Irish American Soda Bread

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Brief History of Soda Bread

When you research Irish soda bread recipes online you’ll find recipes can really range in ingredients.

Soda bread was originally made using four ingredients – flour, salt, an acid (buttermilk), and baking soda. These limited ingredients were, “…Not by choice, but by a state of poverty that made it an easy and least expensive bread to put on the table. As noted elsewhere, the earliest recipe found to date in Ireland is from 1836.” (Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread).

I was surprised to learn that soda bread got its start in the 1830’s. I always imagined it was a recipe that was hundreds of years old.

Ingredients and Substitutions

This recipe is going to be slightly different from the traditional ingredients. We’re going to use a couple of ingredients that will add some sweetness and chew.

• Wholemeal Flour (I like Odlums Wholemeal Coarse or King Arthur wholemeal Irish-style)
• Unbleached Bread Flour (King Arthur bread flour or substitute for all-purpose flour)
• Granulated Sugar
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Currants (or substitute raisins)
• Unsalted butter, cold & cut into pieces
• Buttermilk (if you don’t have any, you can make it with 2 ingredients)
• Egg

Baking soda is super important in this recipe (hence the name soda bread). Baking soda reacts with an acid, which is the buttermilk in this recipe which allows the bread to raise. This type of bread is known as a quick bread because it doesn’t need nearly as much time to set up as a yeast bread.

• If you substitute Irish-style flour for whole wheat flour then it will make it taste more like a yeast bread
• If you substitute the bread flour for all-purpose flour then it will be slightly denser

Types of Flours

Traditionally, soda breads are made using a whole grain flour but let’s take a look at what flours you may come across and how they differ in soda bread.

Wholemeal or wholegrain flour is made by using the whole grain of wheat. This adds nutrition, flavor, and density to baked bread. It can be referred to as Irish-style flour. This has a nuttier taste and adds depth and coarseness in soda bread.

Whole wheat flour is finer than wholemeal flour because it’s ground down. This flour has less of the bran than wholemeal flour. It has a nutty taste but not has much depth in soda bread because its less course.

All-purpose flour is made from a mix of hard and soft wheat that has been stripped away of all of the fiber in wheat. The nutritional value is lower than the other two listed above but it’s lighter in density and works in almost any recipe! This flour makes soda bread lighter, more crumbly and cake like.

Bread flour is used in recipes that always use yeast. It’s a sturdy flour with a protein content is enough to create more gluten and a better rise in breads. It adds a chewiness to soda bread.

Brown Bread VS. Soda Bread

Now that we know the differences in flours, let’s understand another comparison you may come across. A brown bread often gets used to describe soda bread and vice versa. It’s a term used for a bread made with wheat flours instead of all-purpose flours.

A brown bread is made with wholemeal flour and isn’t sweet. It’s dense and crumbly with a nice hearty flavor. Soda breads that you find in American grocery stores can be made with all-purpose flour with lots of added sugar and eggs to make a more cake like texture. It’s oftentimes lighter and sweeter, and doesn’t have the traditional crumb.

What To Expect From This Recipe

I am not a purist when it comes to soda bread, despite my Irish roots. We grew up having many different versions of soda bread that was enjoyed for different reasons. So after studying recipes on the Internet, I noted that most American versions are made with all-purpose flour. Given what we now know about flour, all-purpose flour in soda bread is going to change the texture and the taste to be more cake like with less crumb.

• Cross between American soda bread (cake-y) and a brown bread
• Slightly sweet
• Courser with a tender crumble

Let’s Bake Irish American Soda Bread

Gather your ingredients. I’m using a scale to weigh my ingredients because its much more accurate and saves time. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

First, weigh out each ingredient. Then, in a mixing bowl, add both flours, sugar, baking soda, salt. Gently whisk to combine. In the photo above you can see just how course wholemeal flour is.

Next, add currants (or raisins if you are subbing) and gently whisk. You can omit the dried fruit but it won’t have a nice touch of sweetness once baked.

Add the butter chunks to the mixing bowl and using your hands or a pastry fork, work in the butter until no large pieces are left.

Once combined, turn the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press down the dough with your palm so it’s about 1-1 1/2-inch thick. Then, with a serrated knife, score an “X” across the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes and check with a toothpick. If it doesn’t come out clean, add a few minutes and check it again until the toothpick is clean. Look for a golden brown in color with a crusty top.

Serving and Storing

Eating this bread right away with butter or jam (YUM). You can keep this at room temperature for about 2 days. You can toast this bread with a slice of butter!

RECIPE CARD

Sources:

McMahon, Jp. The Irish Cookbook. Phaidon, 2020.

Smithsonian Institution. (2010, September 21). Classic Irish Soda Bread. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved February 2023, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/classic-irish-soda-bread-100150720/