Just prior St. Patrick’s Day, Martha and I were talking about soda bread, something I think is an absolute must for any proper Irish meal. She mentioned how many of them are on the dry side and I said I was pretty sure those may be the breads closest to the original—I have had various soda breads made by Irish cooks, and they ranged from moist breads studded with raisins, currants and lemon rind, to plain white loaves that greatly benefited from a cloak of butter.
Afterwards, wanting to find out if I was correct in my assumption, I started reading up on soda bread. Everything I read backed me up and provided me a few things I did not know. For one thing, Ireland’s climate is not condusive to growing hard wheat and the soft wheat available was better suited to quick breads which did not require kneading and the developing of gluten.
Unable to make a yeast bread, soda bread which required nothing more than flour, salt, soda, and buttermilk became the daily bread. It was quick to put together, could be baked either free-form or in a pan, and was very economical. In addition, a very plain bread such as this can be served all day long, from breakfast to dinner, and sweetened up at tea time with honey or jam.
Certainly there were variations, some using whole wheat flour, or treacle or raisins added for special occasions, but the basic recipe remained pretty much the same. Irish immigrants to this country, having improved their situation, added eggs and butter to the bread, the raisins became a more common addition, and more often than not, it contained at least some sugar.
My version has considerably more ingredients than the classic, but I believe I have shown enough restraint that it will still be home alongside most any meal; it’s sweet enough to enjoy with coffee, tea, or even cocoa, but not so sweet that it would be out of place with a soup or stew meal.
This is more of a batter than a dough so it is baked in a pan, but by simply reducing the buttermilk by a half cup, the dough can be kneaded into a flat round and baked on a sheet or baking stone. Since I am trying to work more fiber into my diet whenever possible, I included a portion whole wheat flour; you can use all white flour if you like a lighter loaf, but don’t skip the oats—they add a nice nuttiness.
I used a combination of yogurt and buttermilk, but either could be used singly, although you’d want to thin the yogurt a bit with some milk. And finally, the recipes calls for treacle, something that can be replaced with either molasses or honey (or a combination of the two for a milder flavor) if you don’t have treacle in your pantry.
Soda Bread
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran, or either old fashioned oats or Scottish pin-head oats, ground in a food processor to the texture of coarse cornmeal
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup treacle
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup yogurt, either whole or low-fat
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted (divided use)
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk, approximately
Butter for greasing the pan, optional
Heat oven to 350 degrees. You can use either a well-seasoned 10-inch cast iron skillet or a cake pan (a spring-form would do nicely); if you are using the cake pan, butter it lightly, line the bottom with a piece of parchment or foil and set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to blend together. In a separate, smaller bowl, beat the egg with the treacle, sugar, yogurt, and three tablespoons of the butter. Stir into the dry ingredients, and begin to add the buttermilk, adding enough to make a mixture that is fairly thick but pourable.
Pour into the pan and give it a few raps on the counter to settle it in. Drag a knife through the center in each direction to form a cross; being a batter rather than dough, the cross will not be perfectly even. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon butter over the top, and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of oats if you like. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack and cool for at least 40 minutes before serving.
I like to cut the bread into four wedges (farls) along the cross, then into slices rather than wedges. When it is still slightly warm, it needs no butter, but some jam or honey is a nice addition.
