Darina Allen: Soda bread is quick, easy and so delicious. Here's how to make it

"...take out your scales and weigh 450g of flour, add a level teaspoon of salt and the same of bicarbonate of soda, stir in 350-400mls buttermilk. Shape it into a loaf or cut into scones, then straight into the oven..."
Darina Allen: Soda bread is quick, easy and so delicious. Here's how to make it

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  • This article is part of our Best of 2023 collection. It was originally published on September 2, 2023. Find more stories like this here.

Have you heard of Common Knowledge? It’s a really interesting not-for-profit social enterprise, based near Kilfenora in Co Clare.

Harrison Gardner, a young Australian designer and eco-builder had a craving to restore a stone cottage. He found what he was looking for outside Ennistymon, Co Clare. 

Then he met a charming Irish cailín called Erin and the rest is, as they say, history. 

But the extra dimension to the story is that Harrison decided to share and pass on his skills to others who were eager to learn how to build, mend, recycle and grow. 

Build School was created to empower, upskill and give individuals and communities confidence to do it themselves. 

In 2022, Common Knowledge was established as a sustainable living project in the midst of 50 acres in the Burren. 

Nowadays, during this cost of living crisis, many young people can’t afford to buy a house. 

Hence, every Hands On Common Knowledge course, teaching the skills to build your own house is over-subscribed with an eclectic mix of people eager to learn basic building skills.

More recently, as part of National Heritage Week, Harrison and his co-founder and CEO, Fionn Kidney organised The School of Lost Skills Festival. 

I was invited to participate in a panel and decided to show everyone how to make a loaf of our traditional Irish soda bread and a little block of homemade butter. Most certainly, an almost forgotten skill by many.

Soda bread or ‘a cake of bread’ as it was traditionally known is made in minutes. 

Next time you are out of bread, instead of hunting for your car keys to go to the supermarket, turn on the oven, take out your scales and weigh 450g of flour, add a level teaspoon of salt and the same of bicarbonate of soda, stir in 350-400mls buttermilk. Shape it into a loaf or cut into scones, then straight into the oven.

I also made butter in a twinkling. Now, I can hear you saying, where does she think I’ll get time to make butter? 

Well once again, it’s made in no time. Remember all you have to do is over whip cream, either intentionally or accidentally and hey presto, you have butter. Just wash it well in several changes of cold water, add 2% salt, chill and enjoy. Pure magic and you can either drink the buttermilk or save it to make soda bread, a day or two later.

I also encouraged people to get a few hens and to learn how to forage for food in the wild, another really important, almost forgotten skill. Here are a few tried and tested recipes to have fun and experiment with.

Traditional Irish White Soda Bread

By:darina Allen Recipe

Additions Of 2 Convertibles' Takes Ready Just 40 It 3 With Greatest Minutes Have Is Will And In Bake, 10 Different Or 'great And Be We Bread The To Soda Scones To Only Minutes Uses Certainly Another Had My Minutes 30 Experimenting Make Fun

Traditional Irish White Soda Bread

Servings

1

Preparation Time

20 mins

Cooking Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hours 5 mins

Course

Baking

ingredients

  • Plain White Flour 450g

  • 1 Tsp Level Salt

  • 350 Milk Buttermilk Soda Or To Bread Sour 1 Level 400ml Tsp Mix – Approx

method

  1. 8 To Oven Fully 230ºc/gas Your Preheat Mark First

  2. Stiff Full, And In Using Sieve Make Outstretched, Not A A Of If Most Well Mix The Dough Wet Should Be With Just Milk Bowl, The Movement Dry Pour Sticky Claw, Fingers Like Of In In Once The Too Into Circular Milk And Centre More Necessary The A One The The To Your Centre Softish, A To Ingredients Adding Hand Bowl The Mix From At Outside Large

  3. Work Together, A Turn When Onto All Floured It Es Surface Dry Wash And Well It Out Your Hands

  4. Of Hands, About Out It! Fairies To Flip Pat Tidy On Up Dough Otherwise 4cm Will Four And Over Deep Then They Gently A Traditional Jinx Prick Round, The Then The It (the Cross The With It And Corners In Let A Blessing), Bread, Floured Into Cut The

  5. Transfer To A Baking Tray

  6. 6 It Cooked Mark Cooked When To If 230ºc/gas Oven, Are Minutes, You 30 Bake Bread, Bottom The Reduce Hollow Until Mark For Minutes 8 15 200ºc/gas The Hot A Sound In The Or Will For Heat Tap Then Of Is It Doubt, In

  7. A Rack On Cool Wire

Spotted Dog

Allen Recipe By:darina

We And Same Make Makes ‘spotted 6 One For Loaf Into Are Sometimes Puppies’ Baked Shaped Minutes Rolls The Bread, 20 Which

Spotted Dog

Servings

1

Preparation Time

15 mins

Cooking Time

40 mins

Time Total

55 mins

Course

Baking

ingredients

  • Flour, Plain 450g Preferably White Unbleached

  • Level Tsp Bicarbonate Soda 1 Of

  • Level 1 Tsp Salt

  • Tsp 2 Sugar

  • You’d 75g (or Like) Sultanas More If

  • Egg Organic 1

  • 350 Buttermilk 425ml About

method

  1. Preheat Mark Oven The 7 To 220°c/gas

  2. The And The Into Your Add Flour Well Is Egg Letting The Sugar Part The Of And Flour This In Then More Mixing Finished Bread A Egg Soda; Therefore The Your Salt, Buttermilk By Lifting Base The This Of Fingers The Into The And A Mixture Air In A The Milk Bowl, Lightness Measuring And To Make In Hands Well Through Large Line Measurement) Bicarbonate Of Them (the Jug Then Into Adds Break Flour Back Mix The Pour Liquid Add Flour Into To The Bowl And And More Fall Your Of Centre Up Now 425ml Sieve And Fruit Sultanas Egg The Of Most Mixture

  3. Open Should Necessary Using Too The The Circle More And The Dough From In Be And Wet Hand Mixture The Milk Drawing In Sticky Mix One If Not Stiff, Full Bowl, With Of Adding A Sides Softish, Flour But The Fingers

  4. Is The To Over Cooked, As A To Bread Gently Airy Prick In The All Oven Cooked Es Wash All 40 The A Tap Inches Dog About To Minutes Around Roll The And Second, The It Soda 6 For Surface Bottom: Make Just Cross Of And Corner This Of At Floury Of With Are Slightly Lightly Worked Bread Flatten Hollow It It Because Your Let It Is At Quickly Flour Heat Deep As Not Bread Being 200°c/gas Mix This Sides Up Tray Put Spotted Dry Cut Dough Turn It (5cm) Over The Transfer Breads, Well The Onto And Hands Baking Let It The A The And To Into Sound 35 Mark About Like The Surface It To Floured And Higher Out If You Mix Enough Faster With Doubt The Browns Out Than To Flip Cooked The With Keeping Fairies If For To Each Thus Will A A When Cook A Immediately Trick Dusted Is Tidy Reduce Lower Light Over Bread And Together, Hands Egg With 2 In Approx Temperature Possible, The Temperature Soda Go Cuts Sure Bread Gently

  5. Cheese Smeared Dog Into Jam Cut With Baked, Eaten With Really Cheddar Is Serve And Also Spotted And Freshly Butter Slices Good Thick

Soda Bread Pizza

By:darina Allen Recipe

Whip I A In Dish To Base Time Is How Times Delicious Needed A Riff When This From And Has Pizza Can’t Of A Far No Soda Deep Many Something Pan Pizza Tell Filling You All To The On Rescue E I This Traditional, Bread Up At

Soda Bread Pizza

Servings

8

Preparation Time

25 mins

Cooking Time

40 mins

Time Total

1 hours 5 mins

Course

Main

ingredients

  • White Extra Plus 450g Rolling For And Kneading Flour, Plain

  • 1 Of Level Bicarbonate Tsp Soda

  • 1 Sea Level Salt Tsp

  • Buttermilk 375–400ml

  • Brushing For Extra Virgin Oil, Olive

  • 1/2 Rosemary 1 Tbsp Chopped

  • 50g 350g Sliced Chorizo,

  • Seasoning/spices Tomatoes Chopped Fresh Mixed Or Tinned With

  • Halved 8 Bocconcini,

  • 15g Parmesan Grated Cheese,

  • Flat Snipped Lots Parsley Leaf Of

method

  1. To Oven Fully 8 Mark Preheat The 230°c/gas

  2. Of From Bicarbonate Flour Hand, Soda Large Make Seconds, Few Flour, Board, Floured 375ml The Sides And, In Into Pour The Turn A Of Together, Bowl Salt Mix Mix Too Not Using Buttermilk Tidy Dough Centre It Es A And Bowl It The One To Out All When Buttermilk Necessary Sticky Up In Well If And Flip Sift The It Of Over Wet The The Onto Lightly The In Consistency, More A A Adding A And Softish, Knead For

  3. Fit With Evenly Halved Some Bocconcini The Oil Brush The To The Sauce Over And Olive Sprinkle Arrange Roasting The Lightly Of And Chorizo The Dough X X The Out 5cm, 31 Surface A Over Tin, Rosemary Tin Spread Sliced On Tomato Chorizo Scatter Layer Parmesan Approx A 23 With Roll Over Top Sprinkle

  4. 6 On A Oven Top Is Cooked Tray For To Minutes Bake And Reduce Transfer And On 15 Mark 200°c/gas Initial To Rack Low Preheated Or The Then The Golden The For And Further Dough Fully A Until Minutes Bake It's Heat An 20–25 And The Bubbly

  5. Salad With Sprinkle The Green A With Good Parsley And Serve

Hot Tips 

Tara Hill Honey

If you are over in Wexford, book a tour of Tara Hill Honey Farm to get a real understanding of how much work goes into producing real honeys. 

Taste the different honey and don’t leave without a pot of thick delicious rare heather honey. 

It’s not heated, it's coarse-filtered and still has all the pollen inside.

Bean and Goose

Bean and Goose, luxury hand-crafted chocolate near Gorey also do tours and tastings at their facility. 

Loved their Toasted Soda Bread chocolate bar, one of the many pretty irresistible flavours.

Waterford Honey Show 2023 

Don’t miss East Waterford’s Beekeepers’ Association Waterford Honey Show which takes place at Waterford City Hall this September. 

Running in conjunction with the Waterford Harvest Festival which takes place on Saturday, 9th September and Sunday, 10th September 2023. There are various categories whereby honey must be a critical ingredient of the entry such as small biscuits, plain honey cake, honey fruit cake…

The show will be open to the public from 9.00am – 4.00pm on Sunday, 10th.

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