Jodi Lea Stewart’s Irish Soda Bread and Pork Stew

 

A Wee Bit of History about Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread was made with basic ingredients already found in the household: flour, baking soda, soured milk and salt. Its simplicity, quick fix time, and low cost made it ideal for poor Irish families in the mid-nineteenth century. Since baking soda wasn’t available in Ireland until around 1840, Irish soda bread is not an ancient bread recipe.

Different Shapes for Different Folks

In the southern regions of Ireland, it was traditionally shaped into a round loaf and baked with a cross on the top to ward off the devil and protect the household. In the northern regions, soda bread was flattened into a round disc and divided into four parts, or farls, and cooked on a flat griddle.

What is Irish Soda Bread Like?

Considered a quick bread, its texture is soft and dense, with a slight sour tang and a hard crust. If you add herbs *my idea*, it tastes like a buttermilk biscuit with a twist! It lasts about two days if wrapped well. Soda bread can be enjoyed with any savory meal, or sweetened with jam or honey.

For my version of herbed Irish Soda Bread, please click here. For the recipe for my pork stew, please click here.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures! *Irish Saying*

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I have to give a nod to my favorite Irish movie with my two favorite actors, John Wayne and Maureen O’Sullivan. Sure you’ve seen it, but isn’t it time you saw it again?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

 

 

 

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