History of Soda Bread

Notes come in every-so-often saying, more or less, "My sainted Irish grandmother/aunt/etc always used sugar, eggs, and (insert ingredient here) in her "Traditional Irish Soda Bread" and it was delicious. How can you say it isn't traditional Irish soda bread?"

Around St. Patrick's Day each year news editors watch "The Quiet Man" (one of my favorite movies) and thoughts turn to publishing "Traditional" soda bread recipes. Reams of newsprint are then devoted to "Irish" traditional cooking. (Note: a review of American newspapers from 1900 on shows the same recipe(s) reprinted year-after-year for tea cakes)

Most of the time there is nothing "traditional Irish" about them although they are great recipes. (Note: The same people who bring you "traditional Irish recipes" are the same Major Metropolitan newspaper editors that print a four-leaf clover at the top of the "St. Patrick's Day" page instead of the three-leaf shamrock.)

A great many Irish-Americans today had ancestors who left Ireland before soda bread was introduced there. And who could blame a great-grandmother or other relative living in America for getting an "Irish soda bread" recipe from a cookbook or newspaper and making it for their family? That is a family tradition that should be carried on. Most of those recipes were for "tea cakes", a fancy bread served to impress the guests while soda bread was the "Wonder Bread" of the day and not something you would serve to visitors if you could help it.

Honor your grandma, great-grand aunt, or whomever you remember making delicious bread by making it for your family and pass the tradition on, but how about trying out the recipe for the bread that came before the family tradition? How about making "Traditional Irish Soda Bread"?

"Corned Beef and Cabbage" is considered a traditional Irish dish now although it's really a traditional Irish-American meal created around 1900 when Irish immigrants substituted the cheaper corned beef for traditional Irish bacon (not the frying pan kind). I still enjoy both!

The creation of soda bread and "Corned Beef and Cabbage" came about not to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but as a result of poverty and the need to find inexpensive ways to feed a large family.

The American soda bread with nuts, sugar, etc has made its way back to Ireland some time ago so that people today will often brag about getting a traditional Soda Bread recipe from their friend who just moved here from Ireland. So, it must be "traditional", Right?

Truth be told, the Irish friend's mother probably got the jazzed-up version from someone returning from America years ago and liked it. What's not to like? It's a cake, not bread. And these Americanized versions have spread back to Ireland, home of Soda Bread. My research of American newspapers going back to the late 19th century show the trend of adding more and more ingredients to the basic recipe. The record is 13 ingredients so far.

A number of books with incorrect soda bread recipes usually have a note "I got this recipe from my friend whose grandmother made this for her family." Grandma probably knew the difference but preferred to make "spotted dog". And who wants to explain why the grandkids are eating something that goes by the name of "spotted dog" or worse names.

It happens every year around St. Patrick's Day!

In 2003 one major city newspaper's young cooking expert wrote about her family's "traditional Irish Soda bread" recipe. Her grandmother cut it out of a women's magazine in Boston during the 1950's but as far as she was concerned this was a recipe for "traditional" Irish soda bread even though she used whipped cream in it and a few other exotic things.

In 2004 a San Francisco writer penned a nice article about how his grandmother told him about soda bread and that adding all sorts of extras wasn't really soda bread. So, what does his editor do? He/She includes a soda bread recipe in the article that had heavy cream, baking powder, sugar, eggs, and a few other non-traditional items in it. I guess his Irish grandmother didn't get a chance to proof read the article. Not sure the editor read the original article.

One lady in a major city has been winning "Irish Soda Bread" contests for more than a decade with a recipe that violates every rule of being an Irish soda bread. She is a fabulous baker but has never made an Irish Soda Bread in her kitchen as far as we know. This shows that not only are American bakers confused about what an Irish Soda Bread is, but judges have no idea of what they are judging.

Once I pushed judges to the limit to see what they would do when I entered my favorite chocolate soufflé mini-cakes in the "Irish Baking Competition" in New Orleans. I discretely observed the judges (chefs from local restaurants who were probably more French than Irish) and they really liked the chocolate soufflé. They gave all the appearance of awarding my creation with the prize but the head of the event, who apparently knew something about Irish baking, frantically ran over and nixed their choice. The judges only knew what they liked.

And there lies the confusion in America about Irish soda bread. People like to jazz things up when they can (including me) and each generation adds its own contribution so that the recipe evolves over a very short time into something completely different from the original. Tasty, but not Traditional! The most common mistake is to make "Spotted Dog" (same ingredients as soda bread but with sugar/raisins added) and call it "Traditional Soda Bread."

The Food Network's Bobby Flay, a 4th generation Irish-American, did a special in 2003 called "Tasting Ireland" (repeated each St. Patrick's Day) during which he visited a Dublin bakery that produced loads of soda bread daily for the city's population. Their recipe ingredients consisted of:
White flour, preferably unbleached
Salt
Bread soda (baking soda)
Sour milk or buttermilk to mix

The food Network didn't post the bakery recipe (probably a secret) but one provided by Irish cook book author Darina Allen. Click here for her recipe at the Food Network

The traditional Irish recipe has been "jazzed" up by a great many cooks with all kinds of ingredients and, as Seinfeld would say "not that there's anything wrong with that!" but it isn't "Traditional Irish Soda Bread."

In most cases it's a delicious tea cake (or spotted dog) but not a soda bread as made by traditional bakers today . (Am I getting the point across?)

To appeal to our modern addiction to sugar, more and more bakers in Ireland are adding lots of sugar to their "traditional" bread to increase sales and that's ok. We can't blame them for trying to "make a buck." Even the Irish food sites sell "tea cakes" under the name "soda bread."

It reminds me of the time I saw a tourist trinket for sale in Ireland that had "Made in Japan" stamped on it but tourists didn't know it because it was written in Gaelic. :-)) Those trinkets are sitting on shelves all over the world now and bragged on as original "Irish ceramics."

Flour

Cake flour is the softest flour, followed by Pastry flour, and then All-Purpose. Use what you have, but stick to the 4 ingredients if you want to get as close to what your Irish ancestors made and not the latest “what can I add to the dough to stand out on YouTube” bakers who add Apples, yogurt, jalapenos, and who knows what. :-)

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. However, Bob Old Red Mill and King Arthur have pastry flours that are equivalent to products labeled “Flour for Irish Soda Bread.” Shop around for the best deal or Shipping prices will kill you. See if your local grocery will stock them. Here is a look at Bob’s Big Red Pastry Flour pkgs (not an advertisement)

In 1845, about the time the Famine started, William Odlum opened a flour 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. Note that they import a lot of wheat from other countries in Europe for their products. Again, shop around.

The latter just-add-water mixes are similar to what I create using Saco Cultured buttermilk, flour, baking soda, and salt to create my own "add water" mix. Powdered buttermilk is also sold by Bob’s Old Red Mill and King Arthur.

Traditional Soda Bread

White Soda Bread (reminder: 4oz by weight is a dry "cup")

• 4 cups (16 oz) of white flour, (Soft wheat, if you can find it. i.e. Pastry Flour, not Bread or Self-Rising)

• 1 Teaspoon baking soda,

• 1 Teaspoon salt,

• 14 oz of buttermilk

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.

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.

Traditional Brown Bread

Traditional Brown Bread.

Brown Bread (reminder: 4oz by weight is a dry sifted "cup" of flour)

3 cups (12 oz) of wheat flour, (Soft wheat, if you can find it. i.e. Pastry Flour, not Bread or Self-Rising)

1 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), add a little more, if necessary

1 teaspoon of salt, 1 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.

Method:

I use a cast iron Dutch oven similar to what was used during the 19th century, but here is an easier way using 9“ cake pans.

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. .

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.

FARLS Recipes

Note: The word “Farl” means a fourth, so Potato Farls in the North of Ireland are the same as “Fadge” or Potato Cakes in the South. Old description of baking use Farl to say cut into fourths. So “Farls” here means cutting the dough into fourths.

In Ulster the same ingredients for soda bread are used but the dough is divided into quarters and cooked on a grill (I remember my grandmother doing that once in awhile in Tipperary in the 1950s where it isn't common). The following are shared by permission from members of the Facebook page.

Thanks to Margaret for sharing this recipe with us.

Here is the recipe that makes soda bread- as my grandmother and great-grandmother made it - and as my children and grand-children (as well as myself) make it today. It hasn't changed at all - except we use a stove instead of an open hearth for cooking. My family is from Crossgar and Hillsborough in County Down.

• Heat a 9 inch iron skillet over low flame on the stove. Lightly dust with flour.

• Measure 2 cups sifted flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt.

• Make a well in the above and add 1 cup of buttermilk. Thoroughly mix until dough leaves side of bowl.

• Flour a bread board - put dough on board (sprinkle with a little extra flour - and gently knead 3 or 4 times.

• Pat dough into a circle the size of the skillet. Cut into farls (fourths) and place on skillet.

• Cook about 10 minutes on each side.

Wrap bread in a tea towel when it is done. This absorbs the baking soda taste and keeps the bread fresh. Eat that day or fry in bacon fat the next morning as part of an Ulster fry.

You can also use 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 white flour.

Notice: no whiskey - no eggs - no cream - nor currants or raisins. This is a basic bread to be served daily, not a dessert.

Dessert breads are like scones or bannocks.

Love the site!

Margaret
Evanston, IL

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Another visitor, Stan Russell from County Down who has been making Farls for many years (He's 75) added a note that Farls also need the step known as "Harning" (Hardening) which is setting them up on edge on the griddle leaning against each other for about 10 minutes so that the edges get finished off.

Stan says he uses an electric griddle these days and it works ok for him. He also adds "When I make wheaten today, due to the poor whole wheat flour here, I usually throw in a bit of wheat bran, and I find this makes it taste a wee bit more like it should."

Stan Russell, now living in Canada

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Theodora Fitzgibbon was a cooking expert from the 1950s and published a number of cook books in her time. Here is a recipe from her for "griddle bread". Cut it into quarters and you have "Farls." I remember my grandmother making this griddle bread in the late 1950s.

Mix together 225 grams (8 oz) of whole meal flour, 50 g (2 oz) of white flour, a table spoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Add the buttermilk, as much as needed to obtain a fairly soft consistency. Roll onto a floured surface and shape into a round. Heat the griddle (or flat-bottomed pan) until a sprinkling of flour turns light golden; then put the cake on and cook for ten minutes each side over medium heat. Serve straight from the pan.

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"

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

And for those who are gluten-intolerant and would like to join the celebration--

Gluten-Free Soda Bread

By Ed O'Dwyer on Face Book Group SFTPOISB Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 8:47pm

Member Gilbert Schmitt posted this info about Gluten-Free Soda Bread some time back.

We often get the question so, here is what he has to say. (Thanks Gilbert)

Not the authentic recipe but this works for those that need gluten free.

I make gluten free soda bread most of the time since my wife needs that.

I have my own flour mix that's a lot cheaper that the commercial mixes.

Basic mix is:

2 parts garbanzo bean flour1 part potato starch 1 part tapioca flour.

The bread mix is 1 part basic flour mix and 1 part buckwheat flour.

You'll have to add a gum or an egg or two to the mix to get it to hold together and add baking powder to get it to rise.

Not the authentic recipe but this works for those that need gluten free. I don't know if this works for yeast breads as my wife is also allergic to yeast and molds. BTW, 75% of the people in the US have gluten intolerance and most don't know it. Modern wheat (GMO) is the main culprit.

When I mix the gluten free soda bread I just turn it over on itself a few times in the bowl and don't kneed it.

Dump it out of the bowl into the baking kettle. It's always on the sticky side and three or four Tbs. of water around the bread dough will help with the cooking.

In my cast-iron Dutch oven it's 30 minutes with the lid on and 15 with the lid off. It's close to the same as regular soda bread.