Flour and Soda Bread

Currant Bread, also known as Sultana Bread, Fruit Soda was made in the 19th century by adding about 2 ounces of Sultanas or currants to the soda bread recipe. It was made only on Christmas, Easter, and very special occasions. It was not an “optional” ingredient in the soda bread made daily or weekly unless you were wealthy. Ireland was a poor country up until the latter half of the 20th century. I recall in the 1950s Ireland getting an orange in my stocking from Father Christmas and being delighted with the treat. And when my grandmother made Tea Bread it was also a treat.

See the Society’s YouTube Channel for: How Raisins got into Irish Soda Bread

Back in the day the words “cake”, “bread”, and “loaf” could be interchanged depending on what part of the country you lived in. Today modern sweet cakes prevail throughout Ireland and control the term “cake.” And note that the word “corn” did not mean the same thing as it does in America. Corn meant grain (wheat, barley, rye, etc). American corn imported during the Famine years was called yellow meal or Indian meal and was the main part of the diet for those who could get it.

There are recipes for those types of cakes (fancy at the time) but they are not the traditional soda bread eaten by the Irish daily since the mid 19th century. We honor them by making Traditional Soda Bread. Pretending that they ate fruity desserts every day is to ignore history.

As an added note; In 1946 the Irish school system adopted the cookbook “All In The Cooking” which presented the basic soda bread recipe found previous to the publication and taught to thousands of Home economics students through the 1970s. There is no question that Soda Bread contains only 4 ingredients.

Here are a few basic recipes. Note that measurements below are in American standards. (An Irish teaspoon is not the same as an American teaspoon measurement. In “All in the Cooking” an American level teaspoon is called “1/2 a teaspoon” in Ireland. Knowing this can make a difference when duplicating an Irish Recipe in America.

Note for New Bakers: a fluid cup contains 8 ounces of liquid. A dry ingredient cup of flour contains around 4.25 ounces by weight. If sifted, 4.0 ounces. Don't use a liquid measuring cup for dry ingredients. Tsp means Teaspoon. The following 4 measurements are from Bob’s Old Red Mill. A similar list is on King Arthur’s site.

• 1 cup all purpose flour = 125 grams (4 1/2 ounces)

• 1 cup sifted all purpose flour = 115 grams (4 ounces)

• 1 cup cake flour = 115 grams (4 ounces)

• 1 cup sifted cake flour = 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces)

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.