Q&A Facts & Myths

Q. I used powdered buttermilk mixed into the dry mix as directed but then I used the suggested amount of water and it was too wet. Suggestions?

A. I often use powdered buttermilk. They say mix the powder in with the flour, but I mix it with the recommended amount of water for 2 fluid cups and then use about 14 ounces of it, adding a little of the liquid at a time. Every time making bread is an adventure in chemistry.

Q. Why does my bread smell fishy!

A. A fishy smell occurs when too much baking soda is left unneutralized in the dough.

• Excess Baking Soda: Without enough acid in the buttermilk, unneutralized soda creates an alkaline environment. High oven heat then breaks down flour and milk proteins into amines, which smell distinctly like fish.

• Oxidized Fats: Using older flour or buttermilk with slightly degraded fats amplifies this off-odor when exposed to high heat and unneutralized soda.

The Fix: Measure baking soda precisely and use fresh, fully cultured buttermilk to ensure all the soda is neutralized.

Q. Did Irish Soda Bread originate with Native Americans?

A. No, Irish soda bread did not originate with Native Americans, though a widely repeated internet myth claims it did. Now, I take the blame for this. 30 years ago in researching to see if other cultures had used a quick bread like the Irish did. I wrote about the two separate developments. The nearest example was Native American wood ash bread.

Since journalist frequently go to this site for their stories, some quickly, due to lack of reading skill, got it into their heads that the Irish took the wood ash bread back to Ireland. Never happened. And a Myth was born and continues on today.
Here is how the history breaks down:

The Pearlash / Potash Connection: Native Americans developed a technique of using wood ash (potassium carbonate / pearlash) as an alkaline leavening agent for cornmeal cakes long before European arrival. Early American settlers adopted this process to make quick breads.

• The Irish Adaptation: Commercial baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) was introduced to Ireland in the late 1830s. Irish home bakers combined it with soft, low-gluten Irish wheat flour and sour buttermilk to create the distinct, cross-slashed loaf known today as traditional Irish soda bread.

• The Myth: Because both traditions use an alkaline reaction rather than yeast to leaven bread without long rising times, food blogs and travel articles often conflate the two and claim Native Americans "invented" soda bread. However, the ingredients, grain types (wheat vs. corn), and cultural origins are entirely separate.