This is a day late, but most assuredly not a dollar short. Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, the one day of the year when everybody is Irish.
There’s one thing about St. Patrick’s Day 2012 that kind of rankles me. How come none of the myriad cable channels bothered to broadcast the “ultimate” Irish movie—even though the lead character is decidedly non-Irish—John Wayne’s, 1952 classic “The Quiet Man”?
I cooked up the traditional St. Patrick’s dinner yesterday—corned beef and cabbage. And, I even made Traditional Irish Soda Bread—dense and flavorful.
Cheap Bastid's St. Patrick's Day "Feast"
Like so many of my adventures in cooking, I started out by doing some research into several different recipes on the internet and found some interesting information about what traditional Irish soda bread is—and what it isn’t.
According to the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread (http://www.sodabread.info), soda bread never contains raisins, eggs, baking powder, sugar, shortening and certainly not yeast. Well, that should make it pretty simple. And it is.
The first recipe for traditional Irish soda bread was published by “Farmer’s Magazine” in London in 1836, after the potato famine led to massive migration. Soda bread recipes came to America with latter day immigrants. Interesting. But, let’s get to the baking.
Recipe: Traditional Irish Soda Bread
Summary: Not just for St. Patrick’s Day, this traditional Irish Soda Bread is dense and flavorful and rustic. Enjoy it especially with soups and stews.
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (any salt works but sea salt adds extra cruch)
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk (or 2 tablespoons white vinegar and 1 ¾ cups milk)
Instructions
- Get out a big mixing bowl and your cake pans (if you don’t have a 9” pan, use an 8” pan; if you don’t have round cake pans, get out a baking sheet so you can plop the bread on that).
- If you’re adding vinegar to milk do this first and let it rest about 10 minutes.
- Turn oven on to 425
- Grease and flourthe cake pan
- Put the dry ingredients in the bowl—flour, baking soda and salt—mix together to combine.
- Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk.
- Stir together until it makes a sticky dough. If it’s too wet, add a bit more flour; too dry add a bit more milk.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently—don’t overknead the dough; a minute will be just fine.
- Make a rounded mound of dough and put into the cake pan or onto the baking sheet. Cut a cross with a sharp, greased knife about ½ inch deep across the top of the loaf.
- If using a cake pan, put another pan on top.
- Put in the 425 oven for 30 minutes then remove the “lid” pan and let the loaf bake for another 10-15 minutes until the loaf is golden.
- Remove from oven, let it cool a bit and you’re ready to eat.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 50 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Culinary tradition: Irish
My rating 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)
Enjoy this Traditional Irish Soda Bread. It’s dense and flavorful. Break the “quarters” that you’ve cut into the top so that you can slice or break pieces off to slather with butter and eat.
The Cheap Bastid Test: Well, 4 cups of flour cost maybe half a dollar and the other ingredients add maybe an quarter. So I made this bread for about $.75. It was $2.50 at the bakery at the grocery store. And the added bonus is that it filled our apartment with a wonderful aroma.
And that’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!
About Walter Blevins
My wife started to call me Cheap Bastid a while back because I enjoyed coming up with dinners that cost next to nothing--and making them taste good. Yeah, I love to cook. And I love to cook good food cheap. I'm not a chef and I'm definitely not anything close to a gourmet. I'm just a home cook who grew up in a home where cooking was from scratch and was a little bit Midwest and a little bit country. That's because my Mom was from Michigan and my Dad was from Kentucky. I started sharing recipes when my daughter called me in 2006 and asked for my recipe for Swiss Steak. That year for Christmas I put together a cookbook for my 2 kids called "Dad's Everyday Cookbook and Kitchen Survival Guide". And I heard back that they both use it regularly. It was full of basic recipes that I had cooked for them when they were growing up. I work hard at creating recipes that are original and creative and inexpensive. You won't find a foo-foo foodie approach to my recipes and style. I believe that it's OK for food to go up the side of a plate. Food is for eating--it doesn't have to be pretty. And I write about my cooking and my recipes so that I can share them. I hope you enjoy these posts. Leave me a comment--that you liked something or that you didn't, it doesn't matter. I'd love to hear from you.
View all posts by Walter Blevins →
FAQs
The most traditional doneness test calls for thumping the hot bread in the center to hear if it's hollow-sounding. A more foolproof indication is temperature; the loaf will register 200°F to 205°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted in the center of the bread.
Why did my Irish soda bread fall apart? ›
Make sure you are using the correct amount of baking soda in the recipe. Too much or too little can result in a crumbly loaf. It's also possible that your oven wasn't hot enough when you baked the bread. Make sure to preheat your oven before baking Irish soda bread and don't open it frequently during the baking time.
Can you over knead Irish soda bread? ›
You spent too much time kneading the dough. Baking soda starts to react and release its gas as soon as it comes into contact with the sour milk. Take too long and the gas will escape before the bread is baked. Kneading will also cause chewy gluten to form.
Why do you put a cross in Irish soda bread? ›
The Southern Irish regions bake their loaves in a classic round fashion and cut a cross on top of the bread. This was done for superstitious reasons, as families believed a cross on top of the bread would let the fairies out or ward off evil and protect the household.
What's the difference between Irish bread and Irish soda bread? ›
Irish brown bread has a deep, nutty flavor because of its wheat flour and wheat bran while soda bread uses only white flour. Soda bread is slightly sweet and more scone-like while Irish brown bread is more savory with a tender interior.
Why is my Irish soda bread raw in the middle? ›
Your oven is too hot if it is uncooked in the center. Try lowering the temp on your oven by 25F and extending the bake time. Don't put anything on the top of the bread to aid in browning until the last few min. of cooking, and use an instant read thermometer (target temp to pull is 190F).
Why is my Irish soda bread so dry? ›
It's important to remember no to overmix your ingredients. Irish Soda Bread is a dense bread, similar to a scone, but can easily become dry if overmixed. Quickly add the wet ingredients to a well you've made in the dry ingredients, and mix with your hands or a dough hook until it just comes together.
How dry should soda bread dough be? ›
The oldest recipe for soda bread, widely syndicated from Ireland's Newry Times in 1836, says the dough was "as soft as could possibly be handled...the softer the better." Thirteen years and 180 miles down the road, the Waterford Times described it as "wetter than pie crust, too stiff to pour, but not stiff enough to ...
Is Irish soda bread bad for you? ›
Nutrition Notes
Whole-wheat soda bread is a healthy addition to your plate! One serving—a 1/2-inch-thick slice—provides complex carbohydrates for sustained energy, protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals.
Should Irish soda bread dough be sticky? ›
You're looking for a dough that's soft but not overly sticky or wet, and that holds together enough to make a loaf that can hold its shape on the sheet pan. If the dough is dry and crumbly, add up to 1/2 cup additional buttermilk, a tablespoon or so at a time, until it comes together.
Tightly wrap your leftover bread and place it in an airtight container. There's no need to refrigerate. As for how long soda bread lasts: Irish soda bread tends to dry out faster than other breads. The bread will be good for 3-4 days or up to three months if frozen.
What is good to put on Irish soda bread? ›
This versatile bread works for any meal, but Irish soda bread is a natural for breakfast, whether simply spread with (Irish) butter and jam or alongside that hearty fry-up known as a full Irish breakfast. It's also wonderful with a cup of tea in the afternoon or as a late-night snack.
Why is my soda bread crust so hard? ›
Bake for approximately 35 minutes. Turn off the oven, remove the bread from the tray and wrap in a damp tea towel then return it to the warm oven to cool. This gives you a soft crust. If you like a hard crust then leave to cool on a rack with no damp tea towel.
Why is my Irish soda bread sticky? ›
Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.
What's the difference between sourdough bread and Irish soda bread? ›
The main difference between sourdough bread and soda bread is in its leavening agent – sourdough bread rises due to the gasses released from yeast and bacteria fermentation, while soda bread rises from the gasses produced during the chemical interaction between baking soda and acids in the dough.
Is Irish soda bread good for you? ›
Nutrition Notes
Whole-wheat soda bread is a healthy addition to your plate! One serving—a 1/2-inch-thick slice—provides complex carbohydrates for sustained energy, protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals.
What does traditional Irish soda bread taste like? ›
Irish soda bread is a dense and tender quick bread with a subtle tangy buttermilk flavor.
What is another name for Irish soda bread? ›
Irish soda bread has a couple of other names, too: When we attended a class at the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, they made this loaf and called it a Spotted Dog. It's also called white soda bread, American Irish soda bread, or fruit soda bread.
