the
stomach, and improving the state of the bowels." He says, "put a pound and a
half of good wheaten meal into a large bowl, mix with it two teaspoonfuls of
finely-powdered salt, then take a large teaspoonful of super-carbonate of soda,%
dissolve it in half a teacupful of cold water, and add it to the meal; rub up
all intimately together, then pour into the bowl as much very sour buttermilk as
will make the whole into soft dough (it should be as soft as could possibly be
handled, and the softer the better,) form it into a cake of about an inch
thickness, and put it into a flat Dutch oven or frying-pan, with some metallic
cover, such as an oven-lid or griddle, apply a moderate heat underneath for
twenty minutes, then lay some clear live coals upon the lid, and keep it so for
half an hour longer (the under heat being allowed to fall off gradually for the
last fifteen minutes,) taking off the cover occasionally to see that it does not
burn.
In researching historic publications for this site
(see History section) the above recipe is highlited as something "new" to the
area.
The Un-Bread
If your "soda bread" has raisins,
it's not "soda bread! It's called "Spotted Dog" or "Railway Cake"!
If it contains raisins, eggs, baking powder, sugar or shortening, it's called
"cake", not "bread." All are tasty, but not traditional Irish Soda
Bread!
Read on to find out about soda bread history and background info on
Traditional Irish Soda bread. Click on any of the links on the left to
explore and learn more!
Traditional Irish Soda
Bread
If one searches the internet using the term "Traditional Irish Soda
Bread" about 63,500 sites are listed. 98% of them aren't even close to being
traditional. Google "Irish Soda Bread" and you will find 126,000
sites.
Would "French Bread" (15th century) still be "French Bread" if whiskey,
raisins, or other random ingredients were added to the mix? Would
Jewish Matzo (unleavened bread) used to remember the passage of the Israelites
out of Egypt still be Matzo if we add raisins, butter, sugar, eggs, and even
orange zest? So why is traditional "Irish Soda Bread" (19th century)
turned into a dessert and labeled "Traditional Irish Soda Bread?" OK,
maybe you don't like the analogy, but you get the point!
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Look up a few definitions in the Dictionary and you find:
"Tradition"
1: the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of
mouth or by example from one generation to another.
2: cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions
There are two kinds of traditions: 1) The cultural one that can
be traced back through an ethnic group's history and 2) family traditions that
can be traced back to an individual family member.
Irish Soda Bread is an example of the first. Grandma (insert name
here)'s Irish bread is the other. The cultural one came first and was
adapted and modified by the second into a family tradition. Both
traditions are sacred.
"Bread"
a usually baked and leavened food made of a mixture of
whose basic constituent is flour or meal.
"Cake"
a sweet baked food made from a dough or thick batter usually containing
flour and sugar and often shortening, eggs, and a raising agent (as baking
powder)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It shocks some people to learn that St. Patrick wasn't holding a slice
of Irish Soda Bread in one hand while he drove the snakes out of Ireland with
the other. Soda bread came long after St. Patrick in the mid 1840's when
bicarbonate of soda (Bread Soda) as a leavening agent was used in Ireland to
work with the "soft" wheat grown there.
The other shock to Irish-Americans is that their Irish ancestors who
left Ireland during the Famine years did not bring a recipe for Irish Soda Bread
with them. Irish soda bread became popular in Ireland after the Famine
years. If your Irish ancestors had the good sense to leave Ireland for
America during the Famine years, they never learned about making soda bread in
Ireland. Check out Google's public domain book collection and the
phrase "Irish Soda Bread" doesn't show up in their collection until the
1930s.
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The basic soda bread is made with flour, baking soda, salt, and
soured milk (or buttermilk). That's it!
One on-line recipe claiming to be "traditional" included
"orange zest" as an ingredient. As if our poverty-stricken ancestors even
knew what orange zest was. Even in the mid-1950's an orange was a special
treat during Christmas, not a common item in the kitchen like it is today.
Another recipe has chocolate in it and another calls for sugar glaze over the
"bread." Tasty, Yes! Traditional Irish Soda Bread, No! Year
after year these exotic bread recipes are advertised as "traditional" irish soda
bread.
You'll find site recipes for "traditional Irish Soda Bread" that call
for yeast to be used. The whole reason bread soda was used in the first
place was to replace yeast as the rising agent.
There are even commercial sites selling "Irish Soda Bread" with YEAST
as an ingredient. And right before St. Patrick's Day your local
supermarket chain will probably have "Irish Soda Bread" for sale with yeast,
sugar, and who knows what on the listed ingredients. But stores mostly
will add raisins and dried fruit to their "soda bread." Most look like a
fruitcake recipe repackaged from the Christmas holidays. The same recipe
usually shows up as "Easter Bread" a few weeks later. For the most part
they taste fair to great but are mislabeled as "Irish Soda Bread."
While we are certainly at liberty to modify recipes to our heart's
content, it is incorrect to claim that these modern sugary recipes are the same
as used by our great-great grandmothers in Ireland, a poor country at the time,
to feed their families in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th
century. It was often the only bread available to most Irish
families. Can you imaging the woman in this photo even knowing what a
"zester" is?
In today's world, soda bread has become a dessert cake and the
three-leaf shamrock has turned into a four-leaf clover.
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This site is here to encourage modern bakers to get in touch with their
Irish roots and use the traditional ingredients/recipes when making "traditional
Irish soda bread." Sure, make the fancy desserts for St. Patrick's Day,
but save a spot on the table for Irish soda bread to remember how far the Irish
have come from the days when it was the only thing on the table to today when or
tables are filled with good things to eat and thought of the Famine years are
long forgotten.
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Visit the Soda Bread Book Section and pick up a copy of Irish
Traditional Cooking for an excellent reference on traditional Irish
cooking.
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A few absolutes: Traditional Irish Soda Bread does not
contain
~"zest", orange or any other kind~Irish Whiskey. (talk about stereotyping!!!)
~Honey (substitute for sugar)
~Sugar (see definition of "cake")
~eggs (see definition of "cake")
~Garlic (not common in English/Irish dishes)
~Shortening (hydrogenated vegetable oil - Crisco introduced to the US in
1911. Not in the 19th century)~Heavy Cream (British term for whipping cream bu a little thicker. Not
much chance irish peasants would be using this.)~Sour Cream (traditional in Eastern European dishes. Became popular in
the US and European kitchens during the past 50 years, not 150 years ago. see http://www.ochef.com/516.htm~Yogurt (prior to 1900 a staple in Central Europe and Asia. Introduced
to the US after WWII by Isaac Carasso who started Dannon in NY City. Not a
19th century Irish baking item.)~Chocolate
~Chiles/Jalapenos (Right! Ireland is well known for using these in its
traditional food!! por favor!~Fruit (Only in Christmas/Easter cakes and other special occasions._
and just about anything else one can think of. all of the above
ingredients can be found in "Irish soda bread" recipes somewhere on the
web. Interesting, but definitely not Traditional Irish Soda Bread.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soda bread was baked daily from simple ingredients. The Irish would not
have added whiskey to their daily bread any more than a Frenchman would have
added it to his baguette or a Jew to Matzo.In America and other parts of the world we tend to forget that this is a
basic "quick bread" served with meals and not a "dessert dish."Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipes
All recipes for traditional soda bread contain flour, baking soda, sour milk
(buttermilk) and salt. That's it!!!This was a daily bread that didn't keep long and had to be baked every few
days. It was not a festive "cake" and did not contain whisky, candied
fruit, caraway seeds, raisins (add raisins and it becomes "spotted dog" not to
be confused with the pudding made with suet of the same name), or any other
ingredient.There are recipes for those types of cakes but they are not the traditional
soda bread eaten by the Irish daily since the mid 19th century.Here are a few basic recipe. Note that measurements below are in
American standards. (An Irish teaspoon is not the same as an American teaspoon
measurement.)Note for New Bakers: a fluid cup contains 8 ounces of liquid. A dry
ingredient cup contains around 4 ounces by weight. Don't use a liquid
measuring cup for dry ingredients. Tsp means Teaspoon.Of course our great grandmothers just grabbed a handful of this and a pinch
of that to make their bread. We modern bakers need help since we don't do
it every day.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The best flour to use is "soft wheat" which is called "pastry flour" or "cake
flour" today in the US. If you want to try using Irish flour, may I
suggest Odlums.In 1845, about the time that soda bread baking was taking off in Ireland,
William Odlum opened a four mill in Portlaoise and his descendants expanded the
business over the years until 1988 when it was purchased by a corporation that
continues production today. They produce not only the white and wheat
flours, but for the modern Irish family, a soda bread mix flour and brown bread
mix flour that only needs water added to create a soda bread dough.The latter mixes are similar to what I create using Saco Cultured buttermilk,
flour, baking soda, and salt to create my own "add water" mix for camping
trips.If you want to try using Odlums flour, you can purchase it by clicking on this link. Your purchase helps keep this web
site up and running and you will be baking with real Irish flour. for what
we are attempting to create here, avoid the self-Raising flour and not that
"cream flour" means just regular white flour. No baking soda or baking
powder added to it.Check out the Dutch Oven Link for more cooking hints.
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Brown Bread
3 cups (12 oz) of
wheat flour1 cup
(4 oz) of white flour (do not use self-rising as it already contains baking
powder and salt)14 ounces of buttermilk (pour in a bit at a time until the dough is
moist)1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. (baking soda)
2 ounces of butter if you want to deviate a bit.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 F. degrees. Lightly grease and flour
a cake pan. In a large bowl sieve and combine all the dry ingredients. Rub
in the butter until the flour is crumbly.Add the buttermilk to form a sticky dough. Place on floured surface and
lightly knead (too much allows the gas to escape)Shape into a round flat shape in a round cake pan and cut a cross in the top
of the dough.Cover the pan with another pan and bake for 30 minutes (this simulates the
bastible pot). Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.The bottom of the bread will have a hollow sound when tapped to show it is
done.Cover the bread in a tea towel and lightly sprinkle water on the cloth to
keep the bread moist.Let cool and you are ready to have a buttered slice with a nice cup of tea or
coffee.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White Soda Bread
4 cups (16 oz) of all purpose flour.
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon salt
14 oz of buttermilk
Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
degrees. Lightly crease and flour a cake pan.In a large bowl sieve and combine all the dry ingredients.
Add the buttermilk to form a sticky dough. Place on floured surface and
lightly knead (too much allows the gas to escape)Shape into a round flat shape in a round cake pan and cut a cross in the top
of the dough.Cover the pan with another pan and bake for 30 minutes (this simulates the
bastible pot). Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.The bottom of the bread will have a hollow sound when tapped so show it is
done.Cover the bread in a tea towel and lightly sprinkle water on the cloth to
keep the bread moist.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of my favorite Irish cookbooks is by Monica Sheridan, the Julia Child of
Irish Television, called "The Art of Irish Cooking" published in 1965. It
has been long out-of-print but if you get a chance to grab a copy, do
so. She talks about traditional cooking without any of the "spicing up"
that we see in modern interpretations of Irish baking although she does
experiment a bit with recipes. Here is her recipe for "Brown Bread" (note
from Samantha~if any one finds this I would love to get it)4 cups Stone Ground Whole wheat flour
2 cups White flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 cups Buttermilk
Preparation:
Mix the whole wheat flour thoroughly with the white flour,
salt, and baking
soda.
Make a well in the center and gradually mix in the liquid. Stir with a wooden
spoon. You may need less, or more liquid - it depends on the absorbent quality
of the flour.The dough should be soft but manageable. Knead the dough into a ball in the
mixing bowl with your floured hands. Put on a lightly floured baking sheet and
with the palm of your hand flatten out in a circle 1 1/2 inches thick.With a knife dipped in flour, make a cross through the center of the bread so
that it will easily break into quarters when it is baked. Bake at 425 degrees
for 25 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake a further 15 minutes. If
the crust seems too hard, wrap the baked bread in a damp tea cloth. Leave the
loaf standing upright until it is cool. The bread should not be cut until it has
set - about 6 hours after it comes out of the oven. (personally, I can't
wait 6 hours to eat fresh soda bread
Samantha
