By Rob Nichols, Weaver Street Market Bread Bakery Manager
Winter is winding down, but never fear: Irish Soda Bread Season is here. So begins our annual running of the Irish bread that for most of us (even the Irish) is the closest we’ll get to the spare and virtuous bread that originally went by this name. And for the bread bakers, it’s the only time we can try our hand at using chemistry (baking soda) instead of biology (yeast and sourdough starters) to leaven our dough.
Soda bread originated in the 1840s, soon after bicarbonate of soda was introduced as a leavening agent in Ireland. The original ingredients were nothing more than coarse wheat flour, sour milk, soda and salt. Stirred up in a bowl, plopped in a pan, and set over the fire, it was a quick accompaniment to soak up soup and gravy in a meal It sounds good, but if you try it at home you’ll find this bread turns dry and crumbly in short order. So over time, enrichments and other additions have gotten us where we are today—a fruity breakfast or tea bread usually loaded with currants or raisins. In Ireland, this sweet version of simple soda bread is apparently called Spotted Dog.
Our hand-shaped loaves include a handful of wholesome ingredients including locally milled organic flours (unbleached white, whole wheat, and extra wheat bran); Randy Lewis’s buttermilk from Alamance County (not homogenized and minimally pasteurized without carrageenan); oh, and the fruit: unsulfured dried Mission figs, dried apricots, and organic currants.
Finally, an idea for eating that is sympathetic to the original use of soda bread as a vehicle for savory food: Once you’ve secured your fresh loaf, pick up some Irish Dubliner cheese. Let the cheese sit out overnight to settle at room temperature. Obtain a large glass of Guinness that is also not ice cold. Sit down at your favorite table with these three and some butter, and try them in various combinations. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day from Weaver Street Market.