Bake some bread fast! Making Irish soda bread for a quick treat
If your kids are anything like most, waiting around isn’t the easiest activity. And while patience is a virtue every child must learn, sometimes quick and easy is the way to go. So thank you Ireland — for soda bread.
Irish soda bread is a simple, quick and very easy way to soak up stew or to accompany a pot of tea. Because the recipe uses baking soda instead of yeast for the leavening process – no waiting is required. The only core ingredients are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. In a pinch that’s it!
Optional additions include:
- A bit of sugar for sweetness
- Baking powder in addition to soda for a better rise
- Butter for added moisture
- An egg for a denser loaf
The rise of soda bread
Feeding a family in Ireland in the early 1800s was not easy. The vast majority of families were poor, so meat was a luxury. Potatoes were the staple, and owning a cow was common enough, so milk and butter were available. Other things could be foraged, such as wild vegetables, berries and nuts, mushrooms and even seaweed for those near the coast.
Most people had no ovens for baking bread and the wheat grown in the colder wet climate was too low in gluten to rise properly with yeast. So when baking soda first became available in Ireland in the 1830s, people there used an old trick first developed by native Americans to make yeast-less bread. Best of all, it didn’t need an oven and could be made on a stovetop or over an open fire. It was an absolute game changer for the Irish diet; and when the famine hit in 1845, that bread kept some badly needed food on the table.
In our Ireland story ‘The Potato Fairy’ we learn about the Irish Potato famine and hear how a young boy helps a new friend find her way home.
Baking a quick loaf of soda bread is a great way to have fun with kids in the kitchen while learning a bit about the history of the Emerald Isle. Pair it with our 4 stories about Ireland for more cultural fun and learning.
Get your easy recipe for Nate’s Soda Bread below. (Nate is our leprechaun in our Ireland stories.) Then just break out the butter, jam and tea and enjoy!