Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bead - MS Word document for downloading

All the recipes for Irish Soda Bread I came across used buttermilk. This is an ingredient I don’t think I have ever bought, although it is available in the supermarkets.

Like everybody else, I occasionally run out of bread. I was very pleased to find a recipe that didn’t use buttermilk and still gave a very good result. With the following recipe, you can use buttermilk if you have it in stock, or you can use plain milk. If you do this, double the quantity of cream of tartar. The less Soda bread is handled, the better it will be. It is traditionally baked with a cross on the top, which people believed would scare away the devil.

This quantity makes 1 large loaf, or two small (enough for 4 people with soup).

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 40-50 minutes at 210C - Gas Mark 7 or halve the cooking time for 2 smaller loaves. Read more »