Fresh from the oven, cooling on the range, Irish Soda Bread. (Credit: Mary Lydon photo)
The baking soda needs the acid of the buttermilk. But, over the years, baking powder replaced baking soda for many bakers, and the acid of the buttermilk was no longer required, although many still like it for the taste and texture.
The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread (no kidding, check it out at sodabread.info) tells us: “The earliest reference to using soda ash in baking bread seems to be credited to American Indians using it to leaven their bread.” And, “The oldest reference to a published Soda Bread recipe, County Down, Ireland, Nov. 1836.”