Traditional Irish Soda Bread

This traditional Irish soda bread is the brown bread I grew up eating in East Galway. I have been making it for more than 20 years, having learned from my granny and another older lady when I was very young. Both women would be over 100 years old now, so this is a method of bread making that has been passed down through generations.

Where I come from, we would simply have called it brown bread or sometimes cake bread. Traditionally, it is shaped into a round, with a deep cross cut into the top before baking. People ate it for breakfast, lunch, and as a quick snack with a cup of tea.It was common to see this bread in packed lunch boxes at school, so popular has this bread been for generations.

If you are interested in more lunch ideas for back to school go here.

What Is Traditional Irish Soda Bread?

Traditional brown soda bread uses bicarbonate of soda, or bread soda, instead of yeast. The bread soda reacts with the acidity in the buttermilk, which means there is no yeast, proving or waiting for dough to rise.

It is also important not to knead it. If you’re new to soda bread, think of it as closer to making a large scone than a yeast bread. Mix it gently, shape it and get it into a hot oven.

I make mine with a mixture of wholemeal and plain flour. You’ll find variations across Ireland using different proportions of flour, bran, wheat germ and other additions.

Why Is There a Cross on Irish Soda Bread?

The round loaf with a deep cross is the traditional soda bread I remember from home.

The cross helps the thick round of bread bake through properly, but there is plenty of Irish folklore attached to it too. Traditionally the cross was associated with blessing the bread, while you may also hear that it was cut to let the fairies out.

Irish cookery writer and teacher Darina Allen still refers to these traditions when teaching soda bread today.

Whatever you believe about the fairies, cut the cross nice and deep. It helps the bread bake evenly.

Soda Bread in a Loaf Tin

You can also bake soda bread in a loaf tin, and I make it this way myself.

It’s particularly handy for beginners because you don’t have to worry about shaping the bread. It’s also a useful option if you’ve added a little too much buttermilk and the mixture is too wet to comfortably form into a round.

When making the loaf version, I sometimes add an egg. It isn’t necessary, but I find it gives the loaf a little more structure and moisture and helps it stay softer for slightly longer.

If you add an egg, whisk it into the buttermilk and remember that you may need less buttermilk overall.

Traditional Soda Bread Variations

Like most foods that have been made in homes for generations, there isn’t only one version of Irish soda bread.

A lovely traditional variation is Spotted Dog, a richer soda bread containing dried fruit and a little sugar. Another name I knew growing up was curnie cake, essentially a curranty cake.

Darina Allen has documented several regional names for these traditional fruit breads, including Spotted Dog, curnie cake and railway cake.

Sweeter fruit soda breads also travelled with Irish emigrants and developed further in places such as the United States. Some versions contain raisins or sultanas and caraway seeds. They are quite different from the everyday East Galway brown bread I’m making here, but they are part of the wider history of Irish soda bread.

Buttermilk

Buttermilk is important because its acidity reacts with the bicarbonate of soda and helps the bread rise.

One of the most useful things I’ve learned from making soda bread for years is not to become too attached to an exact amount of buttermilk. Different flours absorb different amounts of liquid.

Start with around 375ml and gently bring everything together. If you can still see dry flour, add a little more buttermilk.

You want a soft, sticky mixture, not a firm dough waiting to be kneaded.

Once you’ve made soda bread a few times, you’ll begin to recognise the right consistency by sight and feel.

How to Tell When Soda Bread Is Baked

Brown soda bread needs a good bake. Mine generally takes around 45 to 50 minutes and develops a deep brown crust.

Carefully turn it over and tap the bottom. It should sound hollow. If it doesn’t, give it a little longer in the oven.

When the bread is baked, wrap it in a clean tea towel and leave it on a cooling rack. That’s how I was taught to cool soda bread, and it helps soften the naturally firm crust.

How to Serve Irish Soda Bread

Fresh soda bread with plenty of butter is hard to beat. It’s also lovely with jam, smoked salmon or alongside a bowl of my homemade vegetable soup.

And don’t discard yesterday’s bread. Toasted brown soda bread with butter is delicious.

Can You Freeze Irish Soda Bread?

Yes. Allow the bread to cool completely before freezing it.

You can freeze it whole or sliced. I prefer freezing slices because you can take out exactly what you need and it’s particularly good toasted after freezing.

A Traditional Irish Bread

Soda bread doesn’t need to be complicated. It was everyday food in the home I grew up in, and that’s still how I think about it.

Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly, add enough buttermilk, handle the mixture lightly and get it into a hot oven.

After you’ve made it a few times, you’ll start recognising the mixture by feel. That’s really how I learned, standing beside women who had made this bread so many times that there wasn’t much measuring or fuss involved.

More than 20 years later, that’s still the way I make it.

mrshawkinshouse

Traditional Irish Brown Soda Bread

 Traditional Irish brown soda bread made two ways: the traditional round cake bread with a deep cross, or an easy loaf tin version with an optional egg.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Allow to rest till almost cool so that it cuts properly. 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 8 slices

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Irish

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 225 grams plain flour
• 225 grams wholemeal flour
• 1 tsp bi-carb/ bread soda heaped teaspoon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch sugar or 1 tsp honey
• 375- 425 mls buttermilk add gradually after first adding 375-keep adding buttermilk till there is no dry flour.

Optional Ingredient

• 1 egg you can add an egg if you wish, but if you do, reduce your buttermilk to compensate. An egg gives a slightly lighter bread that cuts well and stays fresher for a little longer. An egg is about 50mls of liquid for context.

Equipment

• weighing scales
• large bowl
• spatula
• Wooden spoon
• Tea Towel
• Baking tray
• Loaf tin If making the loaf version. See methods and ingredients variations below.

Method

 

Traditional Soda Brown Soda Bread ( Round or Loaf)

1. Preheat the oven to 200C Fan/ 220C/ 425F/Gas mark 7
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients. Combine completely before adding any of the wet ingredients.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk.
4. Using your floured hand or a spatula, pull the ingredients together very gently. Take care to not overwork the dough.
5. If it appears at all dry add more buttermilk. It should look like fairly wet porridge when its fully combined.
6. Tip the mixture out onto a grease proof paper lined and generously floured baking tray.
7. Make into a round using plenty of flour to shape your bread. Do not knead at all. Just pat and shape.
8. Cut a deep cross into the round cake. ( to let the fairies out)
9. Bake in a hot oven for 50 minutes or until rich golden brown.
10. You'll know it is baked when it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom of the bread.
11. Quickly wrap in a clean tea towel and allow to cool on a cooling rack. This will help to soften the crust which is naturally tough.

To Make A Brown Soda Bread Loaf

1. Follow the instructions in the same manner as above.
2. Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
3. Tip the mixture into the loaf tin
4. Cut a deep line into the loaf longways
5. Bake for 50 minutes in a hot oven.
6. Tap and wrap once baked as above.

If using an egg

1. I only use an egg in the loaf version of this bread as it helps it slice better in my opinion.
2. The dry mixture stays the same as above
3. For the wet mixture, reduce the butter milk by about 50mls to account for the egg.
4. And if you still need to add more buttermilk that is fine too. Soda bread dough should be like porridge.
5. Combine the egg with the milk before adding to the dry mix
6. Apart from that, carry on with the recipe as normal, just use a loaf tin rather than making a round cake.

Notes

Soda bread dough should be quite soft and wet, more like thick porridge and not a kneadable dough. If the mixture looks dry at any stage, add a little more buttermilk rather than mixing longer.

Do not knead the dough. Overworking it will make the loaf dense and heavy. Handle it gently and get it into the oven as soon as it is mixed.

This soda bread freezes and defrosts extremely well. Allow the loaf to cool completely before freezing. It can be frozen whole or sliced. Defrost at room temperature. Remove the freezer wrapping immediately and allow it to defrost uncovered. Use a mesh food tent to protest it while defrosting.