soda bread

"Griddle cake" redirects here. For the flat cake prepared from batter, see pancake.

Whole wheat soda bread (known as wheaten bread in Northern Ireland)

Soda bread in farl form. This would have been connected to the rest of the bread along the straight upper and right edges to form a circle.

Soda bread is a type of quick bread in which bread soda (otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate or baking soda) is used for leavening rather than the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk. Other ingredients can be added such as raisins, egg or various forms of nuts.

The buttermilk in the dough contains lactic acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. Soda bread can dry out quickly and is typically good for two to three days; it is best served warm or toasted. In Ireland, typically the flour is made from soft wheat; so soda bread is best made with a cake or pastry flour (made from soft wheat), which has lower levels of gluten than a bread flour.

Various forms of soda bread are popular throughout Ireland. Soda breads are made using either wholemeal or white flour. In Northern Ireland the wholemeal variety is known as "wheaten bread" and normally sweetened, while the term "soda bread" is restricted to the white savoury form normally served fried. The two major shapes are the loaf and the "griddle cake", or farl in Northern Ireland. The loaf form takes a more rounded shape and has a cross cut in the top to allow the bread to expand. The griddle cake or farl, is a more flattened type of bread. It is cooked on a griddle allowing it to take a more flat shape and split into four sections.

Damper is a traditional Australian soda bread most likely brought to Australia by Irish immigrants.

History

Soda bread dates back to approximately 1840, when bicarbonate of soda was introduced to Ireland.

There are several theories as to the significance of the cross in soda bread. Some believe that the cross was placed in the bread to ward off evil (the devil) or to let the fairies out of the bread.^{[citation needed]} However, it is probable that the cross is used to help with the cooking of the bread by allowing air circulation so that the bread rises better. The cross also serves as a guideline for even slices.

Soda bread eventually became a staple of the Irish diet. It was, and still is, used as an accompaniment to a meal.

The Soda Farl is an important part of the Ulster fry of Ulster.

Rounds of soda bread in various stages of baking.

External links

• Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Soda Bread