Mrs. Sharp's Irish Soda Bread
"This is a delicious recipe I found in the book "Mrs. Sharp's Traditions." This is a dense, subtly flavored bread that is wonderful as part of breakfast or a quick snack. It's also a snap to prepare!"
photo by Larklearningtopray
- Ready In:
- 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 5
- Yields:
-
1 round loaf, approx. 8 in. in diameter
- Serves:
- 6-8
ingredients
- 4 cups white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1⁄2 cups sour milk
directions
- Mix together flour, soda, salt, and sugar.
- Add sour milk and stir together with a wooden spoon. The dough should be thick and sticky, but not too wet.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and form with hands into a round loaf. Place the loaf into a cast-iron frying pan or heavy round casserole dish that has been greased with butter. Score the top in the form of a cross with a wet knife (dig in at least an inch).
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Bread should cool for an hour before serving (but I like to eat it while it's still warm!).
- Note: If the loaf is made with whole-meal wheat flour, it is known as brown bread; if made with unbleached white flour, it's Irish soda bread. Authentic Irish soda bread is made with sour milk, not buttermilk, or milk soured by adding vinegar or lemon juice. To sour milk, simply leave it out overnight.
Questions & Replies
-
Was dry dough. Had to keep adding small amounts of milk until it bonded together. I've cooked this in a cloche. Take top off the last 10 minutes so it'll brown.
-
Should dough be placed in cold oven or first heat? Regards, Tom
Reviews
-
I have just put this in oven and waiting to see how it turns out. Not sure about it, it wasn't "wet" as previous review stated, in fact seemed to be too much flour OR not enough liquid. I have never had too much luck with traditional irish soda bread and would love to be able to make it in traditional manner as it is so easy. I will review again after it comes out. I have now made this 2x and the first time I mixed by hand and found that after baking it did not have the texture I thought it should have but we ate it and enjoyed. The 2nd time, I mixed with a dough hook on my KitchenAid using only a couple of mins, still there was too much flour so I added a little more milk which turned out better for moulding into a round load, after baking, it was a little lighter and better texture. Still it was received by all as a good bread to go with our corn beef and cabbage Irish dinner. I will make this again. -
This is really wonderful! Took it to my church today and people raved about it and wanted the recipe. The only thing I had to guess on was the oven temperature. I baked it at 350. Warm with a little butter on it, yum!
-
Originally found this looking for a way to get rid of my milk before going home (I'm a college student, but I didn't want to waste food dumping it out). I did a half-recipe, and it was delicious :)
Tweaks
-
Half-recipe
