by Spurtle,
6/4/2013I thought this was very good bread. With some salted butter, it made me think of chewy shortbread. I don't think I have ever had Irish Soda Bread before, so maybe the negative reviews are due to expectations not being met, not making it right (lean breads are difficult) or cutting into it before it is fully cooled (that will give you a gummy mouthfeel with any lean bread). I also cooked mine on a baking stone instead of a cookie sheet. I will make it again.
by ColleenCC,
3/19/2013Agree with everyone else. Boring and heavy and needed a LOT of butter for flavor! I made 1/4 (by weight) with whole wheat flour but this did not help. I have another Irish Soda Bread recipe (from the Bread Bible) that is so much better I think I will go back to that and not stray again!
by ransofodo,
3/19/2013Per the other reviews, I upped the salt (~2 tsp.) and added 2 Tbsp sugar. Came out hearty with a very tasty crust.
by sernst,
3/19/2013This was my first attempt at making Irish soda bread and I was happy with the result. A little internet research showed me that, as the author states, authentic soda bread has only flour, soda, salt and buttermilk. It was a breeze to make (and fun for the kids to help) and it looked great, a little more craggy than the picture. It's a nice, simple bread, and you can taste the tang of the soda. We're not talking complex artisan bread here, but it was perfectly delicious with salted butter and some jam.
by lauralee21,
3/18/2013What a disappointment! I was so excited to try this bread- the picture in the magazine looked wonderful. By outward appearances my bread look good but the taste was incredibly bland. The inside was gummy and while I'm sure that was a result of slight under baking on my part the taste netted this recipe one star.
by nrhcook,
3/17/2013Very bland, needs more than salted butter to make it better. My only positive comment is that is was moist. Very disappointed. Think I will go back to my tried and true recipe from my Irish Mom.
by Pete999,
3/12/2013I know this recipe "from of old", and it needs salt, and perhaps even a little sugar, or it will be bland and uninteresting.
A nice variation is to use whole-meal flour -- Irish if you can find/afford it (last year it cost me $7 for a 2-kilo bag). That gives you "Brown Soda Bread", and yes, it still needs more than 1/2 tsp. of salt. But no sugar.
by s7murphy,
2/28/2013Yeah, it's a little "neutral" in taste, but that's just the way my Irish grandmother made it. I didn't have a problem with gumminess. Great crust!
by brownbutter,
2/27/2013You're going to need that salty Irish butter, because without it the bread tastes very flat. Interior was gummy. Thought it would be better toasted for breakfast this morning with jam. Still meh. Going back to my previous recipe.
