Soda bread recipes

[Jeanied]

I have been trying a few different soda bread recipes - this one is the best so far. What is your favourite one?

Irish Soda Bread from Bread by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter
225g/8oz plain flour
225g/8oz wholemeal flour plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt (I used 1/2)
2tsp bicarbonate of soda (not heaped)
2 tsp cream of tartar
40g/ 1 and a half oz butter or lard
1 tsp caster sugar
350-375 ml / 12-13 fl oz buttermilk
Makes 1 round or two smaller round loaves

Preheat oven to 190/375/gas 5
lightly grease a baking sheet
sift flours and salt into a large bowl, adding back the bran
add the bicarb and cream of tartar and then rub in the fat
stir in the sugar
pour in the buttermilk - enough to make a soft dough. Do not overmix - just stir it together very quickly - don't worry if it looks rough.
Shape into a round on a floured surface, plump it up a little and put on the baking sheet. Mark the top with a cross using a sharp knife and cutting deep into the dough.
Dust lightly with wholemeal flour and bake for 35-40 mins for a single loaf 25-30 mins for 2 smaller ones. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the base when it is ready. Serve warm.

Soda bread is very quick to make - so it is ideal if you are running out of time. The only 'difficult' ingredient for me is the buttermilk as not all supermarkets do it - but Morrisons near me does! It is in the creams and fromage frais section.
Anyone got a nice soda bread recipe to share?

[eospete]

i had a soda bread with rosemary at an italian restaurant last week and it was great they were flatbreads. gonna try this one. thanks p

[northepaul]

What does the cream of tartar do?

[Hilary B]

What does the cream of tartar do?

Bicarb needs acid to make it 'work', cream of tartar provides the acid content without a noticeable acid taste in the end product.

[Piggle]

The one from the river cottage book is good - from memory I think it's

500g plain flour or combinations of any flour eg spelt, wholemeal etc
1 tsp salt
2tsp bicarbonate of soda (not heaped)
350-375 ml of butter milk or live yoghurt
bit of milk if necessary

mix it all together - don't faff with it too much otherwise it goes hard when you bake it (??? no idea why)

It's 190 degrees for 40-45 mins ( or when it sounds hollow when tapped)

YUM

[LittleShamrock]

The southern Irish soda bread is different from the north's We make soda farls!

500g soda bread flour
375ml buttermilk
1 tsp salt

mix altogether, form into a round shape about an inch thick (maybe abour 8 inches across), cut into four pieces. place farls on hot griddle (dusted with flour) or frying pan (dusted likewise) and cook 4-5mins each side, until cooked in the middle but not burnt on the outside (a skill I have yet to master!)

if you don't soda bread flour, add half a tsp of bicarbonate of soda to plain flour, and use soured milk in place of buttermilk if you need to. Use wheaten flour or add wheatbran for a wheaten version.

Great eaten fresh with butter and jam, or fried up with bacon, sausages, black and white pudding, potato bread, eggs and mushrooms and beans. Yum!

[Suky]

Thanks LittleShamrock, My Hubby & I love soda farls after having them with cooked breakfasts on a few trips to Ireland but I have yet to master the secret. I will give both the bread and the farls a try.

[Noirin]

Soda Bread

This is my favourite Soda Bread Recipe. It is made in a loaf tin and has sunflower and pumpkin seeds in it. The mix is wet and is poured into a loaf tin so you don't have to get your hands dirty (or you don't have to put your dirty, post gardening hands into the bread!). I usually make two loaves together, one seedy and one plain soda bread as some people don't like seeds. I usually omit the treacle as I don't like sweet bread but as it was in the recipe I left it in.

Seedy Soda Bread

16oz Wholemeal Flour
2 heaped teasp Bread Soda
Pinch Salt
Handful Sunflower Seeds
Handful Pumpkin Seeds
1 pint Buttermilk
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Treacle


Preheat the oven to 150°C. Lightly grease a 2lb loaf tin. Put wholemeal flour, salt, bread soda into a bowl. Add the seeds and mix well. Mix the egg, olive oil, treacle and buttermilk together and add to the dry ingredients. Stir. Pour into the prepared tin and cut a line along the top. Bake for 1hour 15 minutes.
Soda Bread
6oz Plain Flour
10oz Wholemeal Flour
1 teaspoon Bread Soda
1 level teaspoon Salt
1oz Margarine
1 Egg (beaten)
¾ pint Buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Lightly grease a 2lb loaf tin. Sieve the cream flour, salt, bread soda into a bowl. Add the wholemeal and mix well. Rub in the margarine. Mix the egg and buttermilk together and add to the dry ingredients. Stir. Pour into the prepared tin and cut a line along the top. Bake for 1hour 15 minutes.

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Love soda bread and soda farls. Soda farls are delish toasted with fried mushrooms on top - yummy Sunday breakfast. So will be trying out the recipes this week - thanks.

[ginger ninger]

Here's one of my favorite Soda Bread recipes, as requested by Jeanied . It's yummy just with butter on or with some nice home-made soup. I also make it with rosemary & garlic.

SAGE SODA BREAD.

Make’s One Loaf.

Ingredients.

6 oz (117g) Wholemeal Flour
4 oz (115g) Strong White Plain
½ tsp salt
1 tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
2 tbls Shredded Fresh Sage or 2 tsp Dried Sage
½ -¾ (300- 450ml) Butter Milk.

Method.

1. Preheat the oven to 220c/425f/Gas7. Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

2. Stir in the sage and add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.

3. Shape the dough into a round loaf with your hands (DO NOT OVER WORK THE DOUGH) , place on a lightly oiled baking tray.

4. Cut a deep cross in the top. Bake in the oven for about 40 mins or until the loaf is well risen & sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool (If you can) on a wire rack.

[LittleShamrock]

Cheese and Bacon Soda Bread Farls

because everything is better when you add cheese and bacon

500g soda bread flour
375ml buttermilk
1 tsp salt
large handful grated cheese (I use mature cheddar, but whatever you like/have)
a few slices streaky bacon (smoked or unsmoked)
1 tbsp oil or lard

heat the oil/lard in a frying pan, snip the bacon into small pieces, and fry until crispy (you could also grill, but try to save the fat that comes out of the bacon, it makes the soda so yummy!). Tip bacon and fat juices into the flour, then add the salt, cheese and buttermilk.

mix altogether, form into a round shape about an inch thick (maybe abour 8 inches across), cut into four pieces. place farls on hot griddle (dusted with flour) or frying pan (dusted likewise) and cook 4-5mins each side, until cooked in the middle but not burnt on the outside (a skill I have yet to master!) I find the outside browns quite quickly, before the inside is cooked so I put it in the oven at 180 degrees for 10-15 mins, or until cooked inside.

if you don't soda bread flour, add half a tsp of bicarbonate of soda to plain flour, and use soured milk in place of buttermilk if you need to. Use wheaten flour or add wheatbran for a wheaten version.

[sweetiepea]

Soda Breads can be sweet too. Here are two variations to try:

Fruit Soda Bread

Ingredients:

1lb flour
1/2tsp bread soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 pint buttermilk (approx)
4oz raisins
1dsp sugar

Method

Sieve the flour, soda and salt into a bowl.
Add raisins and sugar.
Mix in the buttermilk.
Put onto a floured board and knead lightly.
Cut a cross in the top and place in a lightly floured tin.
Bake at 200 degrees, gas mark 6 for 1 hour.

Treacle Bread

Ingredients:

1lb flour
1/2tsp bread soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 pint buttermilk (approx)
4oz raisins
1dsp sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp treacle


Method

Sieve the flour, soda and salt into a bowl.
Add raisins and sugar.
Mix in the buttermilk, egg and treacle.
Put onto a floured board and knead lightly.
Cut a cross in the top and place in a lightly floured tin.
Bake at 200 degrees, gas mark 6 for 1 hour.

My Grandmother used to make these, but cooked them on top of the range cooker in a shallow cast iron pan. The cake of bread was approx. 1 1/2 - 2 inches thick.

[BigShot]

For soda bread it's GOT to be "Traditional Irish"!

You can keep your soda *cakes* full or fruit and sugar (though they can be very tasty, I'll grant you) and give me real, traditional Irish soda bread ANY (or maybe "every") day of the week.

Flour, buttermilk, soda and a bit of salt.
I'd probably use about half a bag of flour (assuming a 1kg bag). Maybe a bit less actually - but that'll do for the dough and all the flouring you'll need to do
.
Use a full supermarket carton of buttermilk... they are about the size of one of those tall, narrow pots of cream. I don't have any handy to check the size of them.

I can't give you precise measurements (but then, it all depends on the flour anyway so measurements never mean all that much) as I just pile them in with a bit of buttermilk and flour kept back. When that's mixed in I'll either add a bit more buttermilk or a bit more flour to get the feel of the dough right.
I go for a fairly sticky dough. Not so much you can't put it down, but enough to need to keep your hands and the worktop well floured so it doesn't stick.

Flour a baking tray and put the dough on about 1.5 to 2" thick. Cut in a cross on top (got to be done, really) and throw it in the oven on Gas 7 for 25 minutes and then turn down to 4 for about 15 minutes.

Tapping the bottom should give a hollow sound when it's done.

For a hard crust leave it out to cool before cutting. For a softer (but still nice and crusty) crust wrap it in a clean tea towel to cool.


A bit of butter and good jam on a slice about half an inch thick is the solution to all the world's ills.


I believe some people cover the bread with a pan for a while just after it goes into the oven to take the place of the pot they used to use to make bread in the fire... I can't say I've ever bothered trying it though. Maybe I will some time soon.