Origins and Traditions of Irish Soda Bread by Ellen H.

Ellen H. is a senior at Fairleigh Dickinson University of Irish decent with a love of cooking a variety of different foods including mixing and blending ethic dishes such as Italian food mixed with Mexican food such as Tacos in Pasta Shells. Ellen is a married mother of four who is looking forward to graduating. Ellen enjoys literature such Shakespeare, John Milton, Aesop and many others. Ellen is also interested in Psychology and Philosophy. Ellen takes pride in family heritage and traditions will therefore provide an in depth view of preparing Irish Soda bread a tradition handed down to her from her grandmothers.

            Making Irish Soda bread at Christmastime has been a family tradition all of my life. My mother and both Grandmothers taught me how to prepare and bake the bread that is a staple in our homes during the Christmas season. In my youth, preparations always included stories about our Homeland and ancestors that my grandmothers proudly retold year after year. The sweet smell of Irish Soda bread baking is something that always jogged my memory toward yesteryear with Grand Mary and Grand Emily. This is a tradition I proudly share with my children and find myself telling them stories told to me by my Grandmothers. However I have learned Irish Soda Bread is not an original Irish recipe but rather one richer in religious, social, and cultural history then I had imagined.

            Irish Soda Bread was a creation first made by American Indians. According to The History of Irish Soda Bread, “The idea of using soda to leaven bread was done by the American Indians centuries ago, where they used pearl-ash of Potash (a natural soda in wood ashes) in their breads to make them rise” (Block, 1).  It is interesting to see the connections of such different cultures embracing the same food. It is possible the Irish brought back the recipe after visiting early Colonial America. It is also plausible a letter was sent to Ireland describing this delicious bread made by American Indians in the new world. Either way I am thankful for its migration. According to Abigail’s Bakery, Irish Soda Bread became popular in and around the 1840’s in which the traditional recipes were made from simple “flour, baking soda, soured milk, and salt” (Abigail’s, 1). Irish Bread is well-loved bread by many but it is of humble roots and was “a traditional product of a poor country as it was made with the most basic of ingredients” (Abigail’s, 1). I never realized the strong religious connection with the bread nor did I realize the bread was a poor man’s recipe.

            Discovering religious reference which went beyond what my two grandmother’s had taught me was fascinating. There was a broader meaning to the way the bread was made. For example I learned the reasons my grandmothers would make a cross on the bread has several explanations. I had always assumed it was just to symbolize Jesus and Christmas. However there seems to be much more. According to The History of Irish Soda Bread, “The Cross on the soda bread has several explanations. Legend has it that folks did it to “let the devil out” while it’s baked for good luck, and others say it made it easy to divide into 4 pieces. It was also a symbol for a cross during Christian holidays” (Block, 1). I was always learning from Grand Mary and Grand Emily. This made the time I spent with them more meaningful in respect to the Christmas season.

             Irish Soda Bread has taken many different directions and meanings through the years. This is the recipe Grand Mary and Grand Emily made when they were children and now I follow in their footsteps. I can remember making the bread in my mind uniting the cultures and societies of the past to the present. Grand Mary would always tell me to make sure the flour, salt and baking soda were sifted together evenly. That commonly meant sifting two or sometimes three times. As a small child I loved doing the sifting. I always made a mess. I had flour all over me by the time we were done preparations. They never seemed to mind my mess. They often reveled in the fact that I liked to participate in the tradition with them as my brothers were always apathetic to family traditions. After sifting the next step was to add buttermilk. In order to soften dry looking dough you have to knead the dough, but make sure that you do not over knead the dough or else the bread will not be tender. So you want to limit knead time to about 30 seconds or so. Then shape the bread and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes at 400 degrees.

  

            I believe the time it took for the bread to finish brought together all families who shared this delicious tradition while waiting in anticipation. The bread is done when the back end of a butter knife, used to gently tap the loaf, sounds hollow. Then it is finished. Wrap it for softer bread or let it set out for crispier bread. I did research on Irish Soda bread and found that altering the ingredients make it different than traditional Soda Bread by adding whiskey, raisins or other things that were not part of the traditional ingredients. The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread differentiates how ingredients change the bread, “If your "soda bread" has raisins, it's not "soda bread!  It's called "Spotted Dog" or "Railway Cake"!  If it contains raisins, eggs, baking powder, sugar or shortening, it's called "cake", not "bread."  All are tasty, but not traditional Irish Soda Bread” (O’Dwyer, 1)! I searched out many recipes and very few were traditional recipes and often had ingredients that did not come close to traditional Irish Soda Bread. Even though Grand Mary added powdered sugar to a few loaves, most of the loaves did not have any sugar. I never knew the Society existed and that making small adjustments to the recipe made the bread something completely different then Irish Soda Bread.

            Irish Soda Bread was served with Irish Stew in our house combining two delicious Irish recipes. I can still see the bread sitting on the table with a cross pressed across the bread and I always try to make the cross perfect like my grandmother’s did, but I never seem to be able to make the perfect cross. Everyone loved to soak up the gravy with their Irish Soda Bread. The powdered sugar version was always the favorite of my cousins, siblings and me ….probably because it was the sweetest. I have tinkered with the recipe and made loaves with raisons which are very good.  I always make loaves with powdered sugar just like Grand Mary did for my children, nieces and nephews. I always make sure to have a piece for Grand Mary in her memory.

   

             The background music which ties my family’s social connections to Ireland would always be playing in the background such as Harrigan, When Irish Eyes are Smiling, Danny’s Song, Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral, I’m looking over a four leaf clover and I’ll take you home, Kathleen. I can remember on rare occasion if my father was home from work he would play the fiddle for the grandmothers while they baked. I can still hear Grand Emily humming along and Grand Mary singing along. It brings tears of joy to my eyes and I am grateful for the rich memories I have of them both. I am also grateful for many of the traditions and stories they shared with me and I now share with my children.

              The candles we keep in the windows is a symbol that all our welcome in our home which is also reflective of our religious belief that now the Inn now has room for Jesus in contrast to what transpired in Bethlehem when there was no room in the Inn for Mary and Joseph. Grand Mary would tell of her travels to Ireland with my Grand-Daddy and how her favorite part was being able to kiss the Blarney Stone which she had to lean upside down in order to kiss. I can also remember an old Irish saying from Grand Emily which stated, “Marry in May and Rue the Day…Marry in April if you can; it’s a joy for the maiden and for the man”. This saying was so etched into my mind that I made sure to marry my husband in April. I believed it would make for a happy marriage like Grand Emily had told me as she sipped her Irish coffee. One time I snuck a sip. It was possibly the worst thing I have ever tasted. As an adult I learned Irish coffee was doused with whiskey which was probably the reason they were so happy and understanding. I am still not fond of whiskey to this day. I always consider myself American, but I am Irish in the sense that I carry on the traditions of my ancestors from the Motherland with a sense of pride especially when the family gets together at Christmastime. I think it is important to maintain a connection with one’s heritage and pass such traditions onto the next generation.

           

Works Cited

(n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2013, from Abigails Bakery: http://www.abigailsbakery.com/bread-recipes/history-of-irish-soda-bread.htm

O'Dwyer, Ed. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2013, from Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread: http://www.sodabread.info/

Block, Stephen. The History of Irish Soda Bread. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2013, from http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/IrishSodaBreads/index.htm