Irish Soda Bread Lab · Decision tree
Find your Irish soda bread
Three questions sort all 123 recipes into 8 groups. Each question is about one of the ingredients recipes disagree on most, and splits the recipes in front of it at their own median, so each answer keeps about half of them. Every group ends with its median recipe in grams and the real recipes nearest it.
The questions
Question 1
More sugar than most, or less?
None in the Irish original; sweet American loaves with raisins carry a good deal.
All 123 recipes: median 1% of the flour weight, 5 g per 500 g of flour; middle half 0% to 9%; 45% use none.
Question 2
More butter than most, or less?
Traditional Irish soda bread has none; American versions add butter for a richer, cakier loaf.
All 123 recipes: median 5.6% of the flour weight, 28 g per 500 g of flour; middle half 0% to 13%; 38% use none.
Asked within each answer to question 1, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
Question 3
More baking soda than most, or less?
Soda is the only leavening in the traditional loaf; about 1% of the flour.
All 123 recipes: median 1.2% of the flour weight, 6 g per 500 g of flour; middle half 1.2% to 1.7%.
Asked within each answer to question 2, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
The key
Read left to right: pick an answer to question 1, then one of the answers beside it for question 2, and so on to a group. Each cell gives the answer, its bound in grams per 100 g of flour, and how many recipes give it.
| 1. Sugar | 2. Butter | 3. Baking soda | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moreover 1%61 | Moreover 11%35 | Moreover 1.2%12 | A12 |
| Less1.2% or less23 | B23 | ||
| Less11% or less26 | More1.3% or more14 | C14 | |
| Lessunder 1.3%12 | D12 | ||
| Little or none1% or less62 | Someany amount27 | More1.4% or more14 | E14 |
| Lessunder 1.4%13 | F13 | ||
| Nonenone35 | Moreover 1.4%16 | G16 | |
| Less1.4% or less19 | H19 |
The 8 groups
Each median recipe is the median of every ingredient over the group's recipes, scaled to 500 g of flour, beside the typical loaf of all 123. Bold rows are the ingredients the questions asked about.
Group A · 12 recipes · 9% of all
More sugar, more butter and more baking soda
Sugar over 1%, butter over 11% and baking soda over 1.2% of the flour weight.
| At 500 g flour | Group A | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Buttermilk | 425 gabout 1 3/4 cups | 420 g |
| Baking soda | 9 g | 6 g |
| Butter | 70 gabout 1/3 cup | 28 g |
| Sugar | 50 gabout 1/4 cup | 5 g |
| Egg | 50 gabout 1 large egg | none |
| Salt | 6 g | 6 g |
Bake375°F (190°C) for about 43 minutes, the medians of the 11 recipes here that state a temperature and the 12 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group A
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Irish Soda Bread · delish.comsugar 17% · butter 13% · baking soda 1.4%
- Irish Soda Bread · preppykitchen.comsugar 10% · butter 12% · baking soda 1.9%
- Irish Soda Bread · kingarthurbaking.comsugar 8.7% · butter 20% · baking soda 1.4%
- Soda Bread Recipe · bakerbettie.comsugar 14% · butter 16% · baking soda 1.7%
- Simple Irish Soda Bread Recipe · anediblemosaic.comsugar 8.3% · butter 11% · baking soda 2.4%
Group B · 23 recipes · 18% of all
More sugar, more butter and less baking soda
Sugar over 1%, butter over 11% and baking soda 1.2% or less of the flour weight.
| At 500 g flour | Group B | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Buttermilk | 425 gabout 1 3/4 cups | 420 g |
| Baking soda | 6 g | 6 g |
| Butter | 85 gabout 1/3 cup | 28 g |
| Sugar | 50 gabout 1/4 cup | 5 g |
| Egg | 50 gabout 1 large egg | none |
| Salt | 6 g | 6 g |
Bake375°F (190°C) for about 50 minutes, the medians of the 21 recipes here that state a temperature and the 23 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group B
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Irish Soda Bread · mybakingaddiction.comsugar 10% · butter 17% · baking soda 1.2%
- Irish Soda Bread on The Grill · amazingribs.comsugar 10% · butter 17% · baking soda 1.2%
- Irish Soda Bread Recipe · natashaskitchen.comsugar 10% · butter 17% · baking soda 1.2%
- Irish Soda Bread · dinneratthezoo.comsugar 10% · butter 11% · baking soda 1.2%
- Irish Soda Bread · foodnetwork.comsugar 10% · butter 11% · baking soda 1.2%
Group C · 14 recipes · 11% of all
More sugar, less butter and more baking soda
Sugar over 1%, butter 11% or less and baking soda 1.3% or more of the flour weight. 7 of the 14 use no butter.
| At 500 g flour | Group C | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Buttermilk | 400 gabout 1 2/3 cups | 420 g |
| Baking soda | 8 g | 6 g |
| Butter | 8 gabout 1 2/3 tsp | 28 g |
| Sugar | 29 gabout 2 1/2 tbsp | 5 g |
| Egg | none | none |
| Salt | 7 g | 6 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 38 minutes, the medians of the 13 recipes here that state a temperature and the 13 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group C
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Rosemary-Parmesan Soda Bread · foodnetwork.comsugar 6.7% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.6%
- Cheese & Caramelised Onion Soda Bread · thebakingexplorer.comsugar 3.1% · butter 3% · baking soda 1.3%
- Irish soda bread aux raisins secs · chefsimon.comsugar 9.3% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.3%
- Irish Soda Bread · savingdessert.comsugar 5.8% · butter 6.6% · baking soda 2.1%
- Irish Soda Bread · daringgourmet.comsugar 4.4% · butter 5% · baking soda 1.6%
Group D · 12 recipes · 9% of all
More sugar, less butter and less baking soda
Sugar over 1%, butter 11% or less and baking soda under 1.3% of the flour weight. 5 of the 12 use no butter.
| At 500 g flour | Group D | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Buttermilk | 400 gabout 1 2/3 cups | 420 g |
| Baking soda | 3.5 g | 6 g |
| Butter | 26 gabout 2 tbsp | 28 g |
| Sugar | 30 gabout 2 1/2 tbsp | 5 g |
| Egg | 25 gabout 1/2 large egg | none |
| Salt | 6 g | 6 g |
Bake375°F (190°C) for about 45 minutes, the medians of the 10 recipes here that state a temperature and the 12 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group D
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Irish Soda Bread Recipe · baking-sense.comsugar 5% · butter 7.5% · baking soda 0.5%
- Irish Soda Bread · momontimeout.comsugar 7.5% · butter 8.5% · baking soda 0.6%
- Sourdough Irish Soda Bread · baking-sense.comsugar 5.7% · butter 8.6% · baking soda 0.6%
- Soda Bread · foodnetwork.comsugar 6.4% · butter 4.9% · baking soda 0.7%
- Irish Soda Bread with Raisins · tasteofhome.comsugar 8% · butter 6.1% · baking soda 0.6%
Group E · 14 recipes · 11% of all
Little or no sugar, some butter and more baking soda
Sugar 1% or less, some butter and baking soda 1.4% or more of the flour weight. 13 of the 14 use no sugar.
| At 500 g flour | Group E | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Buttermilk | 465 gabout 2 cups | 420 g |
| Baking soda | 9 g | 6 g |
| Butter | 70 gabout 1/3 cup | 28 g |
| Sugar | none | 5 g |
| Egg | 28 gabout 1/2 large egg | none |
| Salt | 6 g | 6 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 36 minutes, the medians of the 13 recipes here that state a temperature and the 14 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group E
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Irish Soda Bread · tarasmulticulturaltable.comsugar 0% · butter 12% · baking soda 1.8%
- Parmesan Herb Soda Bread · bakerbettie.comsugar 0% · butter 16% · baking soda 1.7%
- Brown Irish Soda Bread · savingdessert.comsugar 0% · butter 6.4% · baking soda 1.4%
- Irish Soda Bread · yummytummyaarthi.comsugar 0% · butter 6.4% · baking soda 1.4%
- Cabot Cheddar Soda Bread · kingarthurbaking.comsugar 0% · butter 19% · baking soda 2%
Group F · 13 recipes · 10% of all
Little or no sugar, some butter and less baking soda
Sugar 1% or less, some butter and baking soda under 1.4% of the flour weight. 11 of the 13 use no sugar.
| At 500 g flour | Group F | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Buttermilk | 430 gabout 1 3/4 cups | 420 g |
| Baking soda | 6 g | 6 g |
| Butter | 27 gabout 2 tbsp | 28 g |
| Sugar | none | 5 g |
| Egg | none | none |
| Salt | 6 g | 6 g |
Bake425°F (220°C) for about 40 minutes, the medians of the 13 recipes here that state a temperature and the 13 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group F
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Simple Spelt Irish Soda Bread · baketotheroots.desugar 0% · butter 5% · baking soda 1.1%
- Einfaches Irisches Dinkel Soda Bread · baketotheroots.desugar 0% · butter 5.5% · baking soda 1.2%
- Soda Bread · ricettedalmondo.itsugar 0.4% · butter 3% · baking soda 1.2%
- Soda bread · misya.infosugar 0.4% · butter 2.8% · baking soda 1.2%
- Quick Tomato Soda Bread with Nigella Seeds · baketotheroots.desugar 0% · butter 10% · baking soda 1.2%
Group G · 16 recipes · 13% of all
Little or no sugar, no butter and more baking soda
Sugar 1% or less, no butter and baking soda over 1.4% of the flour weight. 16 of the 16 use no sugar.
| At 500 g flour | Group G | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Buttermilk | 415 gabout 1 3/4 cups | 420 g |
| Baking soda | 9 g | 6 g |
| Butter | none | 28 g |
| Sugar | none | 5 g |
| Egg | none | none |
| Salt | 8 g | 6 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 38 minutes, the medians of the 11 recipes here that state a temperature and the 11 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group G
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Soda bread met abrikozen en rozijnen – recept · rutgerbakt.nlsugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.8%
- Soda bread recept · rutgerbakt.nlsugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.8%
- Soda Bread mit Bärlauch, Frühlingszwiebeln & Cheddar · baketotheroots.desugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.5%
- Wild Garlic, Spring Onion & Cheddar Soda Bread · baketotheroots.desugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.5%
- Cheddar-chorizo sodabread · laurasbakery.nlsugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.8%
Group H · 19 recipes · 15% of all
Little or no sugar, no butter and less baking soda
Sugar 1% or less, no butter and baking soda 1.4% or less of the flour weight. 16 of the 19 use no sugar.
| At 500 g flour | Group H | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Buttermilk | 420 gabout 1 3/4 cups | 420 g |
| Baking soda | 6 g | 6 g |
| Butter | none | 28 g |
| Sugar | none | 5 g |
| Egg | none | none |
| Salt | 6 g | 6 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 24 minutes, the medians of the 17 recipes here that state a temperature and the 19 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group H
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Dit sodabrood van Paul Hollywood kan iedereen maken - Culy · culy.nlsugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.2%
- Paul Hollywood Shared His Unusual Soda Bread Recipe Just in Time for St. Patrick’s Day · tasteofhome.comsugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.2%
- Soda Bread Variation · nigella.comsugar 0.9% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.3%
- Irish Oatmeal Soda Bread · theviewfromgreatisland.comsugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.3%
- Irisches sodabrot · ichkoche.atsugar 0% · butter 0% · baking soda 1.1%
How the questions are chosen
Each ingredient is ranked by how much recipes disagree on it: the width of the middle half of recipes (25th to 75th percentile) divided by the median, less 4% for each place it sits down this lab's list of ingredients, so the ones that define the dish win near ties. For Irish soda bread the order is sugar (9.00), butter (2.23), baking soda (0.42) and buttermilk (0.25), and the first 3 are asked. Salt is never asked about: recipes differ on it mostly by brand and taste. Egg is left out because most recipes use none.
Every split is at the median of the recipes in front of it, rounded to the percentage shown. Recipes exactly at the median go to whichever side leaves the two halves more even. No answer may keep fewer than 5 recipes; a group that could not be split further says so.
The recipes listed under each group are the 5 nearest its median on every ingredient at once, each scaled by how much recipes vary on it. Every recipe page links to the original for the method.