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Soda bread

The Culinary Institute of America

With a history spanning more than two centuries, soda bread is a traditional Irish specialty. The first loaf, consisting of little more than flour, baking soda, salt and sour milk, made its debut in the mid-1800s, when baking soda found its way into Irish kitchens.

At the time, bread-making in rural Ireland was carried out domestically using minimal ingredients, equipment and finesse. Baking soda offered home cooks the opportunity to broaden their repertoire of recipes.

Providing a quick, convenient and reliable leavener, baking soda was easy to work with and store. It also produced a better-tasting bread than what was originally available in the 19th century, and soda bread soon became a staple of the Irish diet.

Soda bread can be made with a variety of flours and can have differing flavors and textures from adding dried fruits, herbs and seeds. The Culinary Institute of America's version, made with the addition of sugar, raisins and caraway seeds, uses white cake flour for a light, tender crumb.

When serving, divide the bread into quarters using the cross on top of the loaf as a guide. This characteristic marking, cut into the dough before baking, allows ample room for the loaf to expand in the oven and provides four preportioned sections, also known as "farls."

Legend suggests that the cross is sliced into the bread to scare away evil spirits. Truth or folly, soda bread wouldn't be soda bread without it.

The following recipe is from the Culinary Institute of America's Breakfasts and Brunches cookbook (Lebhar-Freidman, 2005, $35).

Soda Bread

Makes 2 loaves or 16 rolls

4 cups cake flour

2 tablespoons baking soda

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup dark raisins

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 cup cold milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it lightly with cooking spray or lining it with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, sugar and salt together into a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse meal. Add the raisins, caraway seeds and milk. Mix the dough until just combined; avoid overmixing, because this will cause the dough to toughen.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press into a ball. Form the dough into two equal loaves or cut into 16 equal pieces to make rolls. Dust with flour and use a sharp knife to lightly score an "X" across the top of each roll or loaf.

Bake the soda bread until it is lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 8 to 10 minutes for rolls and 25 minutes for loaves. Wrap the bread in a tea towel as soon as you take it out of the oven. Cool the soda bread in the tea towel on a wire rack before serving.

It can be held at room temperature for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 4 weeks.

Approximate nutritional analysis per 2.5-ounce serving: 210 calories, 4 g fat, 41 g carbohydrates, 520 mg sodium.