Treacle bread

[frazzled101]

I tasted someone else's treacle bread and it was gorgeous. They said they only use flour, treacle, buttermilk and a little bit of sugar.

I looked up a recipe online and it also had cream of tartare and baking powder in it so I used those too.

I've been left with a lump of dense bread whereas the one I tasted is so much lighter.

Anyone know how to make a good treacle bread? Should I cut out the cream of tartare and baking powder?

I have a recipe (Sam Stern's) for treacle bread. I personally find it a bit heavy for sandwiches, but it makes the most amazing toast. The treacle caramelises when you toast it. It's unbelievably good buttered, with poached eggs.
If you'd like the recipe l'm happy to pass it on.

Bread soda I'd say was the missing ingredient, sounds like a fairly standard type soda bread with the buttermilk as liquid.

@marylou25 Google had said I could use baking powder instead of bread soda, but perhaps that was my mistake.

Baking powder and cream of tartar would form a sort of alternative but it's not like for like amounts with bread soda/bicarbonate of soda which is traditionally used with an acidic liquid such as buttermilk/yogurt/sour cream recipes. Baking powder is more geared towards use with fresh milk or non acidic liquid in the bake.

Was it a brown bread type of treacle bread or more white? The more usual type to me anyway would be brown soda bread but with added treacle making it darker in colour, often with stout added too! More unusual to be a more white bread type loaf with treacle but they do exist.

I agree with this. I add a generous tablespoon of treacle to my brown soda bread recipe and it's lovely.

The one I'm trying to replicate is more like a brown loaf.

I'll try again with bicarbonate of soda and see how I get on.

I would use a recipe like Darina Allen's treacle bread or Kevin Dundons