Easy Soda Bread

I enjoy making different kinds of breads and have been making loaves for my family for the past 10 years. There is something very satisfying about being able to make bread... such a staple item of our everyday diet. In an age where we are ever more aware of what goes into our food and where it comes from, this bread is a great place to start. So, not only does this bread taste amazing, it’s also unbelievably quick and easy to make: no kneading, no proving and only 4 simple ingredients!

Regular bread is not hard to make, but it is time consuming… and sometimes in our busy lives there's just not the time for kneading, proving and waiting around... or sometimes i'm just an impatient soul.

Soda bread, on the other hand, can be done and dusted in under 40 minutes – now I love the sound of that!

And I love how simple it is to make – just throw a few basic ingredients into a bowl, mix until you have a ball of dough, place on a baking tray, cut a cross in the top and pop it in the oven. 30 minutes later, you have delicious, warm, homemade bread, that you just can’t get enough of!

Ingredients :

350g plain flour 

1½ tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (see notes)

285ml buttermilk (see notes)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and dust a baking tray with a little plain flour.

Mix all the dry ingredients together thoroughly, I use a whisk to make sure everything mixes well together. 

Tip in the buttermilk and stir to combine. Keep stirring until the ingredients come together as a dough, then gather the dough together to form a ball.

Place the ball of dough on your baking tray and cut a deep cross in the centre. (This is really important as it helps the centre of the bread to cook properly – so cut nice and deep, almost to the bottom).

If you wish, you can dust the loaf with a little flour, then place the bread in your preheated oven for 30 minutes. 

Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes:

Baking soda is the same as bicarbonate of soda, however it is not the same as baking powder. Make sure you use baking soda/bicarbonate of soda in this recipe. Baking powder will not give the same result.

If you can not find buttermilk you can make you own by using the same quantity of regular milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar stirred in to sour it. Use in the same way as described above.