When I was growing up I thought of Irish soda bread as a dense, round loaf with raisins and caraway seeds. My mother, Peggy (Walsh) MacAvoy made this bread from a recipe that had been given to her by her mother-in-law, Edna (McCarthy) MacAvoy. I always liked it, so when my kids were growing up I continued the tradition. At the time I assumed that all Irish soda breads were pretty much the same; there was no need to obtain my grandmother’s recipe. Instead I turned to one of my favorite baking resources- the Sunset Cook Book of Breads. My soda bread was delicious and reminded me of Grandma MacAvoy’s. Meanwhile I acquired a collection of Irish cookbooks, all of which had soda bread recipes. But I already had a recipe I liked so I stuck with it.
Years passed, the kids grew up and my Sunset bread book fell apart. No, that was not intended to be a metaphor, but I did in fact divorce my husband. When I moved out of the house I brought my favorite cookbooks with me, including: From Celtic Hearths, The Best of Irish Breads & Baking and Irish Country Cooking. Eventually I got my life back together, remarried and moved into a new home. (though without the Sunset bread book) Now when I wanted to bake Irish soda bread I would have to rely on my remaining cookbooks, plus the internet of course.
Only then did I begin to realize how contentious the topic is. Many recipes for Irish Soda Bread (like that in my Sunset book) include sugar, eggs, butter and either currants or raisins. These recipes, I read, are not authentic and should not be called Irish Soda Bread. In From Celtic Hearths the author laments, “One of the saddest and most telling discoveries one can make, when tracing recipes from points of origin in the British Isles across the Atlantic to American cookbooks, is that Yankee versions of old country dishes tend to have added to them immense amounts of butter, eggs and sugar.” She goes on to suggest that these fancy ingredients were used in order to show off new prosperity. Needless to say the Irish soda bread recipes in her book include only flour, grains, baking soda, salt and buttermilk.
In his book, Irish Country Cooking, Malachi McCormick goes a step farther when he poses the question, “What is the authentic (Irish) soda bread and how is it made?”. He goes on, “I will answer the question by saying what it is not. It is not made with buttermilk.” According to him real Irish soda bread must be made with sour milk because this is what would have been available in “even the poorest households.” These poor households would not have possessed a butter churn, so there would be no butter and no buttermilk. His recipe calls for just flour, baking soda, salt and sour milk, which can be made by letting milk stand at room temperature for a few days.
If you really want to read a diatribe against modern American soda bread, you will love "The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread." (now on FaceBook) On their website this group provides a compelling argument for a soda bread that is free of raisins, eggs, baking powder or shortening. My Grandma MacAvoy’s soda bread recipe contains both raisins and baking powder. (She actually called it Raisin Bread.) The Society handles this situation as follows:
“There are two kinds of traditions: 1) The cultural one that can be traced back through an ethnic group's history and 2) family traditions that can be traced back to an individual family member.
Irish Soda Bread is an example of the first. Grandma (insert name here)'s Irish bread is the other. The cultural one came first and was adapted and modified by the second into a family tradition. Both traditions are sacred.” That’s reasonable.
In my younger days I probably would have joined this society and railed against non-authentic Irish soda breads to anyone who would listen. Now I find the subject moderately interesting but not terribly serious. I make all varieties of Irish soda breads, and that’s what I call them no matter what “fancy ingredients” I have added. My sister, Ellen, admits to having put chocolate chips and dried cherries in her soda bread. I have never gone quite that far, but I commend her creativity.
Our ancestors emigrated from various parts of Ireland and settled in various parts of Brooklyn in the late 1800’s. They made the decision to become Americans, so that is what we are. If I ever feel a need to re-create the poverty of my ancestors, perhaps I will leave a carton of milk out until is sours and then combine it with flour, soda and salt for an authentic Irish soda bread. Until then I will continue to use store-bought buttermilk, plus whatever additions I’m in the mood for. Obviously if I’m making it to go with beef stew I don’t use sugar or raisins. (or chocolate chips)
Georgina Campbell brings together all the warring soda bread factions in her wonderful book, “The Best of Irish Breads & Baking.” There are recipes in her Soda Breads chapter both with and without forbidden ingredients, and there are many examples of what in Ireland I’ve heard referred to as “brown breads.” These are soda-leavened breads enhanced with whole wheat flour, seeds, oats and other grains. The author also introduces a concept not found in my other Irish cookbooks- that of the Tea Bread. Here is where you will find the recipe for Fruit bread, which is what most Americans grew up with; it contains sugar, butter, currants, egg and buttermilk. Ms. Campbell observes that this “bread” is made all over Ireland and is sometimes called “Spotted Dog”, “Curnie” or “Railway Cake” depending upon where you are. In America we call it “Irish Soda Bread.”
5 Irish Soda Bread Recipes
1. Irish Soda Bread - from Irish Country Cooking by Malachi McCormick
(Only the most authentic ingredients are used here. I have never made this.)
4 cups unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 cup sour milk
Preheat oven to 400.
Combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and stir in sour milk with a wooden spoon. Mix thoroughly, then turn out onto a floured board and shape into an 8 inch round loaf.
Warm an 8 inch cast iron pot in the oven for 3 minutes. Then grease the pot and place your loaf in it. Cut a cross on top of bread. Cover the pot and bake about 40 minutes. Remove bread from pot and wrap in a clean dish towel to cool.
2. Grandma MacAvoy’s Raisin Bread - pictured above
(Grandma was ahead of her time with this low cholesterol, no added sugar recipe. Mr. McCormick wouldn’t have approved of the baking powder. Grandma MacAvoy wouldn’t have cared)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup raisins
1 Tbs. caraway seeds
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (or more if necessary)
Combine dry ingredients and sprinkle the mixture over raisins and seeds. Stir in milk; knead and form into a smooth round. Cut a cross on the top.
Bake on un-greased pan at 350 for about 45 minutes
3. Ballymaloe Bread - From Celtic Hearths by Deborah Krasner
“Ballymaloe is the name of a wonderful country-house hotel owned by Myrtle Allen and her family in Shanagarry in County Cork.” This is good with Beef Guinness.
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 - 3 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
Heat oven to 450. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Combine flours, oats, soda and salt in a large bowl.
With a wooden spoon beat in 2 cups buttermilk or yogurt. Adding more if necessary to make a soft dough. Turn out onto floured board and knead lightly.
Divide dough into thirds and shape each into a 4 inch round. Cut a cross on the top of each loaf and place them on the prepared sheet.
Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 and bake another 15 - 20 minutes or until they are nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped.
4. Fruit Soda Bread - (adapted) from Irish Breads & Baking by Georgina Campbell
(This is most like the bread I used to make when my kids were growing up. It's absolutely delicious!)
4 cups unbleached white flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter
1 cup currants or raisins (I use 2 cups)
1 egg, beaten
1 - 2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine flour, soda, salt and sugar in large bowl. Cut and rub in butter. Stir in currants. Combine egg with one cup buttermilk and mix in. Add up to one more cup buttermilk to make a soft dough. Turn onto floured board and knead lightly. Shape and roll into a large round, about 10 inches in diameter. Cut a deep cross in the middle to make 4 “farls”.
Place divided loaf on baking sheet and bake about 45 minute until risen and nicely browned. Cool on wire rack.
5. Mitchell’s Brown Soda Bread with Seeds - (from the same book as above)
“Jerry and Margaret Mitchell’s restaurant is in a lovely old cut-stone building high in the Wicklow Hills at Laragh, near Glendalough..... (This bread is) quite a curiosity because the soda reacts with the sunflower seeds, turning them bright green, like seaweed.” (I have never seen this happen.)
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups self-raising flour *
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt (not really necessary if using self-raising flour)
1 cup bran
1 cup wheat germ.
1/2 cup each- rolled oats, pinhead oatmeal, sunflower seeds, any other seeds
1 egg
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup water (approx.)
Pre-heat oven to 375. Grease and flour 3 small loaf pans.**
Put all ingredients in food processor and mix until thoroughly blended.
Or- combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix together egg, milk and water. Stir this into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Mix well with wooden spoon.
Divide dough among three prepared pans.
Bake about 45 minutes until crisp and hollow sounding when tapped.
Cool on wire racks.
* You can easily make your own self-raising flour by combining 2 cups unbleached white flour with 3 tsp. baking powder and one tsp. salt. Mix thoroughly before using it in a recipe.
** If you don’t have 3 bread pans you can improvise with round loaves in 8 inch cake pans, or just shape round loaves and bake them on a cookie sheet.
