March 7, 2020 Baking

Irish Soda Bread–Spotted Dog

This traditional Irish Soda Bread-Spotted Dog requires no rising time and is so simple to put together. No kneading and no waiting…in no time you have an amazing quick bread! It is just perfect for breakfast or enjoy with a hot cup of tea whenever you need a little break.

It’s not often that I make things for St. Patrick’s Day. It never crosses my mind to make green colored frosted cakes or green drinks. I do like to see the creations going around the web for this festive holiday.

Originally published March 17, 2013 and updated on March 7, 2020.

This is one of my favorite bread recipes and I thought it was a nice moment to share again here with all of you. I included history of the Irish Soda Bread...feel free to jump to the recipe below if you are excited to get baking and skip that part!

I found several American Irish soda bread recipes I couldn’t wait to try. The most recent I came across this week in the New York Time’s. It was more like a dessert bread than a hearty and grainy bread I’d expect to find if I were lucky enough to end up one day in Ireland.

My mom is a thrifting expert. She sometimes comes across gems like old issues of Gourmet magazine. Oh, I sure miss that incredible magazine. She just picked up a Gourmet from 1994 last week.

overhead image of gourmet magazine cover

One of the articles in the magazine is by Jeanne Lemlin. Jeanne wrote about Irish soda breads after a trip she made there with her family. Jeanne writes, “In my quest to discover what accounts for the deep, abiding flavor of soda bread, I spoke to a number of people in towns along the country’s southwestern coast and, extending my search to the professional level, the bakers at Field’s supermarket (where my favorite bread is made).

She goes on to describe observing the Irish bakers: “As the six women worked, silently and swiftly measuring, mixing, kneading, and shaping, McSweeney (the bakery’s manager), explained, ‘You must use a coarsely ground low-gluten flour.’ “

Jeanne describes touching the dough, “I had always assumed that when you bake a free-standing, circular loaf, your dough has to e fairly stiff. And, although these bakers don’t knead the dough as assiduously as one would when preparing yeast bread, they do handle these masses quite vigorously.”

Jeanne shares four recipes from around Ireland. I feel confident in saying this is an authentic Irish soda bread. Of the four recipes in the article, Jeanne explains, “ ‘Brown bread’, the most common sort of soda bread, is a dark loaf made with whole-meal flour; it was this version that I found most irresistible. I may share that recipe one day soon.

overhead image of irish soda bread on parchment paper

overhead image of loaf of bread on cutting board

What are the origins of Irish Soda Bread?

I had to read a little about the origins of Irish Soda Bread. I found out there is even a Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread. The author of the article explains, “the Irish have made Soda Bread theirs. Not by choice, but by a state of poverty that made it the easiest bread to put on the table.”

It was very interesting to read that in the journal Chemistry and Chemical Analysis by the Ireland Commissioners of National Education published in 1861 in Dublin the following appeared on page 319:

Although it is very desirable that bread should be light, it is not always possible to obtain yeast: - hence, what is called "soda bread" has been of late, very much used. Its lightness is due to carbonic acid, disengaged from bicarbonate of soda. The latter is mixed with the flour, and is decomposed by an acid -- sometimes, by that contained in sour milk, but more conveniently by dilute hydrochloric acid. This kind of bread, has not the advantage of its constituents being even slightly broken up, by incipient fermentation; nevertheless, it is said to have properties, which render it at least as wholesome as that which is made with yeast.

What is not included in a traditional Irish Soda Bread?

The author of the site includes this list of what does not constitute a traditional Irish Soda Bread?

A few absolutes: Traditional Irish Soda Bread does not contain:

"zest", orange or any other kind
Irish Whiskey. (talk about stereotyping!!!)
Honey (substitute for sugar)
Sugar (see definition of "cake")
eggs (see definition of "cake")
Garlic (not common in English/Irish dishes)
Shortening (hydrogenated vegetable oil - Crisco introduced to the US in 1911. Not in the 19th century)
Double Cream (British term for "Heavy Cream" but a little thicker. Not much chance irish peasants would be using this.)
Sour Cream (traditional in Eastern European dishes. Became popular in the US and European kitchens during the past 50 years, not 150 years ago. see https://www.ochef.com/516.htm
Yogurt (prior to 1900 a staple in Central Europe and Asia. Introduced to the US after WWII by Isaac Carasso who started Dannon in NY City. Not a 19th century Irish baking item.)
Chocolate
Chiles/Jalapenos (Right! Ireland is well known for using these in its traditional food!! por favor!
Fruit (Only in Christmas/Easter cakes and other special occasions)

And just about anything else one can think of. All of the above ingredients can be found in "Irish soda bread" recipes somewhere on the web. Interesting, but definitely not Traditional Irish Soda Bread.”

You can go over to their page called soda bread to find out more!

Do you have stories about Irish Soda Bread? Share them in the comment section…I’d love to hear them!

If you are a novice bread baker, you must try this recipe. It is put together in a flash. There is no worry about letting it rise and how to shape it. It’s a rustic bread with a wonderful crumb. I’ve baked it already a few times. Each time the slashes I made turned out to bake into a different pattern.

This last time it ended up looking almost like a starfish. Jeanne explains, “The golden raisins in the bread impart a tangy flavor. This recipe (which comes from County Cork)is at its best when allowed to sit for a few hours before slicing.”

I can tell you that I would’ve had to have baked this bread without any one at home to let it sit for a few hours before slicing. I had a crowd of family members around me waiting for the first slice. It was loud and chaotic. There was Kerrygold cheese and there was some butter and there were plenty of happy customers. Whatever happens to be leftover is wonderful heated up the next day to enjoy for breakfast with coffee.

Why is this Irish bread called a spotted dog?

The basic soda bread is made with flour, baking soda, salt, and soured milk (or buttermilk). So the bread I’m sharing that is called Irish Soda Bread in Gourmet 1994 is actually a Spotted Dog because of the addition of raisins.

What's needed for this quick bread?

unbleached all-purpose flour
wheat bran (not bran cereal)or toasted wheat germ
teaspoon baking soda
salt
stick unsalted butter (use vegan butter stick to make vegan)
golden raisins (I also used some currants)
buttermilk or plain yogurt (I used a cup of milk with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to make my own buttermilk...use your favorite nut milk and dairy free yogurt to make it vegan)

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Some other quick bread and delicious holiday bread recipes you might enjoy:

Happy Baking! xo Lora

To all my friends that celebrate, I wish you a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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