Have you ever made sandwiches for your lunch from irish sodabread ? Not a good idea - it crumbles and I found out the hard way on my hike along the Kerry Way. But I loved this bread so much I decided to bake it at home. And this is how it turned out.
I love trying local food and picking up recipes on my travels!
I perfected the recipe by trial and error and here it is:
The perfect soda bread
(Makes 1 loaf)
3 1/2 cup of coarse wholemeal flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp salt
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp honey
2 cups buttermilk (or sour milk, or milk with 1/4 cup of white vinegar)
1 tbsp melted butter, to finish
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and grease a baking sheet.
Once the oven has come to temperature, put all the dry ingredient into a large mixing bowl and whisk together to combine. Make a well in the middle. Stir the molasses and honey into the buttermilk until well mixed, then pour this into the well and, very quickly, with buttered hands, stir together with your hands until you have a soft, sticky dough.
Form this into a round on your baking sheet and cut a deep cross in the dough. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, keeping an eye on it, until the crust is golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath..
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