SC - FW: ANST - link: cooking - IRISH SODA BREAD

[Decker, Terry D.]

> So, Bear, what are the opinions stated in the intro that _you_ disagree
> with? I've never tried a soda bread made with no acid substance: does
> fresh "sweet" milk have enough lactic acid to do the trick? I also
> question the idea that sour milk is not in fact milk that has soured on
> its own(and so does Malachi McCormick!)
> 
I personally prefer buttermilk to make soda bread.  The times I've used
sweet milk, the bread came out a little dense.  The cream of tartar is the
way around that problem.  It will produce the acid to trigger the sodium
bicarbonate.

I've seen recipes where milk was soured with a little lemon juice, but never
one that used buttermilk for the purpose.  For Irish country cooking, I
would expect that sour milk had soured naturally and that using it in soda
bread was a matter of intelligent frugality.

I question the idea that yeast wasn't used because of the low gluten wheats
and fuel shortages.  The Irish made ale, so the basic yeast source was
available.  Low gluten wheat was the standard in Medieval Europe and it
produces adequate leavened bread.  The idea that soda breads have a shorter
baking time than leavened breads is false.  They take about the same amount
of time to bake and soda breads actually require higher initial temperatures
to properly seal the crust.  So there is no real savings on fuel.

Wheat yields fewer bushels per acre than most other grains and does not do
as well in the northern latitudes as oats, rye and barley.  In my opinion,
the Irish made fewer yeast breads because the majority of their grain was
glutenless and better suited to making griddle cakes and the soda breads got
started in the 19th Century as a way of lightening the traditional griddle
cakes.


> On the other hand, I'm glad to see the lady has made an effort to stress
> the importance of ordinary white or brown soda bread, with no "stuff" in
> it. Stamp out raisins and caraway seeds in your lifetime, folks! We can
> make this a better world for better bread. Oh, and I hereby declare
> confectioners' sugar illegal on soda bread. 
>  
> Adamantius
> -- 
> Phil & Susan Troy
> 
My historical quibbles and opinions aside, the recipes looked great, so I am
pleased they meet your standards.

Bear
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