How to Make Real Irish Soda Bread
Irish Soda Bread is a reliable “anytime food” but is especially suitable for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. This hearty bread can be a real boon for a busy schedule, as it has few ingredients, the dough is ready in minutes and ready to eat in less than an hour. Unfortunately, I’ve come across a lot of flat, rough soda loaves in my travels, and I don’t want that for you on March 17th. Use these baking troubleshooting tips and you’ll be inspired to make soda bread even in the summer.
Bread can be divided into two categories of sourdough: slow bread and quick bread. (No one really calls them slowbreads, but for now we can.) Slowbreads are leavened with yeast, and it can take hours for these little gas gremlins to make enough bubbles for fluffy, tall bread. Quick bread is leavened with a chemical leavening agent, usually baking powder or baking soda. (You can guess which starter Irish Soda Bread uses.) Chemical starters start to bubble as soon as they’re introduced into the liquid, and the double action baking powder gets a second activation when exposed to heat.
The baking soda in soda bread allows anyone to bake perfect bread in less than an hour, but it’s way too effective. The speed at which baking soda works can lead to some common problems.
Why is my soda bread flat?
The easiest way to tell if your Irish Soda Bread is flat is to look at it. If it is the same size as in the oven, only more rosy, then it is flat. You can also observe a typical cruciform pattern cut through at the top; The bread should noticeably break and expand where you cut it. Below are the most common reasons why your soda bread might be flat.
You may have overdone the test.
When you add the liquid ingredient to your mix, the baking soda will activate and start releasing carbon dioxide bubbles , which will hopefully get into the dough, lifting it up. This batch of carbon dioxide is limited. If you accidentally fiddle with your dough, go to the laundry, and then remember to preheat your oven, the baking soda will finish bubbling and deflate. By the time you get it into the oven, there will be no spring left and it will be flat.
Avoid flat soda bread with a couple of simple moves. Keep your mixing time fast. Pour in the liquid ingredient, stir just enough to moisten the dry ingredients, shape and place quickly in the oven. Be sure to prepare the pan. If you’re using a Dutch oven, make sure you’ve already pulled that 20-pound case out of the back of the cabinet so you don’t waste time.
You may need other cooking utensils.
Most breads benefit from an initially moist baking environment. This allows the outer crust of the bread to remain flexible for longer, allowing those incisions to expand more. If you’ve been baking soda bread on a baking sheet, try using something with a lid for the first 30 minutes. A Dutch oven works well with Irish Soda Bread because the cast iron holds heat, bakes evenly, and the lid is easy to remove. If you don’t have a roaster, you can use a cast iron skillet with an inverted cake pan of the same circumference as a lid, or two cake pans of the same size to cover the soda bread. Remove the lid for the last 15 or so minutes and brown the top of the bread.
I need to preheat the damn oven.
I don’t want to say more, but I will. The carbon dioxide bubbles burst and never come back. Under ideal conditions, the bubbles will lift the dough high, and the heat will cook the structure, solidifying its final height, whatever it is. A cold oven will only delay cooking, dry out the crust, and waste valuable bubbles before the bread is fully baked.
Why is my bread hard?
There are about four or five ingredients in Irish soda bread. The texture of bread is greatly influenced by the combination of ingredients and how you knead the dough. The baking soda is responsible for the rise, which also affects the texture. Here are the most common reasons why your soda bread is tough.
You may be over-mixing.
Bakers irritatingly talk about overmixing and overworking dough for some reason (or several reasons). Excessive mixing of the dough can lead to the formation of strong elastic strands of gluten and blowing bubbles, as we have already discussed. This prevents rise but also determines whether the crumb will be tough or tender. Properly tossed soda bread has a lot of bubbles and a medium gluten structure, which provides the best crumb. The bread is baked and sealed into thousands of thin-walled bubbles that cut easily with a knife and become soft when bitten into. With a mixed dough, you can expect fewer air pockets and the walls surrounding the bubbles will be thick, stretchy and tight.
As I mentioned earlier, mix quickly and gently. Use a bowl scraper instead of a spoon and press down on the dough instead of kneading to avoid forming tough gluten strands, and don’t continue kneading the dough until it’s smooth. Irish soda bread doesn’t have to look like a perfect, shiny ball of dough before it hits the oven. This is your chance to practice rustic style. It’s okay if there are some messy looking dry bits left on the dough. Cut it with a knife and send it to the oven. It bakes up beautifully.
You may not have the acid to react with the baking soda.
A weak baking powder reaction can result in a hard, dense crumb. Baking soda can work in the right conditions without an acidic ingredient (high temperatures and humid environments), but it works faster and more vigorously when combined with an acid. Most Irish Soda Bread recipes use buttermilk or yogurt to activate the baking soda. Check the recipe to see if you are using an acidic liquid. If not, squeeze a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar into the liquid ingredients for a better soda.
I hate raisins, which is why I hate Irish soda bread.
I hear you raisin haters. There is an idea that all Irish soda bread should be studded with nasty raisins. This is a big lie. It turns out that in your own kitchen you can do anything. Find a recipe and substitute the same amount of raisins for whatever you really like. Try this Bacon Cheddar Irish Soda Bread , or use dried cherries, chopped apricots, chocolate chips, chopped pecans, diced cheese, caramelized onions, or crumbled sausage. You can also omit the inclusions entirely and keep them simple. When using fruits, vegetables, or meats, just make sure the water content is mostly eliminated, otherwise you could end up with a damp steam pocket around those impurities. Avoiding this is easy; just use dried fruits or pre-cook meats and vegetables. Now go and take your soda bread know-how to the nearest kitchen.