Irish Soda Bread

Soda bread is a traditional Irish bread in which baking soda is used as the raising agent instead of yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. Other ingredients can be added such as raisins, egg or various forms of nuts.


Various forms of soda bread are popular throughout Ireland. Soda breads are made using either wholemeal or white flour. In Ulster the wholemeal variety is known as wheaten bread and is slightly sweetened, while the term "soda bread" is restricted to the white savoury form. I will be posting the wheaten bread review soon but unfortunately I can't include the recipe, as its Mums secret family recipe. Hard luck folks!


The two shapes are the loaf and the farl in Ulster. The loaf form takes a more rounded shape and has a cross cut in the top to allow the bread to expand. The farl is a more flattened type of bread. It is cooked on a griddle allowing it to take a more flat shape and split into four sections. The Soda Farl is an important part of the Ulster fry.
I would recommend the minimum amount of mixing of the ingredients before baking - the dough should not be properly kneaded.


Now the silly bit...In England, Scotland and Wales, Wheaten Bread is called Soda Bread and they don't have Irish soda bread. So to everyone from England, this is the REAL soda bread. I've heard that you may be able to get it in specialised shops, but they charge a lot for it!


Irish Soda Bread
450 g / 1 lb / 3 1/2 cups flour (either cake flour or plain flour)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
300 ml / 10 fluid ounces buttermilk

 If you want to use buttermilk but can't get it where you live, you can artificially sour some plain milk by adding a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to the milk and waiting 15 minutes or so for it to sour.

First things first: decide which kind of soda bread to make

If you're making farls, find your heaviest flat griddle or cast iron frying pan, and put it on to preheat at a low-medium heat. (You're going to have to experiment with settings. Farls should take about 20 minutes per side to get a slight toasty brown.) If you've decided to make a loaf, find a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 190°. Full preheating is vital for soda bread.

Combining the ingredients: the basic technique

Sift the dry ingredients together at least once or twice to make sure the baking soda is evenly distributed. Put the sifted dry ingredients in a good big bowl (you want stirring room) and make a well in the centre. Pour in about three-quarters of the buttermilk and start stirring. You are trying to achieve a dough that is raggy and very soft, but the lumps should look dryish and floury, while still being extremely squishy if you poke them. Add more liquid sparingly if you think you need it.

Blend quickly but gently until the whole mass of dough has become this raggy consistency. Then turn the contents of the bowl out immediately onto a lightly floured board or work surface, and start to lightly knead.

The main concern here is speed: the chemical reaction of the baking soda with the buttermilk starts as soon as they meet, and you want to get the bread into the oven while the reaction is still running on "high".

Don't over knead! You do not want the traditional "smooth, elastic" ball of dough you would expect with a yeast bread. You simply want one that contains almost everything that went into the bowl, in one mostly cohesive lump. You should not spend more than half a minute or so kneading... the less time, the better. Fifteen seconds may well be enough, because you don't want to develop the gluten in the flour at all. If you do, you'll get a tough loaf. So don't overdo it!

Don't be concerned if the dough is somewhat sticky: flour your hands, and the dough, and keep going as quickly as you can: farl in particular sometimes rises better if the dough is sticky.

How to shape the soda bread if you're making a loaf

Flatten the lump of dough to a slightly domed circle and put it on the baking sheet (which should be dusted lightly with flour first). Then use a very sharp knife to cut a cross right across the circle. The cuts should go about halfway down through the sides of the circle of dough, so that the loaf will "flower" properly.

Baking loaf style soda bread

Put the baking sheet into the preheated oven. Leave the bread alone, and don't peek at it! It should bake for about 35 minutes at 190° C. At the end of 35 minutes, pick up the loaf and tap the bottom. A hollow-ish sound means it's done. For a very crunchy crust, put on a rack to cool. For a softer crust wrap the cake in a clean dishcloth as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Shaping the bread if you're making farls

If farls are your choice, use the same very sharp knife to slice the circle of dough into four wedges. Try not to crush or compress the dough where you cut it (if the knife is sharp enough, you won't).

Baking farls on the griddle

Dust the hot griddle or frying pan with very little flour, and put the farls in gently. The cut edges should be 1/2 inch or so apart to allow for expansion. Give the farls 20 minutes per side. They should be nicely browned before you turn them. Keep an eye on the heat -- they scorch easily. When finished, take the farls off the heat and wrap them in a light dishtowel, hot side down. (The residual steam works its way up through the soda bread and softens the crust formed by the process of baking on the griddle.)


Both ways, the soda bread is wonderful sliced or split and served hot, with butter and jam, honey or golden syrup.


I chose to make a soda loaf and eat it while it was hot.
Here's how it turned out...

Yum yum! I like it best with butter and lashings of golden syrup. Enjoy... xx