Weekend Baking Challenge: How to bake soda bread
Soda Brown Bread
Every family in Ireland has its own twist on soda bread. The bread of our people, the stalwart of our table, and the food item that evokes a longing like no other when far from home. Add a soda to your arsenal and you'll never be homesick again.
The rules of soda are simple. Handle as little as possible, and get it into the oven within minutes of adding the buttermilk to the flour mixture. This alone makes soda bread the most idiot-proof of Irish baking.
Once you have mastered both white and brown, start to experiment. Brown soda welcomes seeds, nuts, and finely chopped herbs to the mix. Hard, strong cheeses do really well, grated into the flour and bread soda, as do a variety of dried fruit, nuts, and even chocolate chunks. And it doesn't end there. Your soda bread mixture can be cut into scones and baked for 15 minutes. It can be rolled out and placed onto a greased tin, topped with a tomato and garlic sauce and some grated cheese for a speedy pizza. The best way, of course, is just out of the oven, slathered with butter and enjoyed with a mug of strong tea.
- Two bowls
- Wooden spoon
- Loaf tin
- Baking sheet
Makes 8-10
- 75g wholemeal flour
- 150g self-raising flour
- 25g oats
- 1 tsp bread soda
- Pinch of salt
- 45g butter, cubed
- 1 large free-range egg
- 100 ml ice-cold buttermilk, plus extra to glaze
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the butter and rub it in using your fingers until you achieve a breadcrumb-like consistency.
- In another bowl, beat the egg with the milk.
- Pour about 3/4 into the flour mixture and mix together, adding extra egg and milk mix as needed, to form a soft but not sticky dough. Don’t over-mix here as the quicker and lighter the mixing, the higher the scones will rise.
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin to 2-2.5cm thickness. Cut to shape with a knife or scone cutter.
- Place the scones on a lined baking sheet and brush the tops with milk. Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown To check they are done, lightly squeeze the sides, the dough should be springy.
- Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.
These are best enjoyed within an hour or so of baking while still warm.
Fry off 100g chorizo and add to the flour mixture along with 30g grated cheddar for some spicy, cheesy scones. Add bacon and some sharp cheese for a breakfast scone you won't forget. For a sweet version, toast some pecans with a few tablespoons of maple syrup in a pan and stir into the mixture before baking.
Makes one loaf
- 250g plain white flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp bread soda
- 200g coarse wholemeal flour
- a generous pinch of sea salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 340ml buttermilk
- 1 tsp honey
- a handful of raisins
Method
- Line a baking tray with parchment and preheat your oven to 220°C/gas mark 7.
- Mix the white flour with the bread soda and cinnamon. Sieve them all into a large bowl to ensure the soda is evenly distributed. Add the coarse flour and salt and stir everything together.
- Add the egg to the buttermilk and stir in the honey. Stir the liquid into the flour until it is completely combined. It will be sticky.
- Stir in the raisins. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a circle and cut a cross in the top of it. Lay it onto the prepared baking tray.
- Bake for 15 minutes and then turn down the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 degrees and continue baking for a further 30 minutes.
When you tap the underside of the loaf it should sound hollow. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Experiment with flavour combinations once you've got the basics down. Consider sour dried cherries, flaked almonds and a few drops of almond extract for a bakewell feel, or some mixed spice, some orange zest and even a cheeky drop of whiskey in with the buttermilk for a festive finish.
This is a more modern version of Soda Bread — couldn’t be simpler, just mix and pour into a well-greased tin. This bread keeps very well for several days and is also great toasted.
Makes 1 loaf
- 400g stoneground wholemeal flour
- 75g white flour, preferably unbleached
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 level tsp bread soda, sieved
- 1 egg, preferably free-range
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil, unscented
- 1 tsp honey or treacle
- 425ml buttermilk or sour milk
- sunflower or sesame seeds (optional)
Preheat oven to 200ºC /gas mark 6.
- Put all the dry ingredients including the sieved bread soda into a large bowl, mix well.
- Whisk the egg, add the oil and honey and buttermilk.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in all the liquid, mix well and add more buttermilk if necessary. The mixture should be soft and slightly sloppy.
- Pour into an oiled tin or tins. Using a butter knife, draw a slit down the middle.
- Sprinkle some sunflower or sesame seeds on the top.
- Bake for 60 minutes approximately (45-50 minutes for small loaf tins), or until the bread is nice and crusty and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.
Grate 30g of hard cheese such as Cheddar or Parmesan into your flour mixture. Woody herbs like thyme and rosemary are delicious in brown soda; make sure to finely chop (about 1 tbsp) before adding to the flour mixture. In wild garlic season, chop your garlic straight into the mix.
Makes 1 loaf
- 450g plain white flour, preferably unbleached
- 1 level tsp bread soda
- 1 level tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 75g sultanas (or more if you’d like)
- 1 free-range egg
- about 350 – 425ml buttermilk
Method
In a large mixing bowl, sieve in the flour and bicarbonate of soda; then add the salt, sugar and sultanas. Mix well by lifting the flour and fruit up into your hands and then letting them fall back into the bowl through your fingers. This adds more air and therefore more lightness to your finished bread.
Now make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Break the egg into the base of a measuring jug and add the buttermilk to the 425ml (14fl oz/1 3/4 cup) line (the egg is part of the liquid measurement). Pour most of this milk and egg mixture into the flour.
Using one hand with the fingers open and stiff, mix in a full circle drawing in the flour mixture from the sides of the bowl, adding more milk if necessary. The dough should be softish, but not too wet and sticky.
The trick with Spotted Dog — like all soda breads — is not to overmix the dough.
Mix it as quickly and gently as possible, thus keeping it light and airy. When the dough all comes together, turn it out onto a well-floured work surface. Wash and dry your hands. With floured fingers, roll the dough lightly for a few seconds — just enough to tidy it up.
Then pat the dough into a round, about 6cm deep. Transfer to a baking tray dusted lightly with flour. Use a sharp knife to cut a deep cross on it, letting the cuts go over the sides of the bread. Prick with the knife at the four triangles. Put into the oven and immediately reduce the
temperature to 200˚C/gas mark 6. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes. If you are in doubt about the bread being cooked, tap the bottom: If it is cooked it will sound hollow. This bread is cooked at a lower temperature than soda bread because the egg browns faster at a higher heat. Serve freshly baked, cut into thick slices and smeared with butter and jam.
Try different fruit variations — dried cranberries add a delicious tang, especially when paired with the zest of a lemon or an orange. Nuts such as walnuts are delicious with sweet fruits like chopped dried apricots or even prunes.