Welcome back to The Buy and Try Experiment! In today’s episode, I dive into another cosy kitchen adventure featuring two comforting classics: French Onion Soup and Irish Soda Bread.
But here’s the twist—this all started when I stumbled upon a vintage soup mug at a charity shop, and right there on the front was a full recipe for traditional Onion Soup. Naturally, I had to try it. Paired with some freshly baked Irish Soda Bread, this turned into the ultimate comfort food combo!
In this video:
I follow the soup recipe straight from the mug (yes, really!)
I attempt to bake a no-fuss Irish Soda Bread with simple ingredients for the first time.
Share tips, tricks, and a few surprises along the way
Taste test and give you my honest verdict
It may not be soup season but this recipe really hit the spot, and although the bread didn’t come out perfectly, we all know that’s it’s all about the taste 😋. The entire premise of ‘buy and try’ also helps me to stay open to life’s little surprises, rather than always fighting to stay in control. It helps me foster a more “organic” way of living, where I embrace what’s right there in front of me, rather than constantly planning my next move…🌻
💡 Recipe
3 large onions
1 ounce butter
1 quart white stock
1 clove
1 bay leaf
1 blade mace
1 ounce flour
salt and pepper
1/4 pint of milk
Bread 🍞
170g/6oz wholemeal flour
170g/6oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
290ml/10fl oz buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Tip the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and stir. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly with a large fork to form a soft dough. (Depending upon the absorbency of the flour, you may need to add a little milk if the dough seems too stiff but it should not be too wet or sticky.)
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Form into a round and flatten the dough slightly before placing on a lightly floured baking sheet.
Cut a cross on the top and bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.
Soup 🍲
Halve and thinly slice three large onions, then sauteé them in butter for about an hour or two on a low simmer, until soft and caramelized. Next, stir in flour and allow the mixture to cook through.
Add “white stock,” or store-bought chicken stock. After letting the onions and stock simmer for a few minutes, add the spices: mace, salt and pepper, a whole clove, and a bay leaf. Then, add milk, and simmer for 30 minutes until creamy.
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50 Comments
Sorry, everyone! I forgot to add the recipes 🍲 🍞. These are now in the description! ❤
throw salt over your left shoulder, Love. Not sure if the camera was reversed but just a gentle reminder.
Will definitely be trying this recipe, looks delicious! 🍲
Looks great, Hannah! I love cream of onion soup. If youmake it again, a splash of white wine adds another dimension.
Love the old-fashioned recipes!
Fun video! And interesting – every onion soup I've ever made calls for beef broth, not chicken. Maybe an "across the pond" thing? (I'm in the US.) Or maybe "across the channel? Just checked Julia Child's recipe from "Mastering" and it calls for beef bouillon, dry white wine and a little cognac. And topping it with croutons, of course.
sorry but as an ex chef of 30yrs that is definately not onion soup!!! it a french recipie and is onions cooked for a couple of hours very slowly your seasonings and clarified beef bone stock. you serve with lots of gruyre cheese melted on it..
Oh my goodness gracious! That was far too much clove for that recipe. I hope it's okay. I'm still watching along. You're a brave woman though.
When I think of onion soup, I always think of french onion soup so even though i was watching through this video my brain still ended up surprised it was a creamy onion soup that was being poured into that adorable soup mug/bowl.
Perfect timing for the southern hemisphere because we are in soup season, just started winter down here
Xx
There is a whole range of those mugs, they use to be a thing, so must be more recipes out there from them.
You are adorable! I can’t wait to see your next video ❤️
I LOVE MY DOWN TIME AT WORK SO I CAN WATCH YOIUR CONTENT WHICH I LOVE! THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US INTO YOUR BEAUTIFUL HOME AND TEACHING US
Whoa, hon, that’s a lot of cloves.
Perfect. An episode of the 1970s afternoon TV show, starring Grannies, called "Farmhouse Kitchen".
Now set in the recent past, and made by a Bonnie Lass in the C21st. Next to Oxtail, I love French Onion Soup. Simple and quick to make. Delicious, Warming and filling. Hmm, I going to give your recipe a go! Thank you.
Cosy food for a rainy day,thank you❤🌻😊.
Fyi it is fluid ounces …
Disney should be so lucky to have you in their princess lineup. My grandchildren were over the other day & I told my daughter there was some grape juice in the pantry they could have she started laughing and said how old is this? I replied, I don’t know. It was white grape juice, and it had turned brown…. Wonder how long it takes until it turns to vinegar we’ll never know; I dumped it out. 🤪
Thank you for the inspiration!
Oh I love those soup mugs!
I eat out of soup mugs instead of regular bowls.
In my world there are never too many onions!
I was worried about the amount of cloves & mace because they can be over powering but it sounds like it's a good stick to your ribs soup!
I carry onion powder & other spices in a lunch bag everywhere I go.
I think I missed when you added the stock?
soda bread, the best ever quick loaf, use your hands, forget the fork, don't over work it, form a rough ball shape in the bowl then pop it into another tine like a cake tin or anything round and smaller than a baking tray, flatten it, cross it let the fairies out sprinkle with a wee bit of flour and bake….turn onto a wire rack when cooked and wrap in a tea towel allow to cool, lashings of Kerrygold butter and there you have it..(YT The Irish Baker abroad, Chris is a Dublin baker, has great recipes for fruit soda, wheaten and white soda).. I've been making it for 60+ years, glad we can now get real buttermilk.. used to have to add Bi-carb and a pinch of cream of tarter, or sour milk with lemon juice or plain yogurt…will be baking this Saturday..1 handed as my right hand is splinted at the moment..wish me luck
aww I just love watching your videos Hannah. I always watch them with an egg sandwich and a cup of tea by the way. It's the rule here.
10:58 every season is soup season!
Your description of the soup reminds me of it being like a chowder, which makes sense: you made a roux with the onions, butter and stock, and then added milk, and that's the base for most chowders. Looks delish! I love onions. There's also a trick for checking your baking powder and baking soda for freshness: scoop a small amount (half teaspoon should do) into a bowl and add a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice (a smaller amount than the soda/powder). If it doesn't fizz up, it's lost its leavening power and should be retired to deodourizing and cleaning uses.
Omg the way I actually laughed out loud at the Michael Jordan clip 😂
I usually make your soup as a sauce to boild potatoes and some meat. We do it in the Skandinavian countries.
You have such a great sense of humor.
I always add caraway seeds to my Irish soda bread. It just adds a little something special.
I have a bunch of onions and was thinking of making this over the weekend. I am a vegetarian, so I will use veggie broth.
I could tell right off the bat that you didn't add enough buttermilk to your dough because it was too stiff. And that did not allow it to rise very much. I think you should make it all over again the correct way just so that you know how to do it. And yes it does help to use relatively new baking soda and baking powder when baking. So I would probably add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Buttermilk to your recipe. Whole wheat flour tends to need more liquid in it to make a bread.
I had a set of soup mugs like that here in America in Pennsylvania.
I’m going to Ireland next week!! I can’t wait to have soda bread, brown bread, and scones while there. Yum!
I find it helpful to lighter a candle near the onions while I chop them. The flame burns off the gas they release so no fumes to make you get teary eyed. Love your sweet, nostalgic kitchen.
Here in Southern California and in our Mexican kitchen, we have soup all year long… Albondigas, Caldo, Fideo and Pozole. Your onion soup looks delicious. 👍🏼🧅
A wet piece of kitchen towel close by where you are chopping onions, the chemical in the onion is attracted to the moisture in the wet kitchen towel rather than the moisture in your eyes and hey presto, no stinging eyes! It's never failed me
The amount of cloves she put in scared me
I just found your channel today and watched the pond install. I thought it was a precious, lovely project. Thank you for sharing! I've already subscribed – excited to watch some of your older vids!
Oh no! A tsp of ground cloves is, like, a tbsp of whole cloves! That may have been the problem – too much clove! Next time, if the recipe calls for 1 clove, just put a dash or 2 -clove is super strong!
Well done.
You ARE a Disney Princess!!! 🥰
Cute fairies. Nice touch
Ha😂 you make me laugh in some of the video but absolutely loved your video
It looks delicious! A little cooking tip, when substituting ground cloves for whole cloves you need far less ground cloves! You only need about half the amount of ground clove. And in this case, just a small dash or two would suffice.
The purpose of the Cross in the bread, and the letting out of the fairies is tohelpthe bread to bake in the middle. I think your bread turned out well. I've had a few fails if this bread in the past. Soup and bread is the best food ever! ❤
You DO look like a Disney princess in that dress with that hair.
1) love the cooking series. So lovely and cozy and 2) adore the dress aahhh it looks wonderful on you!
I have a set of those soup recipe mugs 😊 I found them in a thrift store
Hi. Soups are the best meals. I’m thinking of using the recipe base to make cream of mushroom soup. Yum 😋.
My aunty had a collection of those soup cups with different recipes on… or am I imagining that???