Granny's Soda Farls (Soda Bread)
One of my earliest childhood memories is visiting my Gran and watching her bake bread on the griddle on a coal fired Aga. She had a large family, 10 boys and 1 girl. Half of them were still at home at this time and all she seemed to do was cook, bake, wash clothes and clean the house. She was a hard working woman who tackled these chores with enthusiasm.
Baking bread was every other day and included soda farls, potato bread, slims, pancakes, wheaten bread and many more Northern Irish staples. One irritation of mine is watching TV chefs making soda bread, tweaking it here and there, nothing like the traditional way it has been made by good northern Irish women of the past. Enough said.
These breads are a great accompaniment to many Irish meals such as stew and broth and not forgetting the good Ulster fry (a meal on its own!) This includes fried soda bread and potato bread along with bacon and egg; a hearty meal at any time of the day!
These breads are unique and easy to make in that they use simple raising agents such as baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar rather than yeast.
Watching granny cooking these breads on her stove top griddle was an art in itself. Keeping the temperature regulated on a coal fired Aga wasn’t easy; something only granny was able to achieve. Thankfully today, I don’t have that problem with my electric griddle and thermostat.
Another shortcut in making soda farls today is the readymade soda bread flour, in that it already contains the correct amount of raising agent and all you have to do is add buttermilk. I like to use plain flour and add the raising agent myself. The buttermilk is best lifted out of the fridge about an half hour before using to take the chill out of it and help it speed up the cooking time on the griddle. Another thing about buttermilk is that it can be used 2-3 weeks past the sell by date as long as it is refrigerated and unopened. You can also make up your own buttermilk. For every cup of milk add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice.
Soda Farls (the way granny made them)
1 lb or 450g plain flour
1 tsp or 5 ml bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp or 5 ml cream of tartar
½ tsp or 2.5 ml salt
10 fl oz or 300 ml buttermilk
(If you are using ready-made soda bread flour then just add buttermilk)
1. Turn on griddle (low to medium heat)
2. Sieve all dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre of the flour in the bowl and add most of the buttermilk. Stir gently and, if needed, add more buttermilk. The mixture should be of a very slow drop consistency.
3. Put a small heap of flour on to a hard surface and then drop a heaped wooden spoonful of the mixture onto the flour.
4. Cup your hands around the flour and lift the soda bread mixture. Toss from hand to hand until it is coated in flour and all the extra has fallen off.
5. Place the farl on to the pre heated griddle and gently spread out until it is approx 1 inch (1 ½ cms) thick. Cook 5-6 minutes until they are risen and have formed a white skin on top. Turn them over and cook the other side. It takes about 15 mins in total for each farl to cook from the minute it is put on the griddle.
My favourite way to enjoy soda bread is to split in half and fry. Yum!
