Quick Bites: Loaf of the Irish

Let’s get one thing straight: If the bread you are breaking in honor of St. Patrick’s Day is studded with raisins, it is not traditional Irish soda bread. Indeed, the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread debunks many of the myths surrounding this seasonal staple.

Beginning with the good saint himself, the historians contend that, no, Patrick was not slinging soda bread while driving the snakes out of Ireland. Why? Because Patrick died in Ireland around 460 A.D. The soda in the bread—bicarbonate of soda—was not invented until 1789 (by French chemist Nicolas Leblanc). Soda was used in place of yeast in Ireland to work with the indigenous “soft” wheat after 1840. So for those who believe their ancestors brought a cherished soda bread recipe to America during the Famine years, that too is a myth. And if your cherished recipe has yeast, you guessed it—not traditional.

This is what we know is true: Basic soda bread is made with flour, baking soda, salt, and soured milk, or buttermilk. Though the society says that the addition of any sweetener or fruit results in a cake rather than a bread, in order to get the most authentic results it is best to use cake flour. A fortunate suggestion, indeed.