Darina Allen: Soda bread is quick, easy and so delicious. Here's how to make it

Pic: iStock

• This article is part of our Best of 2023 collection. It was originally published on September 2, 2023. Find more stories like this here.

Have you heard of Common Knowledge? It’s a really interesting not-for-profit social enterprise, based near Kilfenora in Co Clare.

Harrison Gardner, a young Australian designer and eco-builder had a craving to restore a stone cottage. He found what he was looking for outside Ennistymon, Co Clare. 

Then he met a charming Irish cailín called Erin and the rest is, as they say, history. 

But the extra dimension to the story is that Harrison decided to share and pass on his skills to others who were eager to learn how to build, mend, recycle and grow. 

Build School was created to empower, upskill and give individuals and communities confidence to do it themselves. 

In 2022, Common Knowledge was established as a sustainable living project in the midst of 50 acres in the Burren. 

Nowadays, during this cost of living crisis, many young people can’t afford to buy a house. 

Hence, every Hands On Common Knowledge course, teaching the skills to build your own house is over-subscribed with an eclectic mix of people eager to learn basic building skills.

More recently, as part of National Heritage Week, Harrison and his co-founder and CEO, Fionn Kidney organised The School of Lost Skills Festival. 

I was invited to participate in a panel and decided to show everyone how to make a loaf of our traditional Irish soda bread and a little block of homemade butter. Most certainly, an almost forgotten skill by many.

Soda bread or ‘a cake of bread’ as it was traditionally known is made in minutes. 

Next time you are out of bread, instead of hunting for your car keys to go to the supermarket, turn on the oven, take out your scales and weigh 450g of flour, add a level teaspoon of salt and the same of bicarbonate of soda, stir in 350-400mls buttermilk. Shape it into a loaf or cut into scones, then straight into the oven.

I also made butter in a twinkling. Now, I can hear you saying, where does she think I’ll get time to make butter? 

Well once again, it’s made in no time. Remember all you have to do is over whip cream, either intentionally or accidentally and hey presto, you have butter. Just wash it well in several changes of cold water, add 2% salt, chill and enjoy. Pure magic and you can either drink the buttermilk or save it to make soda bread, a day or two later.

I also encouraged people to get a few hens and to learn how to forage for food in the wild, another really important, almost forgotten skill. Here are a few tried and tested recipes to have fun and experiment with.

• Check out Common Knowledge for info on the wide range of courses on offer at ourcommonknowledge.org.

Traditional Irish White Soda Bread

recipe by:Darina Allen

Soda bread only takes 2 or 3 minutes to make and 30 - 40 minutes to bake, scones will be ready in just 10 minutes. It is certainly another of my 'great convertibles'. We have had the greatest fun experimenting with different additions and uses.

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 5 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 450g plain white flour

• 1 level tsp salt

• 1 level tsp bread soda sour milk or buttermilk to mix – 350-400ml approx.

Method

1. First fully preheat your oven to 230ºC/Gas Mark 8.

2. Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour most of the milk in at once. Using just one hand to mix with your fingers stiff and outstretched, like a claw, mix in a full, circular movement from the centre to the outside of the bowl, adding more milk if necessary. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky.

3. When it all comes together, turn it out onto a well-floured work surface. WASH AND DRY YOUR HANDS.

4. Then with floured hands, tidy it up and flip over gently. Pat the dough into a round, about 4cm deep and cut a cross on it (the traditional blessing), then prick in the four corners to let the fairies out of the bread, otherwise they will jinx it!

5. Transfer to a baking tray.

6. Bake in a hot oven, 230ºC/Gas Mark 8 for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6 for 30 minutes or until cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread, when it is cooked it will sound hollow.

7. Cool on a wire rack.

Spotted Dog

recipe by:Darina Allen

Makes one loaf - we sometimes make ‘spotted puppies’ which are the same bread, shaped into 6 rolls and baked for 20 minutes.

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 450g plain white flour, preferably unbleached

• 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 level tsp salt

• 2 tsp sugar

• 75g sultanas (or more if you’d like)

• 1 organic egg

• about 350 - 425ml buttermilk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7.

2. In a large mixing bowl, sieve in the flour and bicarbonate of soda; then add the salt, sugar and sultanas. Mix well by lifting the flour and fruit up into your hands and then letting them fall back into the bowl through your fingers. This adds more air and therefore more lightness to your finished bread. Now make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Break the egg into the base of a measuring jug and add the buttermilk to the 425ml line (the egg is part of the liquid measurement). Pour most of this milk and egg mixture into the flour.

3. Using one hand with the fingers open and stiff, mix in a full circle drawing in the flour mixture from the sides of the bowl, adding more milk if necessary. The dough should be softish, but not too wet and sticky.

4. The trick with Spotted Dog like all soda breads, is not to over-mix the dough. Mix it as quickly and gently as possible, thus keeping it light and airy. When it all comes together, turn it out onto a well-floured worked surface. WASH AND DRY YOUR HANDS. Roll around gently with floury hands for a second, just enough to tidy it up. Flip over and flatten slightly to about 2 inches (5cm) approx. Transfer to a baking tray lightly dusted with flour. Cut the surface with a deep cross and prick in each corner to let the fairies out of the bread. Let the cuts go over the sides of the bread to make sure of this. Put into the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Cook for 35-40 minutes. If you are in doubt about the bread being cooked, tap the bottom: if it is cooked it will sound hollow. This bread is cooked at a lower temperature than soda bread because the egg browns faster at a higher heat.

5. Serve freshly baked, cut into thick slices and smeared with butter and jam. Spotted Dog is also really good eaten with Cheddar cheese.

Soda Bread Pizza

recipe by:Darina Allen

Far from traditional, this is a riff on a deep-pan pizza. I can’t tell you how many times this soda bread pizza base has come to the rescue when I needed to whip up a dish of something filling and delicious in no time at all.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 25 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 5 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 450g plain white flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling

• 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 level tsp sea salt

• 375–400ml buttermilk

• extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

• 1/2 - 1 tbsp chopped rosemary

• 50g chorizo, sliced 350g

• chopped fresh or tinned tomatoes mixed with seasoning/spices

• 8 bocconcini, halved

• 15g Parmesan cheese, grated

• lots of snipped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Fully preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas Mark 8.

2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in 375ml of the buttermilk and, using one hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl. Mix to a softish, not too wet and sticky consistency, adding more buttermilk if necessary. When it all comes together, turn out the dough onto a floured board, knead lightly for a few seconds, tidy it up and flip it over.

3. Brush a roasting tin, approx. 31 x 23 x 5cm, with olive oil. Roll out the dough lightly to fit the tin and sprinkle with rosemary. Scatter the sliced chorizo evenly over the surface. Spread a layer of tomato sauce over the chorizo and arrange some halved bocconcini on top. Sprinkle over the Parmesan.

4. Transfer the tray to the fully preheated oven on a low rack and bake for an initial 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 200°C/Gas Mark 6 and bake for a further 20–25 minutes or until the dough is cooked and it's golden and bubbly on top.

5. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with a good green salad.

Hot Tips 

Tara Hill Honey

If you are over in Wexford, book a tour of Tara Hill Honey Farm to get a real understanding of how much work goes into producing real honeys. 

Taste the different honey and don’t leave without a pot of thick delicious rare heather honey. 

It’s not heated, it's coarse-filtered and still has all the pollen inside.

• https://tarahillhoney.ie

Bean and Goose

Bean and Goose, luxury hand-crafted chocolate near Gorey also do tours and tastings at their facility. 

Loved their Toasted Soda Bread chocolate bar, one of the many pretty irresistible flavours.

• https://beanandgoose.ie

Waterford Honey Show 2023 

Don’t miss East Waterford’s Beekeepers’ Association Waterford Honey Show which takes place at Waterford City Hall this September. 

Running in conjunction with the Waterford Harvest Festival which takes place on Saturday, 9th September and Sunday, 10th September 2023. There are various categories whereby honey must be a critical ingredient of the entry such as small biscuits, plain honey cake, honey fruit cake…

The show will be open to the public from 9.00am – 4.00pm on Sunday, 10th.

• For more information, see waterfordbees.com