Darina Allen's Irish Soda Bread
Directions
- 1Preheat the oven to 450° F.
- 2Mix the flours in a large wide bowl, add the salt and sieved baking soda.
- 3Lift the flour up with your fingers to distribute the salt and baking soda.
- 4Make a well in the center and pour in all the buttermilk.
- 5With your fingers stiff and outstretched, stir in a circular movement from the center to the outside of the bowl in ever increasing concentric circles. When you reach the outside of the bowl, seconds later the dough should be made.
- 6Sprinkle a little flour on the worktop. Turn the dough out onto the floured worktop. (Fill the bowl with cold water so it will be easy to wash later.)
- 7Sprinkle a little flour on your hands. Gently tidy the dough around the edges and transfer to oven tray. Tuck the edges underneath with your hand; gently pat the dough with your fingers into a loaf about 1 1/2-inch thick. Now wash and dry your hands.
- 8Cut a deep cross into the bread (this is called ‘blessing the bread’ and then prick it in the center of the four sections to let the fairies out of the bread).
- 9Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 400°F for a further 15 or 20 minutes. Turn the bread upside down and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes until cooked (the bottom should sound hollow when tapped). Cool on a wire rack
Ingredients
- 1 pound all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 13 to 16 ounces buttermilk
Equipment
large wide bowlovenoven traywire rack
Tips
- Brown Soda Bread: Replace half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour.
- Cheese Soda Bread: Before baking, brush loaf with egg wash (egg beaten with a little milk) and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Cheese Scones: After the soda bread has been shaped, flatten it out and cut into pieces to form scones. Brush tops with egg wash (egg beaten with a little milk), dip tops into shredded cheddar cheese and bake, cheese-side up, 10 minutes in a 450° F oven; cook on wire rack
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