Soda Bread too dense

Blisterman

I've tried probably 20 times at this point to bake soda bread that has that perfect dense but fluffy and crumbly texture you get from a good bakery.

Nearly every time, it comes out really dense.

I've tried following several recipes to the letter. Most recently this:
https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/irishsodabread_67445

Here's a breakdown of what I've been using:

Baking Soda - Supermarket own brand. Tried a couple different types.
Salt - Regular fine shaker style salt.
Buttermilk - Irish supermarket style, easily pourable buttermilk
Flour - Plain (not strong) wholemeal and white flour. Typically supermarket own brand.

Am I adding too much liquid? Not enough baking soda?

Loveinapril

Are you over mixing it? That can make bread more tough (something to do with the gluten).

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Try the samerecipe but replace half the buttermilk with full fat natural yoghurt. Natural yoghurt is more like traditional buttermilk than the buttermilk you buy in a carton. As it is more acidic, the bread soda should work more effectively, making your bread rise and taste better.

phormium

Is it brown soda bread you are trying to make? Mind you I would never call brown bread fluffy, it's normally fairly dense. I wouldn't be trying to replicate anything you might buy as you have no idea what sort of chemically enhanced mix they are using

I make white soda bread and brown soda bread but my brown would have no white flour in it, it would be a denser brown bread, definitely not fluffy. There really is only a need for a few ingredients, flour/bread soda/salt/buttermilk. Do not handle too much, bare mixing and getting into shape, over handling makes it tough and dense. Other very important thing is good hot pre heated oven, I usually heat oven to 220 before starting making the bread, then once it has risen I turn it down for the rest of the cooking period. You need good heat to rise it initially.

I gave a friend one of my easy brown bread recipes lately but she said it wasn't working and was like a brick, we went over it and the instructions etc and no wiser until one night I happened to be in her house while she was making it. Turns out it was being beaten in a stand mixer like you would a cake mix, on for ages, no wonder it was like a brick!

Boardnashea

+1 phormium. Good ten minutes or more to heat up the oven properly

CJhaughey

I think its important to mix fast and get it into the oven as quickly as possible, Baking soda has a limited time that it works and over working the dough will tend to deactivate the raising.
Mix just enough that the ingredients are combined.

Try adding a little more Soda if you think its not rising sufficiently.

phormium

Actually OP where did you find the self raising brown flour for that recipe? Is it readily available, I used to use it years ago for buns but thought it had disappeared from the shops.

Markcheese

Are you using a tin or forming the mix into a round? It should be a bit wet . But still be able to form a round on a floured worktop and quickly pop it onto a tray, then as said a hot oven..
Are you mixing the dry ingredients well before adding the buttermilk...?