Keyword brown soda bread, Irish bread, Irish soda bread, Soda bread
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 35 minutesminutes
Cooling time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour20 minutesminutes
Servings 10
Author Man Has Knife
Cost €1.50
Equipment
Mixer, helpful but not necessary
Ingredients
500gWholemeal flourOrganic is best
1tspSalt
1tspBaking powder
½tspBicarbonate of soda
300mlButtermilk or sour milkSee notes on liquids
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 220°C, 425°F or Gas mark 7. If you have a pizza stone place that in the oven if not put a heavy oven try in to heat
Place all dry ingredients into a bowl or mixer bowl, no need to sift the flours, you can sift the baking powder and bicarbonate and give all a quick mix to distribute the dry ingredients
If using a mixer attach a dough hook, if using a bowl make a well in the centre and slowly add the liquid while mixing everything
You do not knead soda bread, just mix until all the ingredients come together and form a ball of dough, once mixed tip out onto a floured surface
You need to work quickly now, lightly flour your hands and shape the ball of dough into a round or at this stage you can split the mix in half for two smaller loaves
Take your pizza stone or tray out of the oven cover with a bit of parchment or dust the stone with some cornmeal
Place your loaf or loaves onto the tray then sprinkle the top with flour, lastly score a deep cross into the loaf and place into the oven
Bake for approx 35 mins, check after 30 mins, it should have risen well and look beautiful, to check it is cooked lift the loaf and tap the bottom, it should sound hollow when baked
Take out of the oven and place on a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least half an hour before tucking in.
Notes
On liquidsYou can use any liquid that is slightly acidic, buttermilk is normal but you can use and I have, yogurt, sour milk, kefir and even Guinness! If you only have milk add about 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to 300 ml of whole milk and let it sit for 10 mins, this will curdle the milk.On baking.It is the chemical reaction between the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda mixed with the acid liquid that gives the bread lift, that is why it is important to get the loaf into the oven as soon as possible after mixing, this is why you need to have your oven ready and up to temperate before you start to make the bread which only takes a few minutes.