Soda Bread Tips

Feisar

So followed the Bord Bia recipe and it makes a nice bread however I want to attempt to replicate my granny's which was much lighter and had a lot of air pockets in it.

Any ideas?

huskerdu

Feisar wrote: »

So followed the Bord Bia recipe and it makes a nice bread however I want to attempt to replicate my granny's which was much lighter and had a lot of air pockets in it.

Any ideas?

If it’s light in colour and texture, that would suggest a mixture Of whole meal and white flours.

Stargazer7

Feisar wrote: »

So followed the Bord Bia recipe and it makes a nice bread however I want to attempt to replicate my granny's which was much lighter and had a lot of air pockets in it.

Any ideas?

Just had a quick look at the bord bia recipe - It contains 250g wholemeal and 200g plain flour, if I am looking at the correct one. The less wholemeal flour you use, the lighter the soda will be. So I would suggest starting by changing the recipe to 150g wholemeal and 250g white flour, plus 50g of oats or oat flour.

To get a bit more lightness into the mix you could reduce the buttermilk by 70ml and add another large egg. Alternatively you could add another half teaspoon or full teaspoon of baking powder and it should give a lighter loaf, without impinging on the flavour too much.

Happy Baking!

Feisar

Sorry, I should have posted a link,

https://www.bordbia.ie/lifestyle/all-recipes/traditional-white-soda-bread/

Lighter as in airier is what I'm looking for.

phormium

I love white soda bread and I make the Darina Allen recipe which is very basic and to me seems the same as my mother in law used to make back donkey's years ago. Main difference would be we are using buttermilk these days whereas my mother in law definitely used sour milk as the jug of milk was left beside the Aga to go sour for the bread. This may give a different texture than using buttermilk. My MIL definitely didn't put sugar or butter/marg in the bread, it was just flour/breadsoda/liquid

http://www.cookingisfun.ie/how-make-irish-soda-bread

A really hot oven to start it off is essential to get a good rise which will help with the airy texture.

Spanish Eyes

Never heard of an egg in soda bread.

But I also do less wholemeal to ordinary flour for sure and just use buttermilk and bread soda.

I find the crust can be tooth wrenchingly hard sometimes. Still looking for a solution to that. What the heck did Granny do?

looksee

Sift the flour and baking powders into soda etc into the bowl. Cut the fat into small cubes, drop into the flour and coat them, then rub in quickly and lightly, lifting the flour as you work. Pour in the liquid then stir just enough to make sure it is all mixed, gather into a ball and knead minimally, just make sure it is smooth and all gathered in. Don't over handle it. Once the liquid has been added to the raising agent you need to get it into the oven as quickly as possible, so make sure the oven is already hot. Cut into the top of the loaf to help it rise (cross or slash).

looksee

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Never heard of an egg in soda bread.

But I also do less wholemeal to ordinary flour for sure and just use buttermilk and bread soda.

I find the crust can be tooth wrenchingly hard sometimes. Still looking for a solution to that. What the heck did Granny do?

Wrap it in a fresh tea-towel as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Spanish Eyes

looksee wrote: »

Wrap it in a fresh tea-towel as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Thanks. Tried that numerous times, but the crust was still like a brick!

I know it should work trapping the steam inside the towel and softening the crust, but it really never worked for me. Ended up chopping the top off, and the rest is fine.

Maybe it's the temp in the oven or something. Mystery to me! Granny where are you??

phormium

Damp tea towel Wet it and wring out well.

looksee

You do need a hot oven, but if it is too hot for the entire cooking time the top will bake, hold down the rising and set solid, so just throwing it into the hottest possible oven isn't the solution either. Cooking for too long will have the same effect of making a hard crust.

I have seen suggested to put a dish of water in the bottom of the oven, but I honestly haven't seen it make that much difference. Much easier to put the bread in a hot oven then immediately turn it down to the required temperature.

Making soda bread needs you in a light and quick mood. Don't use a wooden spoon on it, and keep stirring with a metal spoon to a minimum. Work with your fingertips. It is not yeast bread and requires pretty much the opposite treatment at every stage.

phormium

Water is usually used to get a good crust on yeast bread, don't think it benefit soda bread at all.

Hot oven to start with but turn down after it rises up, I prefer to bake towards bottom of oven too to avoid too much top heat but some people like a really brown crust

Boardnashea

Soda bread wouldn't usually have fat/butter. Adding butter is going towards a scone/scone mix (nothing wrong with that!).
Flour (50/50 or 75/25) (self raising or plain I'm not sure), bread soda, milk and lemon juice or buttermilk and maybe a handful of oats. And as above, mix just enough and into a hot oven and turn down after a few minutes.
I think I'll getting baking again. Have been doing yeast in the bread maker recently.

Day Lewin

One of the best cooks I ever knew, (mother of a friend) used to make perfect brown soda-bread - fresh, light, tasty, with just enough body and "chew"
Especially the crust, which was thin and tender instead of tough like mine always is.
I asked her how she did it?

She put the loaf onto a flat floured baking sheet, and up-ended a large cake tin over it. Straight into hot oven.
She claimed that this made the whole cake-tin thing into a mini-oven that retained all the steam from the bread dough. You could even use a biscuit-tin or something of that kind.

Worth a try!

looksee

Day Lewin wrote: »

One of the best cooks I ever knew, (mother of a friend) used to make perfect brown soda-bread - fresh, light, tasty, with just enough body and "chew"
Especially the crust, which was thin and tender instead of tough like mine always is.
I asked her how she did it?

She put the loaf onto a flat floured baking sheet, and up-ended a large cake tin over it. Straight into hot oven.
She claimed that this made the whole cake-tin thing into a mini-oven that retained all the steam from the bread dough. You could even use a biscuit-tin or something of that kind.

Worth a try!

That method is much closer to the original method of cooking soda bread than just putting it into an oven, so she was probably on to something.

Captain Red Beard

Felicity Cloake had the answers you seek

How to bake the perfect soda bread

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/feb/05/how-to-bake-perfect-soda-bread?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard