By James Martin
A bread leavened with bicarbonate of soda together with an acid - either lactic acid in the form of buttermilk or yoghurt or a chemical agent like cream of tartar. The resulting reaction releases carbon dioxide bubbles into the dough.
Though simple soda breads were common throughout Britain up to the late 1960s, we now usually associate soda bread with Irish baking.
Soda bread is best eaten fresh and can be made at home easily. Typical ingredients include wheat flour, water, bicarbonate of soda, buttermilk or yoghurt, and sometimes cream of tartar, salt and butter.
Irish soda bread
Soda bread
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When made with wholemeal flour, the crumb can sometimes turn a slightly yellowish green. If this colour is quite strong it indicates that there is excess soda in the bread and this can react slightly with the acid in your stomach and cause indigestion, but isn’t harmful in small quantities.
Soda bread is best stored in an airtight container and eaten within a few days of baking.
Article by Dan Lepard
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