Irish Soda Bread

A simple soda bread with a hearty texture, a perfect pairing for good Irish butter

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City/Region: Ireland

Time Period: 1836

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For most of history, bread was either leavened using some form of yeast, or it was unleavened, like roti or matzah. It wasn’t until the 17th century that people began making chemically-leavened breads, or quick breads, in northern Europe, and in 1817 the first bread was made using super carbonate of soda. This bread became popular in Ireland not only due to the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852), but because Irish wheat had less gluten, which made yeast-leavened breads more difficult to make.

This loaf is simple and hearty and is really good with a slathering of Irish butter.

“If any wish to make the experiment, let them put a pound and a half of good wheaten meal into a large bowl, mix with it two teaspoonfuls of finely powdered salt, then take a large spoonful of super carbonate of soda, dissolve in it half a teacupful of cold water, and add it to the meal; rub up all intimately together, then pour into the bowl as much very sour buttermilk as will make the whole into soft dough (it should be as soft as could possibly be handled, and the softer the better,) form it into a cake of about an inch thickness, and put it into a flat Dutch oven or frying pan, with some metallic cover, such as an oven lid or griddle, apply a moderate heat underneath for twenty minutes, then lay some clear live coals upon the lid, and keep it so for half an hour longer (the under heat being allowed to fall off gradually for the last fifteen minutes), taking off the cover occasionally to see that it does not burn.
This, when somewhat cooled and moderately buttered, is as wholesome food as ever entered man’s stomach, and I hope that many may be induced to put my assertion to the test of experience.”

— M.D., writing in to the Enniskillen Chronicle and Erne Packet, September 22, 1836

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) flour, coarse wholemeal flour is most authentic, but whole wheat flour will work just fine
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 ounces (88 ml) cold water
• 2 cups (475 ml) buttermilk, more or less as needed
• 2 teaspoons super carbonate of soda*, or baking soda

*See notes below.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and remove the wire racks. Line the bottom of a cast iron pan, pot, or dutch oven with parchment paper.
2. Add the super carbonate of soda to 3 oz cold water and mix. The super carbonate of soda is caustic, so try not to handle it too much with your bare hands in its undiluted form.
3. Measure the flour into a large bowl and aerate it by lifting it with your hands and letting it fall gently back into the bowl for 1 minute.
4. Add the salt and mix to combine.
5. Add the super carbonate of soda and water mixture and use your hands to combine, rubbing the ingredients intimately together (there will still be some dry spots).
6. Pour in the buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon or your hands to form a soft dough. An article from 1849 says that it should be “too stiff to pour, but not stiff enough to roll”. Work quickly as the buttermilk and super carbonate of soda begin to react the moment they come into contact, so the sooner you can get it into the oven, the better.
7. Form dough into a round and place in the prepared pot. With a sharp knife, score the top of the loaf in a large X.
8. Place the lid on the pot and bake on the floor of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. When the soda bread is a deep golden brown, remove from the oven.
9. Let cool slightly, then slice and serve it forth with a generous slathering of salted butter, Irish if you can find it.

Notes

• To make your own super carbonate of soda (sodium carbonate), spread baking soda onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 450°F (232°C) for 1 hour.

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