A Wholesome Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Today's post is about family. I know many of you out there have family recipes that you keep close to your heart. One of my family recipes is Irish Soda Bread. I'm Irish through both my father and my maternal grandfather. This recipe is a family recipe but I bake it using a slightly different technique.

Ingredients:

250g Wholemeal Bread Flour

250g Strong White Bread Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

420ml Buttermilk

Method:

1. Put both flours into a large bowl. Add the bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix together. Add the buttermilk and mix with one hand or a wooden spoon to form a sticky dough.

2. Flour a work surface and tip the dough onto it. Gently roll and fold the dough for a minute or so to bring it together, but don't knead it. Shape the dough into a ball by turning it around repeatedly on the surface between your cupped hands. Flatten the ball gently with your hand.

3. Place the loaf on a baking tray (lined with baking parchment). Using a knife cut a slit down and across the dough (like the sign of the cross) to give the bread it's traditional shape (this also helps the dough to cook well.)

4. Set the loaf aside for 30 minutes to allow the bicarbonate of soda to start it's process.

5. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes (but check after 30 minutes). This timing is down to you depending on your oven. Both Soda Breads that I made yesterday took 35 minutes each to cook.

6. To see if it's ready turn it over onto a tea towel in one hand and with the other gently knock on the back of the soda bread to see if it's hollow. The other technique I use is to use a clean metal skewer and to gently poke it through the slits and if it comes up clear it's ready. If it doesn't it needs a little longer in the oven.

7. Once ready and cooled (on a cooling rack), serve either toasted with butter on or serve with butter on and enjoy!