Irish Soda Bread + Bonus Recipe!

This recipe is so simple that I kept checking the wording to make sure I didn’t miss a step.

Nope! Start to finish before popping it into the oven took under 15 minutes with a minimum of clean up!

That includes the 1 minute (yes, only 1 minute!) of kneading.

This very basic loaf gets its remarkable texture and lift from just one leavening agent – its namesake baking soda.

Traditionally, it was made with a minimum number of ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, buttermilk) that every household in Ireland had on hand.

This loaf tastes wholesome and both the taste and tight-crumbed texture lend themselves to spreading. I used a jar of homemade apricot preserves purchased from a young friend at a farmer’s market – yum!

Tip: By the end of the baking day, this massive loaf will turn as hard as the Blarney Stone, due to the wee bit of fat from the buttermilk. So cover it when not being nibbled on.

And, just because I was in a baking mood, I also made a variation of the traditional soda bread – Irish Oatmeal Bread.

Again, it is a big recipe, overflowing my loaf baking pan.

It is mealier than the traditional loaf but just as tasty.

I hope you try both of these recipes. I think they would be good at a gathering or even for a fundraising event.

These recipes came from McCall’s World Wide Cooking M12 (1974).

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Irish Soda Bread

4 c. sifted all-purpose flour

1 T. baking soda

1 T. sugar

2 ½ t. salt

¼ t. cream of tartar

1 ½ c. buttermilk

1 T. butter or margarine, melted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease well a large cookie sheet. (I placed parchment paper to cover it)
2. In large bowl combine flour with baking soda, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar; mix well
3. Add buttermilk; with fork, stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Turn out dough onto lightly floured board. Knead lightly until smooth — about 1 minute.
5. Shape dough into a ball; place on cookie sheet. With hands flatten into a 7-inch circle. With sharp knife cutting ¼-inch deep, mark into quarters.  
7. Bake 30-40 minutes or until top is golden-brown and sounds hollow when rapped with knuckle.
8. Remove to wire rack. Brush top with butter; cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf – 6-8 servings

Special occasion Irish soda bread: Combine 1 ½ c. dark raisins and 2 T. caraway seeds with dry ingredients. Proceed as above.

My notes:

I used bread flour, rather than all-purpose for no reason, other than to adapt myself to that particular style of flour. I’m pleased with the result.

• Rather than add lemon juice to milk as a buttermilk substitute as I have successfully in the past, I used powdered buttermilk mixed with water. This buttermilk powder was one commonly used by my mother-in-law decades ago to make a luscious chocolate cake – alas, we don’t have that recipe. I like to honor her by using this same product to make my own recipes.

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Irish Oatmeal Bread

3 c. sifted all-purpose flour

1 ¼ c. quick rolled oats

1 ½ T. baking powder

1 T. salt

1 egg

¼ c. honey

1 ½ c. milk

1 T. butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease well a 9-x-5-x-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. (I lined mine with parchment paper)
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, baking powder, salt.
3. In a medium bowl, using rotary beater, beat egg with honey and milk to mix well.
4. Pour egg mixture into oat mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon just until dry ingredients are moistened – mixture will not be smooth.
5. Spread batter in pan. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until crusty and tester inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Turn loaf out of pan on wire rack. While still warm, brush top with melted butter.

Makes 1 loaf.