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.
Rate this recipe:- 15 minutes
- 40-45 minutes
- Makes 1 medium loaf
- * 500g plain flour
- * 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- * 1 tsp fine sea salt
- * Approx. 400ml buttermilk or live yoghurt
- * A little milk, if necessary
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.
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.
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I made this one a few months ago and have been making it every week at least since. Very easy and simple. We also make one with sultanas and mixed spice. YUM....
Five stars. Made this today, well actually my nine year old son made this today, pretty much all alone, we used low fat yoghurt. I made the pea and ham soup. Absolutely lovely. Super easy. No rising time. The kids loved it with the half and half. Next time lots of seeds are goingin and i want to try spelt and maybe 100% wholemeal. Thanks HFW. Love what you do btw, the fish campaign is great.
Just made this and its the best bread ever....much better than those ready mixed breads sold in the super markets that you just add water and then cook.
I'm hooked now on soda bread
Xxx
Xxx
How is the bread supposed to smell? It doesnt smell like the regular bread,does it?
This was so quick and easy to make and thoroughly delicious. It was cooked before my soup was finished cookijng
Second time: I had to use buttermilk that I made from white vinegar and milk (got the recipe online) since I was out of yogurt. The bread ballooned and sorta split (looked "mushroom-like". It also got too brown on top so I took it out thinking it would burn. The middle didn't cook thoroughly. Terrible bread today. Will get some more yogurt and will try again since my first try was so successful. :)
After a stack of failed attempts to make bread with yeast (long other story), this bread couldn't be any easier. I did find that I had to add about a 1/4 cup of milk to moisten it more and I suspect I worked it a bit more than I needed to just because I'm used to trying to make pretty yeast-risen loaves, but it was a hit at dinner. I also substituted 150g of the white flour for whole wheat flour - blame that part on my dislike of processed flour products.
Anyone tried this with 100% whole wheat yet?
I love making this bread!!! I have just started making it as I prefer non-yeast products. My whole family love it and so do I. Particularly with the added seeds and grains and I also use baker's flour, I am playing with the ingredients. Buckwheat and brown-rice flour was a little heavy so will work on that one :) And it is so quick. I have been baking scones since I was a very little girl and I think this is quicker and easier and can be used for toast or sandwiches too. Thankyou so much, we always have this bread in the house now, and we know exactly what is in it.