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Classic Soda Bread
Classic Soda Bread
added by Every Day

I frequently turn to soda bread when the bread bin is bare. If there’s nothing for lunch or to serve with soup for supper, it's a quick and simple answer - and sustaining, too. This classic recipe lends itself to endless tweaking and variation. Slot it into your repertoire and you'll never regret it.

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Prep time
  • 15 minutes
Cook Time
  • 40-45 minutes
Servings
  • Makes 1 medium loaf
Ingredients
  • * 500g plain flour
  • * 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • * 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • * Approx. 400ml buttermilk or live yoghurt
  • * A little milk, if necessary
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Directions

1. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir in the salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, stirring as you go. If necessary, add a tablespoon or two of milk to bring the mixture together; it should form a soft dough, just this side of sticky.

2. Tip it out on to a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly for about a minute, just long enough to pull it together into a loose ball but no longer – you need to get it into the oven while the bicarb is still doing its stuff. You're not looking for the kind of smooth, elastic dough you’d get with a yeast-based bread.

3. Put the round of dough on a lightly floured baking sheet and dust generously with flour. Mark a deep cross in it with a sharp, serrated knife, cutting about two-thirds of the way through the loaf. Put it in an oven preheated to 200°C/gas mark 6 and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.

4. Cool on a wire rack if you like a crunchy crust, or wrap in a clean tea towel if you prefer a soft crust. Soda bread is best eaten while still warm, spread with salty butter and/or a dollop of your favourite jam. But if you have some left over the next day, it makes great toast.

Variation:

For six-seed soda bread, mix together 2 tablespoons each of sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy and linseeds, plus 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds; set aside. Follow the main recipe but use half white flour and half wholemeal flour. Add all but 1 tablespoon of the seeds to the dry ingredients before proceeding as above. After cutting a cross in the top of the loaf, brush it with a little buttermilk or ordinary milk and sprinkle with the remaining seeds. Bake at 200°C/gas mark 6 for 40–45 minutes.

13 replies
Replied on

This is a fantastic bread to make on a frequent basis! I had been unwell, there was not much food in the house and I thought of making soda bread, found this recipe and was delighted with the finished item. I didn't have any buttermilk or yoghurt so thought back to the days of making exploding volcanoes with my children using bicarb and vinegar and put a teaspoon of finger in with regular milk and crossed fingers. Hey presto, it worked - a very impressive well risen loaf! No guarantees though, this may have been a fluke.

Replied on

Soda bread is a must in my kitchen, I wouldn't have it any other bread, quick, easy & delicious!
I love it with wholemeal flour, wheat-germ, bran, medium ground oat-meal, spelt flour & 75g of white flour, could almost be 'healthy' if I didn't add lashings of butter! lol.
Thanks for hi-lighting this adaptable bread, must be tasted to appreciate how good it is, I'm sure you'll become addicted like myself.
I'll be sure to try the 'Guinness Bread' now, sounds yummy!
Odelle.

Replied on

OMG LOVE IT!!! I made it with the yogurt and thought I had made a huge balls up of the whole thing. I was in a rush because my baby decided that during bread baking is the perfect time to fuss. It was far too wet, almost beyond sticky!! I just slapped it on the baking tray and shoved it in the oven (after throwing some flour at it, literally...lol). I came back 35mins later and the most perfect looking loaf was staring back at me. I was dubious as to what it would taste like or what the texture would be...... IT WAS BLOODY BRILLIANT!!!! This is now my all time fav bread recipe and after my efforts it would seem that it is almost impossible to stuff up.

I cant stop eating it =D

Replied on

Just made this, so easy thank you!

I think I'll have some for tea tonight with butter and lemon curd :-)

Replied on

I made this soda bread for the first time. It seemed a little dense, is that right? Did I do something wrong?

Replied on

What a disaster! Two teaspoons of bicarb (approx 10g right?) left my loaves with an awful whiffy stench to them. Had to dump them the next day. Was it me? Was it the (still fresh) bicarb? Who knows, but at least it was only a matter of wasted plain flour and not the good stuff.

Replied on

This has become a firm favourite in our household and the cooking club that I run at school. So easy and uncomplicated to make. It taste better made with buttermilk, but this seems to be an ingrediant that is very hard to get hold of - supermarket shelves always empty. Although all my boys like it plain they much prefer it with dried fruit of any variety with a good lashing of butter!!

Replied on

Made it today for the first time and it turned out brilliantly. Its so easy to prepare and bake, that it is quicker to make this than pop out to the shops to buy a loaf of bread, and it tastes so good. Going to experiment with brown flour next time and try the "guinness" and apple version as well. Might even try cider and pear next. I would recomend every one to try to make this.

Replied on

Just started making soda bread last week totally love it

Replied on

I always thought bread was a tedious thing to do.
However after watching it on the other weeks episode I thought "bugger this, I'm going to give it a go!"
It took minutes to prepare, I was so surprised at how quick, actually, and I'm SO happy with myself for making bread.
My other half is from belfast and he is going to love that I've made him something to remind him of home.
Thanks Hugh!

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