Pandemic Interlude: Soda Bread

During the Pandemic of 2020, most grocery stores have run out of one of the most basic staples of everyday life: bread. Several people will resort to making their own. It's not really that difficult! However, what do you do if you've run out of yeast and you live in one of those areas under lockdown (or you simply want to avoid going back to the grocery store or the local bakery)? How on earth do you make bread without yeast?

It's simple! Do what the Irish did during the hard times of the 19th Century potato famine when yeast was a rare and expensive commodity....make SODA BREAD! Soda bread uses baking soda as its leavening agent instead of yeast. All you need to make a basic soda bread is flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt. And if you don't have buttermilk on hand, as many don't? Make it yourself! All you need is 1 cup of milk and a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice, or even cream of tartar. Stir them together and let sit for about five minutes. The website "Tastes Better From Scratch" offers these simple instructions as well as tips for making dairy-free and vegan versions.

https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/how-to-make-buttermilk/

You can find all sorts of Irish Soda Bread recipes on the internet, many that offer more flavorful alternatives to the basic ingredients. A simple search on Google will turn up scores of websites with recipes.

While you're waiting for your soda bread to bake, you might be interested to learn that Irish Soda Bread isnt' really Irish...

It is, in fact, American. Not “Irish-American”, in the sense that spaghetti and meatballs is really “Italian-American”, but rather it was first made by the Native Americans pre-dating the European settlers. Actually, Native American soda bread would more accurately be called ash bread, because they used pearl ash instead of baking soda as their leavening agent instead of yeast. Pearl ash is made from potash and is basically potassium carbonate. It is an ancient form of leavener used instead of yeast. It’s also used in the Dutching process when making Dutch-processed cocoa powder.

When European explorers of North America returned to Europe, they took with them this new way of making bread. However, the Europeans began to use bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) instead of the pearl ash. Because yeast is not used as the rising agent, soda breads are actually a type of Quick Bread. Quick Breads are called that because they are just that – quick to make. There is no waiting for the yeast to prove and the bread to rise.

Soda bread did not become associated with Ireland until the mid-19^th century and the infamous potato famine. The popularity of soda bread really grew out of necessity. It needed only a few basic ingredients (flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt) so it was very economical to make. Every Irish pantry had those ingredients; there was no need to obtain yeast and the bread only took around 30-45 minutes to make. It was an easy, economical source of daily bread. Daily bread, not “just-once-a-year” special bread. Soda bread helped the Irish survive.

When the Irish immigrated to the United States during the famine, they brought their soda bread recipe with them and today Irish Soda Bread is mandatory at all St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in North America. However, it should be noted that while soda bread can have raisins and other things added in to help boost its flavor, breads with those add-ins are in no way authentic Irish Soda Bread!

Ireland wasn’t the only country to adopt the North American Indian’s “ash” bread. Neighboring Scotland developed their own version, called Bannocks. The name comes from the Old English bannuc meaning “morsel”. These are flat cakes made from barley or oatmeal based dough and cooked on a griddle. These made their way to Canada in the 18^th century with Scottish fur traders and trappers. Today, bannock is very popular in Canada, especially with the Indigenous peoples. The Canadian version is slightly different from the original Scottish in that wheat flour is used rather than barley or oatmeal. As in Ireland, where soda bread became necessary to help stave off starvation, the same happened in Canada. “As the Indigenous peoples were removed from their land, and thus [removed from] their traditional sources of food, the Canadian government supplied them with rations of things such as flour, lard, sugar, and eggs”, the key ingredients for Bannock.

The English colonists and prisoners sent to Australia and New Zealand took soda bread with them. Even today, Australians on camping trips will make the traditional Damper bread. This bread was originally eaten by “swagmen, drovers, stockmen and other travelers” because it was so simple to make. It was ideal for people travelling in the remote areas of the Australian Outback. The basic ingredients were just flour, water, milk, and baking soda – usually carried mixed in a pouch and then cooked in the ashes of the camp fire although in modern times, camping ovens are used.

Other parts of Europe, besides the British Isles, developed a version of soda bread as well. Originating in the Subcarpathia region of south-eastern Poland, Proziaki is a popular soda bread that are shaped into rolls, similar to English Muffins. The Balkans have a couple of versions of their own. Pogacha is a traditional bread from the Balkan region that is eaten at nearly “every Balkan gathering, especially during the holidays.” In Serbia, česnica is “…the ceremonial, round loaf of bread that is an indispensable part of Christmas dinner.” Unlike other soda breads, there is a ceremony for eating česnica at Christmastime: A coin or other trinket is often placed in the bread before baking. The loaf is then “…rotated three times counterclockwise before being broken among the family members. The person who finds the coin in his piece of bread will…be exceptionally lucky in the coming year.”

The česnica also was used in fortune-telling and divination. “In Bosnia, when the dough is shaped and ready for baking, a number of notches are cut in the upper surface of it, and seeds of various crops are placed into the notches. The more a notch has risen when the česnica is baked, the more productive the crop whose seed is in it will be.” Other ceremonies in Herzegovina and other countries of the Balkans were used to “invoke an abundance of grain in the coming year.”

Bread has been a basic staple of life dating back over 30,000 years. Known as a “staff of life”, it has taken on “essential roles in religious rituals and secular culture.” Among the most basic bread, soda bread should be more than a bread that is only eaten once a year in March. But even if it is only eaten on that iconic Irish holiday, it should be remembered that there is more to soda bread than something you eat with corned beef and green beer. Soda bread is more than just “something Irish.” It has been used to invoke good crops and good luck and in more recent times to save people from starvation.

The simple soda bread is the product of a complex history. So the next time you’re eating a slice of Irish Soda Bread, raise your glass of green beer and remember those who relied on this bread to sustain them during the potato famine; those who were displaced from their native lands and only had the basic ingredients for bannocks to save them from starvation; those herders and swagmen who relied on Damper bread cooked on the ashes of their campfire and those who believed it would bring them a good harvest.

Knowing how soda bread ties us to our past and to other cultures, we can enjoy this tradition a little more with each bite. And hopefully, it will help us realize that, as our ancestors did before us, we too will get through these difficult times.