Arán Sóide

Love It or Leaven It

Many Europeans (Poles, Germans, Serbs) and people of various other cultures have used soda to leaven their bread. Some of the earliest known users were American Indians who used pearl-ash (potash, a natural soda in wood ashes) in their breads to make them rise. Pearl Ash was used prior to 1800 to make cakes by combining it with an acidic ingredient in the dough. One such ingredient is buttermilk and another is sour milk, both of which provide lactic acid. Whether or not it was invented by Native Americans, soda bread was known to be popular in the U.S. a long, long time ago.

Actual bread soda was introduced in the early 1800s, and it made it easy for people who had no oven and could not store perishable (and therefore relatively expensive) yeasts to make bread. The bread could be cooked in a “bastible” — a big cast-iron pot with a lid that would be put directly on the fire, or on a “bakestone’ which hung above the fire.

It’s not known exactly when soda bread came to Ireland, but it’s pretty clear that the Potato Famine which began in 1845 spurred its popularity. How did this bread become identified with the Irish? A state of poverty made it the easiest bread to put on the table.

Traditional soda bread was made of flour, soda, salt, and buttermilk. It was often round, and a cross cut into the top functioned in several ways… It let the devil out (if he was in there), allowed air to circulate and promote rising, and made it easy to break into four pieces. The other typical form is, of course, the loaf. As we know, other ingredients are often added for special occasions, such as St. Paddy’s Day, or to suit personal taste.

This version of soda bread might be called by some, a spotted dog. But it isn’t. :=P

Sheila's Soda Bread (one loaf)

3 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups currants or dark raisins

2 eggs beaten

2 tbsp melted butter

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in currants or raisins. Combine eggs, buttermilk, and shortening. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, and mix just until flour is moistened. Turn batter into greased loaf pan,

5 1/4 by 9 1/2. Bake at 350F about 1 hour.

Remove from pan immediately. Allow to cool thoroughly before slicing.