Should we change our habits or let habits change us? Make this tasty Irish soda bread and see what our heart bids us!
Soda bread is just like its name suggests bread made with soda, baking soda to be more precise. Despite all the fuss about sour dough bread nowadays, making bread is a straightforward natural process that doesn’t require anything but wheat flour, water and some bacteria that is found in the air.
Once we wet the flour and leave it in the open for the bacteria to feed on it, we’ve got ourselves the glorified sour dough that we can use to make our very own bread. So, making bread is kind of a straightforward foolproof process, given that we live in a climate where wheat can flourish and produce a high protein / gluten content flour.
Missing that, our bread making ambitions will fall flat. If there isn’t enough gluten in the flour to support the bacteria CO2 production, the gas will just leave the bread without being trapped thus leavening it.
Why Irish soda bread?
Thanks to the lovely Twilight vampires inviting climate of Ireland, wheat production although present it was never at the height of the dough stretching masters of Italy.
Bread, in Ireland, was made flat until baking soda came to the rescue and raised the Irish bread making into new heights.
Although many -especially in the sourdough community- would frown at the prospects of soda bread, making it has its advantages.
Soda bread is quick to make and due to the leavening agent used, we don’t have to be picky about what we mix it with. Probably this is why there are a number of recipes out there mixed up with oat, nuts, fruits, cottage cheese or Guinness.
What’s in soda bread?
The basic Irish soda bread contains flour, salt, baking soda and the acidic buttermilk. The reaction of acid and soda is what generates CO2 and raises the bread. The real beauty of the whole method is the quickness, we can prepare several loaves of bread without much effort.
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cup / 200g Wholemeal flour (wheat, spelt)
- 1⅔ cup / 200g All-purpose flour (use wholemeal flour if desired)
- 1 teaspoon / 5g Salt
- 1 teaspoon 6g Baking soda
- 1¼ cup / 300ml Buttermilk or Guinness
How to make Irish soda bread
- Knead flour, salt and buttermilk or Guinness for about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Open the dough and sprinkle in half of the baking soda. Close it then sprinkle on the remaining half. Mind that once baking soda is mixed with acid (buttermilk in our case) the chemical reaction that rises the bread immediately starts and dies off pretty quickly (about 2 minutes in the open air) so be quick forming the dough.
- Since the bread should have a good enough gluten structure now, thanks to the elongated kneading, we can form the bread into shape and let the baking soda do its thing with the acid of the buttermilk.
- Let it grow for 10 minutes or so.
- Place the dough into the 400°F / 200°C preheated baking vessel (anything ovenproof with a lid would do it such as a Dutch oven). Cut a cross or simple lines on the top so the bread has space to expand.
- Optionally apply a coat of buttermilk/Guinness on top for added moisture.
- Put the lid on.
- Put it into a 400°F / 200°C preheated oven until golden brown spots start to appear on top for about 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake it for 10-15 minutes more for golden brown crust.
- Take the bread out onto a cooling rack. Let is cool somewhat then slice and serve.
Enjoy!
Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cup Wholemeal flour (wheat, spelt)
- 1⅔ cup All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1¼ cup Buttermilk or Guinness
Instructions
- Knead flour, salt and buttermilk or Guinness for about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Open the dough and sprinkle in half of the baking soda. Close it then sprinkle on the remaining half. Mind that once baking soda is mixed with acid (buttermilk in our case) the chemical reaction that rises the bread immediately starts and dies off pretty quickly (about 2 minutes in the open air) so be quick forming the dough.
- Since the bread should have a good enough gluten structure now, thanks to the elongated kneading, we can form the bread into shape and let the baking soda do its thing with the acid of the buttermilk.
- Let it grow for 10 minutes or so.
- Place the dough into the 400°F / 200°C preheated baking vessel (anything ovenproof with a lid would do it such as a Dutch oven). Cut a cross or simple lines on the top so the bread has space to expand.
- Optionally apply a coat of buttermilk/Guinness on top for added moisture.
- Put the lid on.
- Put it into a 400°F / 200°C preheated oven until golden brown spots start to appear on top for about 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake it for 10-15 minutes more for golden brown crust.
- Take the bread out onto a cooling rack. Let is cool somewhat then slice and serve.
Notes
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