Soda bread
Posted: 16 Jan 2013, 14:42I make this a lot. It is so easy.
370g plain flour
130g wholemeal flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp salt
40g melted butter
1 tbsp treacle
300-340 g buttermilk (or warm milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice added - let it sit for a while though).
Preheat oven to 200 deg.
Put flour, bicarb and salt in a large bowl. Stir together. Make a well in the centre and add the melted butter and treacle plus enough of the buttermilk to make a loose sticky dough.
Tip the dough out onto a dusted board and knead it for about 1 minute (it should be quite sticky). Shape it into a ball and smooth the top. Place it onto a baking tray and flatten it a bit.
Using a wooden spoon, put some flour on the handle and lay the handle lengthways over the loaf. Push it down until you feel the baking tray below. Do the same thing the other way - making a cross on top of the bread (You could also slash it with a bread knife but don't go all the way through). Dust with some flour and bake for around 40 mins until it is risen and the dough inside the cross shape is not damp.
370g plain flour
130g wholemeal flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp salt
40g melted butter
1 tbsp treacle
300-340 g buttermilk (or warm milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice added - let it sit for a while though).
Preheat oven to 200 deg.
Put flour, bicarb and salt in a large bowl. Stir together. Make a well in the centre and add the melted butter and treacle plus enough of the buttermilk to make a loose sticky dough.
Tip the dough out onto a dusted board and knead it for about 1 minute (it should be quite sticky). Shape it into a ball and smooth the top. Place it onto a baking tray and flatten it a bit.
Using a wooden spoon, put some flour on the handle and lay the handle lengthways over the loaf. Push it down until you feel the baking tray below. Do the same thing the other way - making a cross on top of the bread (You could also slash it with a bread knife but don't go all the way through). Dust with some flour and bake for around 40 mins until it is risen and the dough inside the cross shape is not damp.
