Northern Ireland Farl (Soda Bread)
Northern Ireland's Farl are quick and easy skillet Soda Bread quarters, the perfect recipe for when you need fast, hearty bread to go with dinner.
Northern Ireland Farl: Irish Soda Bread
If you like Irish Soda Bread, you'll love the version of soda bread from Northern Ireland. In this part of the country, the term 'soda bread' always refers to skillet-cooked farl, not the oven-baked loaf of the southern regions.
The word 'Farl' comes from the Scots word 'fardel' which refers to a three-cornered cake or the fourth part of a round.
While this term can be used for any flatbread that is made by cutting a round into four equal quarters, typically it is used to refer only to soda bread or potato cakes that are made this way.
(You will find soda farl recipes most commonly using either oat flour or wheat flour.)
Northern Ireland vs Southern Ireland (The Republic of Ireland)
When we think of Ireland, we're probably thinking of the larger, southern portion of Ireland (properly called The Republic of Ireland and often referred to as simply "The Republic").
By geographical area, Northern Ireland is much smaller than The Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland is a part of the UK (the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland") which also includes England, Wales, and Scotland. (If you're interested, learn more history and food facts about the United Kingdom.)
Popular foods in Northern Ireland include boxty, pasties, and Irish stew. In The Republic you find different dishes take center stage, like black pudding, coddle, and bacon and cabbage. (Find out more food facts about Ireland.)
Potato Farl vs Soda Farl
Sometimes you will find recipes for farl called "potato farl" or simply "potato bread". This bread uses mashed potatoes in the dough, making it almost more of a cross between a biscuit and a potato pancake.
As we mentioned earlier, the name farl simply refers to the way the cakes are cut, in triangles. So, both potato farl and soda farl recipes are quite common.
Farl for Breakfast in Ireland
Both potato farl and soda farl are served in Northern Ireland with their full breakfast, called an "Ulster Fry".
This hearty breakfast contains eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, and tomatoes. It is the inclusion of soda bread and potato bread that make the Ulster Fry specific to Northern Ireland and different from the "full Irish breakfast" served in the Republic.
It is also common to find a "filled soda" in Northern Ireland. This is a breakfast sandwich of sausage, bacon, and eggs between two triangles of soda farl.
How to Make Skillet Irish Soda Bread
The skillet gives the bread a crisp crust and a soft, dense, moist interior.
It is important to cook your farl over medium heat (or just under medium).
The important thing when cooking these skillet breads is to not brown the outside too quickly. We want them to take around 15 minutes per side to cook. This way the heat can make its way to the center of these dense breads to cook them all the way through.
How to Serve Farl
Once cooked, this soda farl recipe is delicious for breakfast with butter or jam. (Or alongside some eggs, bacon, and sausage.)
But, they are equally as good served alongside a hearty dinner stew.
North Ireland Farl (Soda Bread)
Northern Ireland’s Farl are quick and easy skillet Soda Bread quarters, the perfect recipe for when you need fast, hearty bread to go with dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 c unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 c whole wheat flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 c buttermilk *
Instructions
- Preheat a, 8-9 inch skillet over medium heat.
- In a medium bowl mix the flours with the baking soda and salt. Add in the buttermilk and mix until a sticky dough forms.
- Generously flour your counter with wheat flour and turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Generously dust the top of the dough with additional wheat flour and knead the dough until it comes together in a soft ball, adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking.
- Once you have a round ball, flatten it slightly. Then, cut the dough into quarters with a floured knife or bench scraper.
- Flatten each quarter to roughly ½ inch thick and place the wedges into the skillet. Cook the farl for 15 minutes on the first side, until deeply golden. Flip the farl and cook them on the second side for an additional 15 minutes. (Keep an eye on the bottom of your bread. If your burners tend to run hot, you may need to reduce the temperature slightly. The bread should take the full 15 minutes to produce a golden crust. If it browns too fast, the outside will be done when the inside is still dough-y.)
- Cool on a wire rack and serve with butter and/or jam.
Notes
*Make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a 1 cup liquid measure. Fill the remaining 1 cup with milk. Set the milk aside for 5-10 minutes to let it sour slightly. Then it is ready to use in your Farl!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1 gAmount Per Serving: Calories: 126
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
Only thing I'd disagree with here is that traditional foods down south (I'm in NI) are actually the spice bag and chicken roll.
Thank you for this insight! Could you tell us more about these two dishes?
This entry solved a big mystery for me. I found out about soda farls when I lived in Belfast for about three months in 1989 and really liked them. Only they were called soda bread. (They were also in rectangular shapes, much like Pop Tarts, just a bit thicker, at least at the bakery I first got them from.) They were very very simple but very very good, especially heated up with butter. They really just looked like white rectangles. When I got back to America later on and would see places advertising Irish soda bread instead of seeing something very similar in size and shape to a Pop Tart I was seeing these big domed loaves, often with raisins in them. For ~33 years I have been trying to figure out what was going on. About six months ago I came across a recipe for "soda farls" and thought, "Now that's more like what I've been looking for." Then I find your recipe today and the explanation includes that in Northern Ireland the farls are known as soda bread. So thanks for clearing that up. Now I've gotta go make some.
Thanks for sharing Christian. We're glad you found us and our research could help! We hope you enjoy making them!
Born and raised Belfast - now in upstate New York. My Granma taught me to bake and cook. Tiny little lady - almost as round as she was tall Soda bread and potato bread every single day - gridle over open wood stove - the farls were usually split and fried - for breakfast. The recipe went like this:- about two handfuls of flour - and then some baking powder - her hands were tiny - mine are big.
Thank you so much for sharing Freda!
Id use soda bread flour not plain flour so would i still need to use baking powder?
And yes people up north do eat fried cabbage and bacon 🙂
Hi Brian. We're not familiar with soda bread flour. But, if it already has a leavening in it, you would likely be able to omit the baking soda.
@Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere, in NI you see self-raising flour sold as Soda Bread flour, it's just general/all purpose flour with pre-added bicarb/baking soda and an acidic additive to generate the CO2 when wetted. So to make a soda bread dough you just add buttermilk, or even just milk as the soda bread flour doesn't need the acidity of buttermilk to get a rise.
In India you have naans, in Mexico tortilla wraps, in Ireland you have soda bread - all basic breads made without yeast.
SO many recipes I searched for show a version of Soda Bread that's baked, and what I personally would call wheaten bread, which is also delicious BTW but not what I was looking for.
Of course the peak use of soda bread is to make a filled soda - split, toasted, buttered and stuffed with sausage, bacon and a fried egg. Dash of ketchup or brown sauce optional (but not really). (Brown sauce isn't BBQ sauce, it's more like a Worcestershire sauce favoured thick sauce but a bit milder. You get "fruity" variations that are a bit sweeter.)
Thank you for sharing!
Hi, I love your history lesson about food in Norn and the Republic.
Thank you for this great recipe, I will be making this soon! yoshimi
Thank you Yoshimi. We hope you enjoy the bread!
I am 66 years old and live in Canada. My parents where from Northern Ireland (Befast and Ballycloughan)
My mother taught me how to make soda bread and the recipe is very similar. I still occasionally make soda bread and cook it on the stove top on a dry, floured griddle.
I love it with butter and jam and while maybe not the healthiest, I do love cutting a farl open and frying in the bacon and sausage fat from my Ulster fry.
Cheers
Delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I have been making soda bread, farls, boxty etc since I was a teenager. I am 69 yrs old now ... great info, great recipes I someimes add cold butter cut in to flour, raisins, and caraway seeds depends on the occasion. It is all delicious! Thank you 😁
I love the idea of adding raisins or caraway!
I’m from Northern Ireland (now living in Pennsylvania) and really enjoyed these growing up. We always used store bought packages though. Since I can’t buy them very readily here, I sought out a recipe and found yours. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to store bought soda farls ever again! Delicious recipe. Thanks for providing it here. 🙂
So glad you enjoyed them!
@Sarah Ozimek, ˆI grew up in N Ireland and we had soda bread every day, on the farm, home made. Now the shops sell a fairly decent version, and few women make it..
How interesting. Thanks for sharing!
@Sarah Ozimek, I'm originally from Belfast but now I live in France. Soda farls are awesome with eggs and bacon and also potatoe farls..... Treacle bread is awesome with jams and cream..wheaten bread is super with cheeses...
Thanks for sharing Andy!
Sorry slight correction needed Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom not aligned with it England Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland make up the United Kingdom.
Thank you Paul. We were simply saying that Northern Ireland is culturally closer to British than Southern Irish, but we can see your confusion and we have updated the article to hopefully make it more clear.
@Sarah Ozimek, culturally, it’s really not.
Only a few unionist strongholds align so with Britain, the rest of us are very much Irish, enjoy our native language, and foods. And culture.
I’m afraid the gentleman has not been quite clear and perhaps using his own perceptions ☺️
Very helpful Ruthie. Thank you!
@Ruthie, Thank you for that clarification.
I am one of "the rest of us", but thankfully the divide between "them" and "us' is smaller.
On another topic--did you EVER eat corned beef and cabbage in Ireland? I never even heard of it!
Donal
Very informative post. I especially liked the history. The past couple of weeks I've tried various soda bread and farl recipes; enjoying the taste of these very much. I will be trying the above really soon. Thank you.
Thank you Paula. We hope you enjoy it!
Is it baking powder or bicarbonate soda you add and what's the difference between the two
Thankyou
Hi Mary. In this recipe you will use baking soda (bicarbonate soda). Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda, cream of tartar (an acid), and cornstarch. Baking soda (bicarbonate soda) only reacts and does its leavening properties in the presence of an acid (in this bread, buttermilk). So, baking powder is used when there is no additional acidic ingredient present. (If you want more info about these and other leavening agents, we wrote a whole article about leavening agents you could check out.)
I made this recipe and it turned out better than I expected not too sure about adding the whole wheat flour so I tried using just plain white flour also turned out good too ?
Glad you enjoyed the bread Gerry!
@Sarah Ozimek,
Hi Sarah, thanks for the recipe. Quick question, I have been making the soda bread many years but finding my final product is too dense and heavy. I am not kneading the bread more mixing the ingredients and shaping into a ball. How long should I be kneading the dough for? More then a minute.
Hi Simon. You should really only knead it enough to bring it all together, just a few turns, if you can. That being said, soda bread is much more dense and heavy than a yeast bread. It's just the nature of the leavening.