IRISH SODA BREAD
In less than an hour you can bake your very own homemade Soda Bread!
You're probably thinking, 'What the hell has Irish soda bread got to do with creative & consulting work? Well, creative & consulting work is all about standing out! So, with this 'obscure page' on my website, I guarantee you won't forget me if you make this soda bread.
INGREDIENTS
250g Wholemeal flour
250g Plain white flour
450ml Buttermilk
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking powder)
1 teaspoon salt
Baking time 25-30 minutes (27 mins works best for me ;-)
Oven: 200C = 400F = Gas Mark 6
METHOD
Weigh out your ingredients.
Add both flours into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and the baking soda. Mix well together using your hands or a spoon.
Make a crater in the middle of the dry ingredients and then add
the buttermilk.
Mix this together until you get a ball of dough.
If it's too wet, add a little more flour until the dough 'just' sticks to your hands when touching/slightly kneading it (Do not knead it like you would a normal dough... Soda bread doesn't need kneading!)
Once you have your finished dough, add some flour to the table top and lightly pat the dough into a round disk about 2 inches (50mm) thick. Get a sharp knife and cut a cross into the dough.
Do not separate the dough into quarters, just allow the cut edges to touch themselves. Prick the back edge of each quarter to let the fairies out... Irish tradition!
Dust the top of the dough with some flour and leave it out on the table top for 10 minutes.
Grab a baking tray, add some baking paper, dust with flour and place the dough onto it. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes.
You'll know when the bread is baked correctly when you take it out of the over and tap the bottom of it to hear a dull/hollow thud!
Leave on a rack to cool down for 10-15 minutes...
Serve with butter, jam, lemon curd and a cup of hot tea!
Dry dough, dusted and ready to go in the oven
Tap Tap, hollow thud on the bottom, bread is ready
Perfectly baked and ready to eat
Look how easy it is... Watch Paul Hollywood's really simple approach!
