I Ran out of bread this morning and didn't have time to do an artisan loaf. I made a batch of no knead dough but that takes a day or so to mature.
So it was
SODA BREAD
225g Wholemeal bread flour 225g White bread flour 150ml Soured Cream 150ml Water 1 tsp bicarb of soda 2 tsp salt
Preheat Oven to 220c
The ingredients Mise en Plas Mix dry and Mix wet Combine Mix (Don't over work) This is a little dry Add 3 tbsp of water if too dry Place on a grease tray cut into dough Bake for 220c for around 30 minutes. If it starts to brown too much cover with foil Leave to cool at least 15 minutes
Nice with butter and honey or to mop up a stew. Does not keep well. Costing around 80p Whole meal flour 17p (£1.10 1.5kg Asda) White Bread Flour 9p (60p 1.5kg Asda) Soured Cream 47p (93p 300ml Asda) Salt and Bicarb, pennies (5p)
Next time I may try milk and cream of tartar in place of the soured cream. You could also add chives and cheese.
Last edited by Orfy on 28 Jan 2012, 18:58, edited 1 time in total.
Thank you I've never tried making soda bread, but it sounds like a useful recipe to have under your belt.
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They had little buttered samples of soda bread in the deli part of the garden centre last week. One taste took me straight back to my holiday in Ireland 20 odd years ago. I found it an acquired taste but by the end of the holiday I was hooked.
It will be alright in the end , if its not alright, it isn't the end . Quote from the proprietor of the The best exotic Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful
Thanks for that Orfy, adding cheese sounds nice! . Like you Annie, my first taste of soda bread was in Ireland as well yonks ago, on holiday with mum & dad, I was hooked staright away, could'nt get enough of it!..
I am old and wise, because I was young and stupid!.
May I just add that if any one think's bread is cheap and it's not worth the hassle of making it yourself then they should try this. It really is easy to do and quick.
I had it for lunch with a cut thin with a good marmalade. (no butter) It was fantastic.
fishpond wrote:A suggestion Double up on the water, also omit the salt.
Meant to say also omit the cream/buttermilk/yogurt etc. Just double the quantity of water. The reasoning behind this is:- I do not believe that soda bread would originally have been made with cream etc, as it would have been out of reach except maybe for the rich. As can be seen by the costings, even now, it also adds considerably to the cost.
No problem can withstand the power of continuous thought.
fishpond wrote:A suggestion Double up on the water, also omit the salt.
Meant to say also omit the cream/buttermilk/yogurt etc. Just double the quantity of water. The reasoning behind this is:- I do not believe that soda bread would originally have been made with cream etc, as it would have been out of reach except maybe for the rich. As can be seen by the costings, even now, it also adds considerably to the cost.
Thanks but don't you need the acid to react with the bicarb?
Wasn't made with cream originally but with soured milk.
These days we don't use milk quite the same so buttermilk, yoghurt etc are used instead.
When we had access to unpasteurised milk we made soda bread with properly soured milk, now we use whatever we happen to have instead! Milk and lemon juice is fine!
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That looks scrummy Orfi and wonderful pictures of your recipe too
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Surprisingly, there were not many posts about making soda bread when I searched DTL except this one posted back in 2012! So I thought I'd revive and add to it (I haven't tested these recipes by the way but they all sound interesting ...)
To hopefully cut a long story short, I found some dried cereal (wheat) seed heads which I must have picked when many (many) years ago I used to walk the dog near a local farmer's field with perhaps intentions of sowing them (?) or maybe using in a dried floral arrangement. Whatever the end purpose, I found one seed head different and decided to find out why - turns out it was a rye seed head (seems that rye growing in wheat fields is not that uncommon) and in the same search online results, where to purchase rye flour and uses, including recipes one of which was for soda bread which looked yummy (I remember buying soda bread many years ago and often wondered how it was made and the pumpkin seed in this recipe reminded me of a specialist loaf I used to buy regularly)
Metric - US Customary
175 g plain white flour plus a little extra for dusting your baking tray
175 g rye flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
25 g pumpkin seeds plus extra for decoration
285 ml buttermilk (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7/425F . Dust a baking tray (I actually use a pizza tray) with a little plain flour.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together thoroughly. Tip in the buttermilk and stir to combine.
- Keep stirring until the ingredients come together as a dough, then squidge together to form a ball.
- Place the ball of dough on your baking tray and cut a deep cross in the centre. This is really important as it helps the centre of the bread to cook properly – so cut nice and deep, almost to the bottom.
- Decorate the loaf with a few extra pumpkin seeds and place the loaf in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Serve with soup or cheese, olives and cold meats.
Notes
- Instead of buttermilk you can use 200ml / 7oz regular milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar stirred in to sour it. Alternatively you can use a 50/50 mixture of yogurt and milk.
- You can make this recipe dairy free / vegan by using dairy free milk instead of regular milk, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Baking soda is the same as bicarbonate of soda, however it is not the same as baking powder. Make sure you use baking soda/bicarbonate of soda in this recipe. Baking powder will not give the same result!
- Suitable for freezing.
I found several other soda bread recipes using just plain or mixed with whole wheat flour which I thought I'd post here:
Want a simple bread recipe? This Irish soda bread requires no kneading or proving, is yeast-free and takes mere minutes to prepare
Ingredients
500g plain wholemeal flour
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary (optional)
400ml whole milk
1 lemon, juiced
2 tsp honey
Method
STEP 1
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix together the flour, salt and bicarb in a bowl. And if you’d like rosemary bread, add the chopped rosemary too.
STEP 2
Mix together the milk and lemon juice in a jug, and wait for a minute as it magically turns into buttermilk. Then stir in the honey, and simply pour it into the flour mixture. Stir it with a knife for a minute until the whole thing comes together into a sticky dough.
STEP 3
Tip onto a floured work surface and shape it into a ball.
STEP 4
Put the ball on a floured baking tray and, using a sharp knife, make a deep cross on top.
STEP 5
Put in the oven and bake for 40 mins.
STEP 6
Cool on a wire rack until warm, then slice and serve.
Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread that does not require any yeast. Instead, all of its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk. This Irish Soda Bread recipe is my grandmother’s and has been cherished in my family for years. It’s dense, yet soft and has the most incredible crusty exterior.
Ingredients
1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) buttermilk*
1 large egg (optional, see note)
4 and 1/4 cups (531g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for your hands and counter
3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed*
optional: 1 cup (150g) raisins
Instructions
Preheat oven & pan options: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
There are options for the baking pan. Use a regular baking sheet and line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (bread spreads a bit more on a baking sheet), or use a seasoned 10-12 inch cast iron skillet (no need to preheat the cast iron unless you want to), or grease a 9-10 inch cake pan or pie dish. You can also use a 5 quart (or higher) dutch oven.
Grease or line with parchment paper. If using a dutch oven, bake the bread with the lid off.
Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Mixture is very heavy on the flour, but do your best to cut in the butter until the butter is pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the raisins.
Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together until dough it is too stiff to stir.
Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, then knead for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
Transfer the dough to the prepared skillet/pan. Using a very sharp knife or bread lame, score the dough with a slash or X about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.)
Bake until the bread is golden brown and center appears cooked through, about 45-55 minutes. Loosely tent the bread with aluminium foil if you notice heavy browning on top. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with desired toppings/spreads.
Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. We usually wrap it tightly in aluminum foil for storing.
Notes
Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled bread freezes well up to 3 months. Freeze the whole loaf or individual slices. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired.
Special Tools: Cast Iron Skillet, 9-Inch Round Cake Pan, 9-Inch Pie Dish, Dutch Oven, or Baking Sheet with Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Pastry Cutter | Instant Read Thermometer
Baking Pan: There are options for the baking pan (see Special Tools Note above). You can use a lined large baking sheet (with or without a rim), a seasoned 10-12 inch cast iron skillet, or a greased or lined 9-10 inch cake pan or pie dish. I don’t recommend a loaf pan because the loaf may not bake evenly inside. This dough is best as a flatter loaf.
Buttermilk: Using cold buttermilk is best. Buttermilk is key to the bread’s flavor, texture, and rise. The bread will not rise without it. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make a homemade “DIY” version. Whole milk or 2% milk is best, though lower fat or non dairy milks work in a pinch. Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough cold milk to make 1 and 3/4 cups. Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe.
Egg: 1 egg adds richness and density. Feel free to skip it to make a slightly lighter loaf. No other changes necessary, simply leave out the egg.
Cold Butter: The colder the butter, the less sticky the dough will be. Make sure it’s very cold, even frozen cubed butter is great.
Smaller Loaves: You can divide this dough up to make smaller loaves. The bake time will be shorter, depending how large the loaves are. An instant read thermometer will be especially helpful. Bake the loaves until an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
Quite a few sites I visited insisted that soda bread is consumed within the day of baking with many suggesting that this is not usually a problem when everyone dives in, but what about those who live alone or no-one but the baker wants to try it. You can search for small batch portions but I get the impression that if you want to make smaller portions that all you need to do is adjust the ingredient measurements to suit (and reduce cooking time) or freeze the rest soon after it has cooled down (that is, still fresh rather than stale)
This next recipe is made with a non-dairy milk and a 4 seed mix:
Make our easy yeast-free, wholemeal loaf, which requires no kneading or proving. We’ve used vegan-friendly oat milk, but you can use ordinary milk if you prefer
Ingredients
520g plain wholemeal flour, plus extra for dusting
50g four-seed mix (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and golden flax seeds), plus extra for sprinkling
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
400ml fortified oat milk
2 tbsp lemon juice
Method
STEP 1
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the flour, seeds and bicarb in a bowl, then mix together the milk and lemon juice in a small jug and pour it into the dry ingredients. Stir with a knife until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough.
STEP 2
Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly shape into a ball with wet or floured hands, as it will be sticky to handle. Lift onto a floured baking tray, reshape if required, then sprinkle more seeds over the top and press them in lightly. Bake for 35-40 mins until firm and golden. Cool on a wire rack, then wrap in foil until needed. Will keep chilled for up to four days, or frozen for up to a month.
I like the idea of added ingredients of seed or raisins. I suppose you could use anything really - sweet or savoury, different herbs and spices, nuts, dates, other dried fruits like apple or maybe spice it up with dried chilli ... the list of possibilities is quite endless.
In the first post of this thread, Orfy wrote:
Orfy wrote: ↑28 Jan 2012, 18:47
225g Wholemeal bread flour
225g White bread flour
but my online research strongly recommends plain flour (white or wholemeal) rather than strong / bread flour. What does everyone else use and does it really make any difference? I suppose I can always find out for myself if I do small batch loaves and compare.
Another thing I noticed is the mark of the cross (to make quarter portions) - some recipes are absent, some insist on a shallow cross and some insist on down to almost baking tray depth to ensure thorough cooking.
Finally ... who has baked soda bread in an air fryer? Now that might be worth an experiment!
I've never tried making soda bread, but it sounds like a useful recipe to have under your belt.
. Like you Annie, my first taste of soda bread was in Ireland as well yonks ago, on holiday with mum & dad, I was hooked staright away, could'nt get enough of it!.. 
