Irish Soda Bread
Irish soda bread- Yield
- 1 loaf
- Active
- 10 minutes
- Total
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
The story
Soda bread was born of necessity. Ireland never had an abundance of the hard, gluten-rich wheat needed for yeast bread, so in the 19th century Irish homemakers took up baking soda, then a novelty, as a quick way to make soft flour rise without a long fermentation. The result is a dense, rustic loaf that is mixed and baked in under an hour, handy when the Christmas kitchen is already busy with roasting meat and cooking sides and there is no time to wait on yeast. The cross cut into the top has a double meaning: in practical terms it helps heat spread more evenly through the middle of the thick dough, and according to folk belief it also "lets the devil out" and blesses the household. A version with raisins, known as "spotted dog," often takes the place of the plain white loaf on the holiday table. The simplicity of the recipe (flour, baking soda, salt, buttermilk) has made it one of the easiest Irish foods to carry to a new home with its authenticity intact, because the ingredients were never a problem, in Ireland or in America.
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
- Optional: 1/2 cup raisins
Method
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl (stir in raisins here if using).
- Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. Mix quickly with your hands or a wooden spoon just until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms — do not overwork it.
- Turn onto a floured surface and shape gently into a round about 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Place on a floured baking sheet and cut a deep cross into the top with a sharp knife.
- Bake 30–35 minutes, until deeply golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Cool on a rack at least 15 minutes before slicing.