Soda Bread

Soda bread is distinguished by its use of baking soda and cream of tartar to generate the carbon dioxide which lightens and lifts the loaf instead of yeast. Buttermilk — originally the slightly sour residue of milk, from which most of the fat has been removed in churning to make butter — is today made commercially from skimmed milk. It gives a rich and distinctive tang to the bread. Health food shops are usually reliable sources of supply, though some supermarkets now stock it. Soda bread i