Irish Soda Bread

If you are Irish, like me, then you know nothing beats a thick slice of soda bread to accompany a fry-up! As it is Saint Patrick’s day today, I thought I would share this recipe with you. This recipe was given to me by a Brazilian friend and is from Paul Hollywood (AKA King of bread). The soda bread in this post is a rustic loaf, not farrels that are usually found with fry-ups. Nevertheless, it is super easy and really tasty! I have adapted this recipe slightly as his is brown soda bread or what we would know as wheaten bread. Therefore I just used white flour to make this.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

• 500 g plain white flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• About 400 ml buttermilk (if you cannot get buttermilk, add a generous squeeze of lemon to 400 ml milk)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 c and grease and lightly flour a baking tray. Sift the dry ingredients and make a well. Add in the buttermilk slowly (you will not need it all) until the mixture can be made into a ball of dough.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a circle. Insert on the baking tray and score the top with a sharp knife (Tip: dip the knife into some flour to score the dough easier).

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the bread has gone a golden brown colour. To test if the bread is done, knock the bottom and if it has a hollow sound, it is done. Serve the bread with strong cheddar cheese.