Hi,

I have had a few attempts at making Soda Bread, not what I was expecting, can someone tell me what soda bread should be like, the ones I have made could be used as a discus's

Regards

Arnie

Hi Arnie, soda bread should be light and is lovely fresh from the oven.
It is usually made with half white and half wholemeal flour for lightness,
buttermilk is used for the liquid its acid combines with the bicarb as a raising agent. It needs a light touch only to shape it, no kneading or you will knock the air out of it and make the bread tough

* half pound wholemeal and half pound white plain flour.
* 1 Tbsp sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons caraway or a handful of sunflower or pumpkin seeds (optional )
* 4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick) room temp
* 1 1/2 cups buttermilk*

*If necessary, you can substitute the buttermilk with a half cup plain yogurt mixed in with a cup of plain milk and a tablespoon of white vinegar.
sift flour salt and baking soda rub the butter into the flour lightly with fingertips till like crumbs, mix seeds in if using them, add buttermilk till you have a soft mixture not too wet or too dry, some wholemeal flours absorb more moisture than others if too dry add a little more liquid and shape, bless with a cross, and bake as usual, you should end up with a moist light loaf. When it looks cooked turn loaf and tap bottom if it sounds hollow it is done,( nothing worse than an uncooked middle - )

Arnie

Stick to the simple Irish recipe (here from James Martin)

170g/6oz self-raising wholemeal flour
170g/6oz plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
290ml/½ pint buttermilk

Rest of recipe here
-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/irishsodabread_67445

Actually the recipe above was from an irish grandmother, there are many different irish recipes Alan, and I am sure Arnie will choose whatever suits personal taste best, without being told what to choose, the question was what am I doing wrong ? As Arnie hadn't included the discus recipe, I was just using that recipe as an example and trying to explain what might go wrong. The small amount of butter is the only difference and that helps aid moisture and keeping qualities, the other things were optional, My recipe was double quantity and could be halved to make just one.

If I was trying NB's recipe, I would divide the dough into two equal portions, then shape and bake to give two small loaves. The dough should be cut deeply with a cross so that the loaf will break easily into four portions of about bread roll size - it is not really a cutting/slicing type of bread.

John

Hi NB

Seems I am wrist-slapped again!

I suggested the James Martin recipe as that is closest to the way we used to make soda bread years ago - no butter and certainly no seeds, caraway, pumpkin or otherwise.

However, it seems the Americans agree with your Irish grandmother -

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/caraway_soda_bread/

hi to all,

thanks for you help, it would appear that I was to rough with it, I kneaded it just like bread, I will be a bit more gentle next time.

Thank you

Arnie

Good luck with your next batch Arnie, I guessed that might be the problem
it would be natural to think that after kneading yeast breads. When you have the basics and the knack you can ring the changes according to personal preference, chopped sage added goes nice with cheese. I occasionally make a sweet soda bread adding chopped dates and some maple syrup, or sultana with orange zest or essence, or if really feeling creative chilli and chocolate chips is surprisingly nice.

Reading this thread has made me hungry!

I have very fond memories of eating soda bread whenever we went to Eire. I've tried making it a few times with less success, but maybe need to follow some of the excellent advice above.

In the meantime, I'd agree with John that this is lovely as chunky wedges eaten with a soup or stew. However I've never had trouble slicing it and indeed you can buy sliced soda bread in Eire (and probably England now) that works fine.

Have you got the oven on yet Colin

Weeeeeell, I may be peckish, but not very organised.

Since writing the last post, I've got distracted planting out some squash plants (late) and digging the weekend's potatoes. No time for baking, but the anticipation will keep me going

Hi all,
This is how my wife makes it.

340g Plain flour
340g Coarse wholemeal flour
568ml Buttermilk
25g Butter
Pinch of salt
12g Bicarbonate of soda

Sieve white flour into bowl
Fold in coarse flour
Seive in salt and bicarb.
Add butter and rub it in
Make a well in centre and add buttermilk, stiring all he time to form a loose dough
Knead lightly on floured board and form a cake shape
Bake at 220c for 35 minutes.

Regards, Gerry.

Hi To everyone

Thank you all for your help I have now made a new batch which I must say is so much better than before this I can eat no doubt with a lot more practice my soda bread will perfect

Kind Regards

Arnie

Hi Arnie, I am glad your soda bread was a success.

Two things to remember when making soda bread (says the daughter of an Irish baker)..................

Don't knead it. Handle it as little as possible, as if you were making scones.

Keep it quite wet and spray the oven with water when you put it in.

You can make a sweeter version if you add a little sugar and some sultanas, which is nice change to teabread or fruitloaf. You can also add cheese and a pinch of mustard to make a savoury version that's good with soup.