Potato Soda Bread

Potato Soda Bread is a wonderful savory take on traditional Irish Soda Bread filled with fragrant herbs and tender pieces of potatoes throughout for a crispy crust and soft interior. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or anytime you want easy, fresh bread!

Potato Soda Bread | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

Can you think of anything more delightful than the smell of freshly baked bread? I say it ranks up there with my top favorite smells.

I’ve always wanted to be one of those people that takes the time to bake their own fresh bread every week.  Who lovingly cultivates sourdough starter and can knead dough like nobody’s business but it’s just not in me.  I’ve taken workshops from some of the best bread bakers in the United States and I still can’t get myself into the habit of baking my own bread. It’s not even a matter of being afraid of working with yeast, I think you just need that sixth sense of bread.  Some have it and some don’t.

What I do have and love is the baking of quick breads.  Give me an hour and I’ll give you a gorgeous warm, tender loaf of bread to sop up soup, sauce or slather butter with.  Make it sweet or savory – quick breads are absolutely my jam.

Potato Soda Bread | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

In my opinion the king of all quick breads is the soda bread, comprised of four ingredients – flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk.  The rest is up to you, it’s mostly commonly baked sweet with add-ins of currants and caraway seeds but that’s never been my preferred way. I have no problems mixing sweet with savory, it’s just that the savory side of soda bread calls to me.

Whether you realize it or not soda bread is not just consumed around St. Patrick’s Day but that seems to be the most popular time of year in the U.S. to start baking it up.  Since I figured everyone is a little bit Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, I would join in the fun too.

Potato Soda Bread | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

If you’re thinking what makes this bread any different than the zillion other recipes out there? I have one word for you.

Potatoes.

Potatoes are a staple in Irish cuisine and it only made sense to merge the two together in this Potato Soda bread.  Tender Burbank Russet Idaho Potatoes are mashed into this soda bread to give you a crust so crisp, you’ll never go back to your old recipe again.  Potatoes keep the bread moist, tender and give it that add bit of flavor that make you go hmmm. . . Go forth and use leftover boiled potatoes from that corned beef dinner, bake an extra potato with dinner the night before or boil them up fresh from the start.

Potato Soda Bread | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

Now as for the debate to go sweet or savory? I went savory with fresh minced herbs tossed into the mix but if you prefer the sweet route, go that way friends.

The only thing that’s not optional is sitting down and eating this bread warm with plenty of Irish butter!

For more information on Idaho® Potatoes visit them on Facebook , Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

This post is sponsored on behalf of  Idaho® Potatoes.  As always all opinions are my own and thanks for supporting brands that I work with. 

Potato Soda Bread | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

Potato Soda Bread
Save Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb Idaho® potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary and thyme, minced
  • 1¼ cups buttermilk
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  1. Heat your oven to 425°F and line an enameled dutch oven with parchment paper.
  2. Put the potatoes in a medium pot, add 1/2 tablespoon of salt*, fill with cold water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender about 20 minutes, drain well and place the potatoes back into the pot to cool for about 10 minutes.
  3. Using a potato ricer or grater, rice the potatoes into a large bowl - you should have about 1 cup of riced potatoes.
  4. Add the flour, baking soda, salt and finely minced herbs to the potatoes and using a fork mix well making sure there are no large lumps of potatoes in the mix.
  5. Whisk together the buttermilk and the egg and then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix until combined, the dough will be shaggy and have a biscuit like texture. Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and knead until it comes together into a ball for about 1-2 minutes.
  6. Transfer to your prepared dutch oven and with a sharp knife cut an X on top of the dough.
  7. Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until the dough has formed a nice golden crust and when you tap the bread it has a hollow sound.
  8. Let cool for about 20-25 minutes before slicing and serving.
  9. Bread is best served warm and fresh the same day it is baked.

Notes

Time Saving Tip: Leftover potatoes can be used for this recipe as long as no additional ingredients (milk, butter etc.) has been added to it. You can boil and rice the potato ahead of time and use cold or use leftover baked potatoes.

*Feel free to adjust the amount of salt while cooking the potatoes to your taste.

https://girlinthelittleredkitchen.com/2017/03/potato-soda-bread/

Share:
Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop

3 thoughts on “Potato Soda Bread

  1. Jacki

    I made this with Bob Mills GF all purpose flour, it was really good, a little too much salt IMO. I was wondering if the 1 T of salt added to the cooking potatoes is the correct amount?

    Reply
    1. Susan Palmer Post author

      Jacki – thanks for your note. I do tend to eye ball salt when I add it to water. I’ll go ahead and make adjustments in the recipe accordingly (and in the note section). I appreciate your feed back! – Susan

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Kayle (The Cooking Actress) Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *