Irish Soda Bread

National Nutrition Month continues and today, March 13^th, is National Registered Dietitian Day!  Happy RD Day to all my fellow RDs out there!

March also boasts one of my favorite holidays of the year - St. Patrick's Day!  I love that it celebrates my heritage, I love the bagpipe music and of course I love the food (and drinks)!  While the Irish may not be known for their culinary creativity (think meat and potatoes), I do appreciate the history and the recipes that are passed down generation to generation.  One such culinary delight, which I especially love is Irish Soda Bread, so I decided to delve a little into the history behind this baked treat!

What I discovered is that soda bread became an Irish tradition for three very practical reasons.  First, the climate in Ireland only allows for soft wheats.  This is significant because unlike hard wheats, soft wheats do not need yeast for leavening.  The second factor, sadly, was the widespread poverty that plagued Ireland during the 1800’s.  Traditionally, Irish Soda Bread was only made of four basic ingredients: flour, baking soda, soured milk and salt, which were common in every household, including the poor.  Third, most Irish homes did not have an oven and soda bread did not need an oven to bake.  It could be done in a cast-iron pot placed directly on burning coals.

The sweet, white, soda bread with raisins in it that most people (well, most Americans) think of today is actually what would be referred to as a tea bread or fruit soda in Ireland.  As mentioned above, traditional Irish Soda Bread contains only four basic ingredients and absolutely no fruit in it! 

I actually prefer the sweet American version and received this lovely recipe from my friend Lauren a few years ago.  It belongs to her grandma, Lucille Stewart, who is an amazing baker!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 

Irish Soda Bread

Dry Ingredients:

¼ cup sugar

3 cups flour (unbleached)

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cups golden raisins (you can use regular raisins if you can’t find the golden variety)

Wet Ingredients:

3 eggs beaten

1 ¾ cup of buttermilk (I use low-fat)

2 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour loaf pan or cast iron skillet.

2.     Combine all the wet ingredients and set aside.

3.     Combine all the dry ingredients, including the raisins.  Make a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in.  Mix by hand just until combined, but don’t overwork.

4.     Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50-60 minutes.



Slice and serve warm with a little butter!

“Rye bread will do you good,

Barley bread will do you no harm,

Wheaten bread will sweeten your blood,

Oaten bread will strengthen your arm.”

-An Irish Blessing

Healthfully Yours,

Meghan