Comments on: skillet irish soda bread

By: Skylar

Skylar — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:32:28 +0000

I have made this rcipi twice and it has always turned out good, though I have never made it with caraway seeds. It also never puffed up at all, what could I be doing wrong?

By: Skylar

Skylar — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:18:37 +0000

Help, I just made the bread and it didn’t puff up at all. I followed the recipe exactly except for the seeds, what did I do wrong?

By: Jade

Jade — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:38:53 +0000

Om nom.

I’ve been making Irish Soda Scones from The Cheese Board’s cook book for a while now (time of year means nothing!) They have a similar characteristic in that they have lots of crunchy edge bits but soft goodness inside.

Now if only I could convince the FH that caraway seeds are tasty things…

By: Eileen

Eileen — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:13:54 +0000

I haven’t made this recipe yet, but… it has all the ingredients my grandmother (from County Roscommon, Ireland) used. Of course, she didn’t measure anything… and the number of eggs and the amount of sugar were directly proportional to how much she held the recipient close to her heart. At the end she always spread some butter over the top to melt into the nooks and sprinkled a “bit” of sugar over it all.

By: Chloe

Chloe — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:50:55 +0000

Above is maybe one of my favorite comments I’ve ever read on your site, and now I may never make soda bread again!

I just made soda bread last week without consulting your site–I know, it shocks me too. I used the recipe from my favorite cookbook, The New Basics (by the women of the Silver Palate). I am happy to see that this NYT recipe here reduces the sugar (here = 2/3 c., NB = 3/4 c.). I found mine too sweet. Otherwise, it is the nearly the exact same recipe–they use currants in NB, which is really nice and I recommend. Also, I would agree that the bread was best right out of the oven and got too moist the next day. All the more reason to eat it with friends right out of the oven!

By: Eibhlin Ni Fithceallaigh

Eibhlin Ni Fithceallaigh — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 05:15:49 +0000

Your bread looks fabulous. I am definitely going to try it. I’m Irish so I’ll give you my input for what it is worth on soda bread from the native land. I grew up on very plain soda bread made by my Mother in the 70s. Great with a bowl of leek and potato soup for feeding a family economically. It was just white four, baking soda, cream of tartar, both sieved (but not the flour) to ensure no lumps, (bextartar), and sour milk, and a pinch of salt, mixed quickly and lightly, placed in a free form round with a cross, on a used butter wrapper. The key thing was not to over mix and get it into the hot oven rapidly and for the love of God not to open the oven door. It was cooked in a fuel fired Jubliee oven. The result was a light brown crust, a tight even crumb, and it was very clean tasting and feather light. Only good for eating for a few hours. Inedible the next day. The thought would never have occurred to anyone to add eggs, seeds, or butter, or any such newfangledness. I thought this was the best bread ever until recently my Mother told me that her Mother’s bread was the ne plus ultra of soda breads and that the local Canon made a special stop at her house for her bread. Apparently it was likened to eating cotton it was so light. What was the secret? Cast Iron. My Grandmother baked the same recipe in a covered cast iron pot over hot embers late at night so it was ready for the family early in the morning. This reminded me of Jim Laheys no knead bread baked using the same type of utensil. So, that’s why I love your recipe that uses a cast iron skillet. For some reason in 70s Ireland all the good cast iron had been thrown out in the race to modernity and alunimum was the cooking metal most widely available.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:26:56 +0000

Love your blog, hate to cook, but showed this to my boyfriend who, thankfully, loves to cook! Paired this with Irish butter and corned beef and cabbage last night. Holy moley, this soda bread is the BEST. Made it plain, no seeds or raisins, and it was still delicious! Ate it again for breakfast (with jam!) this morning…and again for a late mornings snack…

Thanks for all your great recipes! And your searchable index :)

By: Janine

Janine — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:15:53 +0000

I made this “bread” tonight with currants (no caraway seeds) and it was amazing. Very moist with a nice crust. Texture is like a cross between soda bread and a muffin. We had it warm from the oven with some butter. Maybe we’ll try cheddar and apples tomorrow night. I always have to adjust the cooking time in my oven since I have convection. I like using it for baking and usually drop the temperature about 25 degrees and cut the cooking time. Is there an actual rule for a convection oven? Thanks again for all of your recipes and can’t wait for the cookbook. I tell everyone about your site.

By: brooke

brooke — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:03:28 +0000

made this bread yesterday and it was most yummy! i halved the recipe for my tiny cast iron stillet, and it worked out perfectly! thank you, smitten kitchen, for once again sharing a great, easy recipe :)

By: bell

bell — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:28:24 +0000

I’m Irish, I’m from Dublin and have lived here all of my 22 years! I can tell you that the traditional Irish soda bread is still alive and well in Ireland. Most lunch cafes and ’soup n sandwich’ kind of places would serve it. And a good fresh soda bread is really, really good (an-maith as Gaeilge!), it’s neither dry nor hard. It is irresistibly soft and moist. The thought of a fresh, warm, buttered slice of soda bread with a big bowl of hot, leek and potato soup is possibly one of the most comforting things I can think of. If you’re looking for a good, traditional recipe, I’d be happy to share, though I imagine you’d have no trouble finding one in one of your many books! This is the week of traditional Irish cooking too, being Paddy’s week (not just Paddy’s day anymore!). Irish stew, colcannon, soda bread, oysters and plenty of stout!