Irish Soda Bread
"Traditional Irish soda bread is a very simple and quick bread recipe. There are only a few ingredients. Any recipe that includes orange zest, raisins, or any other fruit is not soda bread. Keep in mind that even as late as the middle twentieth century oranges and other fruits were Christmas gifts. I seriously doubt the poor Irish peasants couldn't get oranges to eat let alone use the zest. If you find a recipe that has sugar, eggs and/or baking powder, it is a cake. If it has yeast, it is not Irish Soda Bread either. Salt was difficult enough to come by. And under no circumstances would an Irishman use his whisky in his bread. (Talk about a stereotype!) So, if you are looking for a REAL "traditional" Irish SODA bread, look for the use of SODA only. Ignore anything else. I got this recipe from my grandma. She cannot remember where she got it. She only knows she and her mom made this together when she was a child. She says spoiled milk, even up to the point of curdling, is better than anything else. If you wanted to get as close as possible to the Mother Isle, use a "soft wheat" or Pastry flour. Otherwise, like my cheap arse, an all purpose works just fine. The recipe is so simple I am sure there are hundreds of others like it. So, I am not taking credit for anyone else's idea. It's just a really easy, simple bread recipe. Use it, you'll love it.
This recipe is as easy as anything you will find after making ice cubes. Mix all ingredients in a bowl mix, knead only ten to fifteen times, and bake. Don't forget the three to four beers it takes while you wait for the bread to bake."
photo by CONCHOBOR99
- Ready In:
- 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 4
- Yields:
-
1 loaf
- Serves:
- 8-12
ingredients
- 4 cups flour (All purpose, pastry, or wheat. Do not use self rising. It has salt and soda in it already)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (It is called SODA bread)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 14 ounces milk (past date even to the point of curdling is okay)
directions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a fork.
- Pour in milk slowly and stir until dough is sticky.
- Sprinkle counter top with flour. Knead dough lightly on counter top 10 to 15 seconds ONLY. Too much will make the bread heavy.
- Grease bottom and sides of corning ware or bread pan and place dough in middle.
- Slice with and "X" across top of dough.
- Place lid on top or cover with another pan. Foil works in a pinch.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove lid (or any cover from pan) and bake an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven.
- FOR BEST RESULTS! Place a damp paper towel over the bread when cooling. Some say cover with a tea towel and sprinkle water over the top. I am not into using my tea towels, AKA dish towels, for bread covering. What I do is take two paper towels folded over one another, soak them, wring them out, place the folded towels in a single layer over the bread with a pan holder over that until cooled.
- Slice, enjoy!
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
Came out very dry and dough was hard to work with. Crust was hard after baking. SO DISAPPOINTED! -
My grandson made this for an assignment for school. It smelled so good while baking. It still smells good in here. We are going to make another one for us!! We have not eaten any yet, but will eat the second batch!! We are all so excited! BTW, I make kifir ans so we used that for the milk. the second loaf will only have half of the kifir.
-
This is a wonderful bread. It's almost exactly the recipe I found on a website for the "Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread". The only difference is their use of buttermilk instead of sour milk. But since I never have buttermilk in the house, I've always used sour milk anyway.<br/><br/>A round, 9" cake pan works perfectly for this recipe. Covering the pan is essential. I have a domed lid from a casserole that fits perfectly. I have also used my other cake pan. (It should stay on as long you don't try to bake during an earthquake. LOL)<br/><br/>Try to let the bread cool before slicing into it. And don't skip the damp towel step, unless you really like a crusty texture. Personally, I prefer mine soft. Also, it doesn't keep long, but I suppose it could be frozen. (I've never tried it. It doesn't last long enough.) And if you use the dry buttermilk powder, this could easily be converted to a pantry mix so one could "just add water".<br/><br/>Thanks, CONCHOBOR99, for posting. Now I can add this to my cookbook.
Tweaks
-
This is a wonderful bread. It's almost exactly the recipe I found on a website for the "Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread". The only difference is their use of buttermilk instead of sour milk. But since I never have buttermilk in the house, I've always used sour milk anyway.<br/><br/>A round, 9" cake pan works perfectly for this recipe. Covering the pan is essential. I have a domed lid from a casserole that fits perfectly. I have also used my other cake pan. (It should stay on as long you don't try to bake during an earthquake. LOL)<br/><br/>Try to let the bread cool before slicing into it. And don't skip the damp towel step, unless you really like a crusty texture. Personally, I prefer mine soft. Also, it doesn't keep long, but I suppose it could be frozen. (I've never tried it. It doesn't last long enough.) And if you use the dry buttermilk powder, this could easily be converted to a pantry mix so one could "just add water".<br/><br/>Thanks, CONCHOBOR99, for posting. Now I can add this to my cookbook.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>My passion is grilling. I don't care if it's charcoal, gas, electric, smoking with a water bowl or without. I am an average guy with a simple outlook. I live a middle class lifestyle, yet ,somehow, I always find room in my home for a new grill. I do grill outside in the cold weather. My love for grilled food is greater than my dislike for being cold. I feel the need to add that I really have a dislike for people that post recipes they claim under thier name. Like Good Eats Turkey by Such and Such. Or My Mom's Recipe for ..., from Good House Keeping. If your recipe comes from another source, you should not get ratings for it. To me, this is a cowardly way to get recogntion. If you cook something you or your family likes, put your self out there! Take a chance! These people that have these stats are hiding. If you have a certain twist here or a tweak there on any recipe that you prepare for your family, post it. Make it your own. Let us try and judge it. If we love it, you score! If we hate it, screw us, your family loves it. I will say that sometimes people think they discover new ways to prepare things. The ways to cook are simple. It is the way these foods are marinaded, stuffed, rubbed, injected, flavored, seasoned that are important. Try new combinations of flavors, herbs, and spices. I don't cliam to be a great cook. Cooking is always relvolved around MY tastes. If I love the flavor somethings adds, I try it EVERWHERE! This makes my recipes mine. They reflect what I love. I have blanked up alot of dishes. That is how you learn. Don't post a recipe just because it was found it in a book and you have the audacity to think you are the only one to have seen it! Take that recipe, try it as written, add the things you love, cook it to your liking, try new things, make it your dish then post it as your own. Cooking is simple. You know the tastes you like. Use them. Perfect them. Then give them to us. We'll be the judge. Do not be affraid to be judged. Another pet peeve of mine is when folks try different additions or not use something here and use something else there in ones recipe then give one a lower rating because of THEIR attempt to fix it. Like adding wholewheat pasta to a simple spaghetti dish. You know who you are.I would never do that to someone.</p>
