Irish Soda Bread

lookin forward to trying out the banana walnut bread, yum yummy!

i followed the recipe to the T. yes it was wet, but that is where the floured board comes in ….& hardly any kneading …
i like the zest, it did make the difference, spread some butter on it & orange marmalade…yummmy
Ina, I am an avid follower of your recipes, i look forward to the holidays especially, i know i can always depend on your recipes to impress everyone….
i even try to imitate your table settings & arrangements during gatherings.
thank you

I picked this recipe because it had an average of 4 stars. But like another of the reviewers, I checked and re-checked the ingredient list when I turned the soupy mess onto the bread baord. I had measured everything correctly, but somehow the loaf I was to knead was so gloppy, it did nothing (even with the addition of flour) but stick to my fingers. What a waste of time; I had to chuck the whole thing and start over!

This bread was so good. It is true that the batter looked a bit runny at first, but when my daughter started kneading it a bit on a very well floured surface, it took shape quickly. The one “modification” I made is that I left out 1 teaspoon of baking soda… ooops it was an accident, but it certainly did not affect the taste or texture in a negative way. We would happily make this bread again. My kids Sydney 9 and Aly 11, and their friend Linda 9, said it was the best part of our St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

I gave this recipe – which looks perfectly fine – two stars because it’s not for REAL soda bread.

Authentic Irish Soda Bread contains only flour (preferably soft flour, because Irish wheat is soft wheat), salt, baking soda, and sour milk or buttermilk.

No butter, no shortening, no fruit, no sugar, no eggs. Adding those things makes it into a “tea-cake”. Good, but not the “real deal”.

Brown Bread is the same thing as Soda Bread, but is made with “whole-meal” flour, which is coarser than our US “whole-wheat” flour. Fortunately, Odlum’s Irish whole-meal flour is available in the US, although in limited distribution; it’s expensive, costing $5 to $6 for a two-kilo bag, but it’s worth every cent. Since it has the whole germ, you have to either use it up quickly, or freeze it, to keep it fresh.

Traditional soda bread does not have a “cake-like” texture. It should be moist and chew like bread and have a slight hint of soda. It should also be baked long enough so that the center is done. The best way to check is to tap it on the bottom – it will have a hollow sound when baked completely. Also, tradional Irish Soda Breads have no raisins, etc… It’s a plain bread that is made mostly with whole wheat flour, a little sugar, baking soda, salt and buttermilk.. It can contain a small amount of white flour, but wheat flour is the main ingredient.

Looking thru the food network recipes I don’t see a “true” Irish Soda bread. I have a recipe that hails from an Irish B & B (1970). I usually enter my bread in baking contests at local Irish Dance Competitions. In fact, I won again for my Brown Bread last week. The judge hails from Ireland and she stated that my Brown Bread was a truly tradional Soda bread.

Soda bread must have a DEEP cross cut into the dough which is intended to broken apart at the dinner meal…

It’s too bad a Food Network can’t find a tradional soda bread (brown bread) like what I have …

This is a decent recipe, although the bread did come out crumbly and a little too dry. The only way I would try making it again is with some modifications.

This bread was an easy recipe but the flavor was lacking. Very blah!

I make soda bread every year for St. Paddy’s Day but have yet to find the “perfect” recipe. Sadly, this was NOT it. Are the measurements off? I made this twice, and both times the dough looked like a bubbly, thick pancake batter and tasted like acidic chemicals. It actually bubbled in my mouth! Kneading was out of the question; it was nowhere thick enough to turn out & knead. I know I measured everything according to the recipe; I double checked before the second attempt. Also used all-purpose flour; it’s all I keep in my house.

Willing to take suggestions for next year, but am quite disappointed that I can’t recommend this recipe to anyone. 🙁

This recipe reminded my husband of the Irish Soda Bread his mom and grandma used to make. It is very easy and has a great texture. I brushed the outside of the loaf with buttermilk before I baked it, and once more half way through baking.