Quick and Easy Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups wholemeal flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbs sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 2 Tbs melted butter
- Butter for greasing
- Flour for dusting
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200C. Grease a cast iron skillet with softened butter. Set aside.
Once the oven has come to temperature, put all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk together to combine. Make a well in the middle.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk. Pour this into the well and, very quickly, stir together with a rubber spatula until you have a sticky dough.
Lightly flour your hands and sprinkle a little flour over the sticky dough ball. Use your hands to scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl and shape the mass into a ball, kneading lightly if necessary. Transfer to prepared skillet. Sprinkle with a bit more flour. Use a sharp knife to make an X across the top of the dough ball.
Place in oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
Brush with melted butter and leave to cool before tearing into it.
Eat as soon as possible, as it doesn't keep very well.
Notes
Use white, brown, or wholemeal flour; coarser flour is better, and adding oats can make it coarser.
Buttermilk is traditional; for a vegan version, use plant-based milk with 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar.
Use just enough bicarbonate of soda to raise the bread without causing a bitter taste.
Kneading is unnecessary and can toughen the bread.
