Irish soda bread is a traditional loaf made with baking soda and buttermilk for leavening instead of yeast. It’s a much quicker way of making bread than the kneading, rising, punching, etc. method of yeasted bread. Though soda bread is usually attributed to Ireland, Native Americans were the first to document using pearl ash, an early form of potassium bicarbonate made from wood ash, as a leavening agent. It wasn’t until the 1830s that the bread gained popularity in Ireland, where the low-quality wheat flour available was better suited to baking soda than yeast. It is better to use flour with less gluten than all-purpose or bread flour when making soda bread. Pastry flour works well, but we like to use spelt, an ancient grain closely related to wheat. This recipe makes quite a large loaf, perfect for accompanying a stew, served hot with lots of Irish butter. We also have a recipe for Soda Bread Pudding, which uses three-quarters of this sized loaf.
On the Ingredients
- Baking Soda or sodium bicarbonate is a chemical compound commonly used for baking, though it has many other uses. Sodium bicarbonate produces carbon dioxide when mixed with an acid (think science fair volcanos). In this way, it’s used to leaven baked goods. You can use a variety of acids to create this reaction, such as yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, cream of tartar, cocoa, and vinegar. On the other hand, baking powder is made of sodium bicarbonate mixed with an acid such as cream of tartar or calcium acid phosphate. The formula’s alkaline and acids are activated by water; therefore, no additional acid is needed in the recipe. Generally, you use baking soda in a recipe with a significant acid component, like yogurt, and baking powder in a recipe with no significant acid. What about using both? Since baking soda is actually an antacid, it cancels out the acidic flavor, so you might use both in a recipe where you want the sour tang flavor, like buttermilk biscuits. Or you might need both if it’s a heavier recipe where the baking soda alone won’t cut it for leavening.
- Buttermilk is the liquid left over after churning cream into butter. However, getting buttermilk this way is relatively rare in the West. Buttermilk, as we know it, is a fermented dairy product that is mainly water, lactose, and casein. It’s tangy, a little sour, and acidic. Though It can be enjoyed as a drink on its own, in America, it is more commonly used for baking things like biscuits, pancakes, and other things leavened with baking soda, which reacts to the acid in the buttermilk.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
You can use plain yogurt instead of buttermilk.
Easy Irish Soda Bread
8
servings10
minutes25
minutes35
minutesIrish soda bread is a traditional loaf made with baking soda and buttermilk for leavening instead of yeast. It’s a much quicker way of making bread than the kneading, rising, punching, etc. method of yeasted bread. Though soda bread is usually attributed to Ireland, Native Americans were the first to document using pearl ash, an early form of potassium bicarbonate made from wood ash, as a leavening agent. It wasn’t until the 1830s that the bread gained popularity in Ireland, where the low-quality wheat flour available was better suited to baking soda than yeast. It is better to use flour with less gluten than all-purpose or bread flour when making soda bread. Pastry flour works well, but we like to use spelt, an ancient grain closely related to wheat. This recipe makes quite a large loaf, perfect for accompanying a stew, served hot with lots of Irish butter. We also have a recipe for Soda Bread Pudding, which uses three-quarters of this sized loaf.
Ingredients
4 cups white spelt flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450° F.
- Prepare a 10” skillet by lining it with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Use a wooden spoon to create a well in the center of the flour and pour in the buttermilk. Sir with the wooden spoon, or using your hands, until you have a sticky dough. If you need to, you can add a little more buttermilk.
- Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined skillet, dust the top with a bit of extra flour, and pat the dough down to form a flat disk about 3” thick. Use a sharp knife to score a cross in the top of the loaf, then cut a slit in each quarter.
- Bake at 450° for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 400° F and bake for 25 minutes.
- Tap the bottom of the loaf to check doneness; it will sound hollow when fully baked.
- Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges and serving.
