In a total stroke of luck, my husband and I recently had the opportunity to take a road trip around the perimeter of Ireland. During our trip, we toured castles, got pooped on by a fertilizer tractor (long story), saw countless cute little fat sheep, and met incredible people. However one unexpected experience that we truly enjoyed, was getting to visit family owned bakeries all over the Emerald Isle. Take a look at some of the sweet bakeries we visited along the way….

We loved how all of these bakeries varied in their style both inside and out. However, despite their uniqueness from one another, it didn’t take long before we noticed one item that each bakery consistently had on hand… Irish Soda Bread. I suddenly found myself on a quest to learn more about this tasty bread, and the story behind its rise in popularity across Ireland.

It turns out that Irish soda bread did not originate in Ireland, but became a staple of Irish kitchens and culture during The Potato Famine of 1845. The bread was popularized due to it’s simple, widely accessible ingredients including baking soda as a leavening agent, versus yeast. Since the famine, Irish soda bread or “brown bread” has become a part of Irish culinary culture, and is considered a “kitchen table bread” in many homes.

Okay, time out. Let’s just think about that for a moment…. This brown bread saved thousands of people from starvation. Imagine what it would have been like to raise a family in such difficult times. What a bread… What an impact. I couldn’t help but think that this was a recipe that I should try at home with my kids. It is simple to prepare, and the history of the bread is something my kids needed to hear.

So in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day this week, our family embarked on a soda bread baking adventure. The recipe we put together was an accumulation of many different traditional soda bread recipes, but we added brown sugar and butter (because we’re southerners) to give the bread a hint of additional flavor and sweetness. Sorry, Ireland!

This really was an easy and fun baking project for the kids and me. The bread turned out great, and I whipped in a little history lesson for the #momwin! My girls thought it was pretty cool that such a simple bread played such a significant part in saving families from hunger. It turns out, you really can bake history!