Soda Bread

Felicity Cloake's 'How to Make the Perfect...' recipes are always brilliantly useful and reliable, and this soda bread is no exception. I'd never tried soda bread before (unfairly judging to be dry and 'soda-ey'???!!), but am now a total convert. It is surprisingly quick to knock up at short notice, and doesn't feature any hanging-around-waiting-for-the-loaf-to-rise time at all. This healthy loaf would be delicious with a bean stew or some Cullen Skink, and would also be good with some cold ham and homemade chutney. Or jam...

Ingedients

  • 450g Wholemeal Flour
  • 50g Oats
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • 1 tbsp Treacle (I didn’t have any)
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 450ml Milk (soured with 1 tbsp Lemon Juice)

Pre-heat the oven to 200˚c

When the oven is hot (see how quick it is?!) – put the 450g Wholemeal Flour, 50g Oats, 1 tsp Salt, and 1 tsp Bicarb of Soda into a large bowl and mix to combine

Mix together the 1 tbsp Treacle (if you have some), 1 tbsp Honey (I used extra to compensate for missing Treacle) and the 450ml Milk (soured with 1 tbsp Lemon Juice – to replace the Buttermilk recommended in the original recipe)

Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients you’ve just mixed together

Quickly work the mixture to a sticky dough

Form a round loaf shape with this; dust it with a little Flour and put it on a greased baking sheet.  Cut a cross shape in the middle

Bake for 50 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap the base of the Loaf

Cool on a rack for a while before serving…

[It does OK the next day - but isn't as good at lasting as other loaves, so eat it quickly!]

Felicity Cloake’s recipes are online here at the Guardian’s site

Tagged , ,