Ireland Traditional Irish bread was historically cooked on a griddle as
flatbread because the domestic flours did not have the properties needed to rise effectively when combined with
yeast. Baking soda offered an alternative, but its popularity declined for a time when imported high-gluten flours became available. Brown soda bread (served with smoked salmon) reappeared on luxury hotel menus in the 1960s. Modern varieties can be found at Irish cafes and bakeries, some made with
Guinness,
treacle,
walnuts, and herbs, although the sweetened version with
caraway and
raisins is now rare. Soda bread made with raisins is colloquially called "spotted dog" or "spotted dick". "Griddle cakes" and "griddle bread" (or "soda
farls" in Ulster) take a more rounded shape and have a cross cut in the top to allow the bread to expand. The griddle cake or farl is a more flattened type of bread. It is cooked on a
griddle, allowing it to take a more flat shape, and it is split into four sections. The soda farl is one of the distinguishing elements of the
Ulster fry, where it is served alongside
potato bread, also in farl form.
Scotland In
Scotland, varieties of soda breads and griddle sodas include
bannocks and
farls (Scots: , "a fourth"), "soda scones", or "soda farls", using
baking powder or baking soda as a leavening agent giving the food a light and airy texture. Bannocks are flat cakes of
barley or
oatmeal dough formed into a round or oval shape, then cooked on a
griddle (Scots: ''''). The most authentic versions are unleavened, but from the early 19th century bannocks have been made using baking powder, or a combination of baking soda and buttermilk or
clabbered milk. Several varieties of bannock include Selkirk bannocks,
beremeal bannocks,
Michaelmas bannock,
Yetholm bannock, and
Yule bannock. The traditional soda farl is used in the
full Scottish breakfast along with the
potato scone (Scots: ).
Serbia at a Christmas dinner.|alt=A number of hands break open a pale loaf made of several smaller buns In
Serbian tradition, soda bread is prepared by various rules and rituals. A coin is often put into the dough during the kneading; other small objects may also be inserted. At the beginning of Christmas dinner, the
česnica is rotated three times counter-clockwise, before being broken among the family members. The person who finds the coin in their piece of the bread will supposedly be exceptionally lucky in the coming year. Before baking, the upper surface of the loaf may be inscribed with various symbols, such as a
Christogram, or stars, circles, and impressions of keys or combs.
United States of America During the early years of European settlement of the Americas, settlers used soda or
pearl ash, more commonly known as potash (pot ash) or
potassium carbonate, as a leavening agent (the forerunner to baking soda) in
quick breads. By 1824,
The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph was published containing a recipe for Soda Cake. In 1846, two American bakers, John Dwight and Austin Church, established the first factory in the United States to produce baking soda from sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide. Modern American versions of
Irish soda bread often include raisins or currants, and caraway seeds. ==See also==