Additions or substitution recs for whole meal flour used in traditional Irish Soda Bread recipes
I lived in Dublin for several years & fell in love with the flavor & ease of making Irish soda bread, ingredients which were readily accessible at literally any neighborhood corner shop anywhere in Ireland. Irish soda bread usually calls for the use of whole meal flour & I noticed this recipe calls for only AP (I am assuming this is in the interest of accessibility for most people?). Any recommendations of what we could easily add to make it more like Irish whole meal flour? Wheat germ? Flax meal? Whole wheat pastry flour? I tend not to buy whole wheat flour unless I have big baking plans for it, since it tends to lose its deliciousness so quickly. Thanks !
Recipe question for:
Copycat Mary O's Irish Soda Bread Scones
4 Comments
702551March 27, 2025
You don't need to go overboard with storage solutions. I just stick an original bag of flour in a 2 gallon ziplock bag, date it (so I know what order to use them) and expel as much air as possible before sealing. It's mostly to keep any freezer odors away from the flour (I do the same thing with butter).
If I buy small bags from Bob's Red Mill, I just use the original resealable bag again dating them with a magic marker for first-in first-out. It's not a big deal.
I keep a small amount of AP flour (like a half cup) in a pint container in the fridge for small projects, sauces, bench flour, etc.
More importantly don't buy too much flour at once even if you are tempted by a sale price.
If I buy small bags from Bob's Red Mill, I just use the original resealable bag again dating them with a magic marker for first-in first-out. It's not a big deal.
I keep a small amount of AP flour (like a half cup) in a pint container in the fridge for small projects, sauces, bench flour, etc.
More importantly don't buy too much flour at once even if you are tempted by a sale price.
Food52-HotlineMarch 27, 2025
Hey Sandra!
702551's answer below is super thorough, and I trust ATK with my life more than I do my own. For storing whole wheat flour, air tight in your pantry is a good place to start. If you're also worrying about your flour going bad or infested with pests, you can store in an airtight container in the freezer! If you want to go super overboard you could even use a vacuum sealed container (like the Fellow ones we sell in our shop)
Hope this helps!
- Justin from the Hotline team
702551's answer below is super thorough, and I trust ATK with my life more than I do my own. For storing whole wheat flour, air tight in your pantry is a good place to start. If you're also worrying about your flour going bad or infested with pests, you can store in an airtight container in the freezer! If you want to go super overboard you could even use a vacuum sealed container (like the Fellow ones we sell in our shop)
Hope this helps!
- Justin from the Hotline team
702551March 27, 2025
The special flour used in Ireland for their version is not readily available in the United States. A few years ago America's Test Kitchen worked on a version using a workaround flour blend to approximate the Irish ingredient.
You can see the ATK video (approx. 8 min.) here:
https://www.youtube.com...
and their accompanying recipe here:
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/10604-irish-brown-soda-bread
Disclaimer: I have not made it myself nor have I ever been to Ireland to experience the authentic version however ATK tends to do a fair amount of research before they propose a recipe on air.
Best of luck.
You can see the ATK video (approx. 8 min.) here:
https://www.youtube.com...
and their accompanying recipe here:
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/10604-irish-brown-soda-bread
Disclaimer: I have not made it myself nor have I ever been to Ireland to experience the authentic version however ATK tends to do a fair amount of research before they propose a recipe on air.
Best of luck.
702551March 27, 2025
For flour freshness heat and light are wheat's enemies. I store all of my AP flour in the refrigerator and some other flours (like almond meal, almond flour) in the freezer. Whole wheat flour has more components that can go rancid so the freezer is a better storage location if you have the space.
Freshly milled flour is the best so it's best not to stockpile lots of flour if your baking is infrequent even if it means spending more per pound on flour by purchasing smaller bags.
Freshly milled flour is the best so it's best not to stockpile lots of flour if your baking is infrequent even if it means spending more per pound on flour by purchasing smaller bags.
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