Irish Soda Farls
Traditional Irish bread, made with just 4 ingredients, and cooked on a griddle. Quick and easy Soda Farls.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- Griddle Pan or frying pan
Ingredients
- 300 g Plain Flour (All-purpose Flour)
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking soda)
- ½ tsp Ground Sea Salt
- 250 ml Buttermilk see notes for alternative
Instructions
- Place your griddle/frying pan on a low heat on your hob to start warming up.
- Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Make a well into the middle before pouring in the buttermilk.
- Gently stir together, being caution not to mix too vigorously. Once the wet and dry ingredients have started to come together and you can no longer mix with a spoon/spatula, use your floured hands to form it into a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and very gently knead it into a loose ball - try not to knead it more than 2-4 turns to do this.
- Gently flatten out the dough into a circle with your hands, until about 20-25cm (8-9 inches) in diameter. Cut the circle into four triangles (farls).
- Transfer the farls to your [dry] pre-heated griddle/frying pan. Allow to bake on a low heat, on one side for 8-10 minutes until golden in colour, before flipping over and repeating on the other side. Your farls should rise a little whilst baking too.
- Once baked on both side, transfer to a wire rack to cool a little, before serving whilst still warm.
Notes
No buttermilk?
If you are unable to get buttermilk locally, or would prefer a dairy-free option: Simply switch out the buttermilk for 250ml of milk, mixed with 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, or 1 tbsp lemon juice. Mix about 30 minutes before using, to allow the milk to thicken ever-so slightly.
- For full explanations for each ingredient, including possible substitutions, see the Ingredients section above.
- For more tips for success when making Soda Farls, see Granny's Top Tips section above.
- For swaps & hacks to make these Vegan or Free-from Soda Farls, see the Free-from & Vegan section below.
- Soda Farls are best enjoyed the day they are made. They will keep for a day or two in an airtight container but they won't keep their texture very well. Although you can toast them to bring them back to life a little.
- Plain flour would be termed as "all purpose flour."
- Bicarbonate of soda would be termed as "baking soda."