– Preparation:
– Made with coarse flour, white, whole meal, or a mix
– High protein flour is avoided for a moist and crumbly texture
– Kneading is generally not done to prevent toughness
– Buttermilk or sour milk is the usual liquid acid ingredient
– Variants may include olive oil, eggs, molasses, sugar, or honey
– Origin:
– Traditional Irish bread was cooked on a griddle due to flour properties
– Brown soda bread reappeared on luxury hotel menus in the 1960s
– Modern Irish soda bread varieties include Guinness, treacle, walnuts, and herbs
– Flour in Ireland is typically made from soft wheat
– Soda bread is popular throughout Ireland, with variations in different regions
– Scotland:
– Scottish soda bread varieties include bannocks and farls
– Bannocks are flat cakes of barley or oatmeal dough
– Traditional soda farl is part of the full Scottish breakfast
– Bannocks have several varieties like Selkirk bannocks and Yule bannock
– Early bannocks were cooked on a bannock stone placed directly on fire
– Serbia:
– In Serbian tradition, soda bread is prepared with rituals
– A coin is often placed in the dough for luck
– Česnica is rotated and broken among family members during Christmas dinner
– Symbols may be inscribed on the bread before baking
– Finding the coin in a piece of bread brings luck for the year
– United States of America:
– Settlers used soda or pearl ash as a leavening agent in quick breads
– The first US factory to produce baking soda was established in 1846
– Modern American versions of Irish soda bread include raisins and caraway seeds
– The Virginia Housewife published a recipe for Soda Cake in 1824
– Early settlers used potash (potassium carbonate) as a leavening agent
Soda bread is a variety of quick bread made in many cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as "baking soda", or in Ireland, "bread soda") is used as a leavening agent instead of yeast. The basic ingredients of soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. The buttermilk contains lactic acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form bubbles of carbon dioxide. Other ingredients can be added, such as butter, egg, raisins, or nuts. Quick breads can be prepared quickly and reliably, without requiring the time and labor needed for kneaded yeast breads.
 An Irish soda farl, made by cutting a flattened round of dough into four pieces, then baking | |
| Type | Quick bread |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Ireland |
| Created by | Irish |
| Main ingredients | Flour, sodium bicarbonate, salt, buttermilk |
