Wholemeal soda bread is a favourite recipe of mine. It is possibly the quickest and easiest bread to make. It also includes one of my most raved about ingredients, buttermilk. I am continuing on my crusade to encourage more people to bake and cook with this delicious product. It is tangy and rich, and incredibly low in fat. Some people use an egg in their soda bread, but I find a rich, thick buttermilk has enough flavour and depth to stand alone.
I don’t think I can really claim this recipe to be ‘mine‘. It is merely a gentle variation on a tried and tested classic. I like to add a little black pepper to mine, which is a trick I learnt from my friend Sue. It adds a warmth and bite that is exceptionally good with cheese or marmalade. I also use spelt (the trendy grain!) because it adds a nuttiness that I love. Spelt flour is lower in gluten, but for a bread that is not yeasted and doesn’t need to be kneaded (there‘s a pun there somewhere), the gluten content is not important. It’s so quick to put together that it can easily be made in the morning and baked in the oven in time for breakfast.
The smell of this bread and some Irish cheese or salmon or preserve will remind you what it is to be Irish. The taste will bring you back to years gone by (or at least how I imagine they were!) and making this bread will remind you that simple pleasures are often the best. Go on, give it a try!
Wholemeal soda bread
150 grams spelt flour
150 grams coarse wholemeal flour
200 grams plain white flour
2 teaspoons bread soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (optional)
400 ml buttermilk (thick buttermilk is best)
Method
Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius. Sprinkle a flat baking tray with a generous amount of flour.
Sieve and mix all ingredients except the buttermilk together . Make sure there are no lumps of bread soda.
Add enough buttermilk until it forms a soft wet dough (It should be wetter than you expect!).
Pull together briefly and shape into a ball. The aim is to get this into the oven as quickly as possible.
Place on a floured baking tray.
Cut a cross about a third of the way deep into the loaf with a floured knife. A serrated knife generally makes this job easier.
Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the base of the bread is firm and sounds hollow when you tap it. Throw some water into the bottom of the oven or place a tray of water into the bottom of the oven if you like a softer crust.
Wrap in a tea towel while cooling.
This is delicious with butter, jam, cheese…the list is endless. If you’re looking for something exotic to smear on your warm bread, try some Mango and Lime curd. Zesty and sweet!
Wholemeal Soda Bread
Wholemeal Soda Bread
Wholemeal soda bread is a favourite recipe of mine. It is possibly the quickest and easiest bread to make. It also includes one of my most raved about ingredients, buttermilk. I am continuing on my crusade to encourage more people to bake and cook with this delicious product. It is tangy and rich, and incredibly low in fat. Some people use an egg in their soda bread, but I find a rich, thick buttermilk has enough flavour and depth to stand alone.
I don’t think I can really claim this recipe to be ‘mine‘. It is merely a gentle variation on a tried and tested classic. I like to add a little black pepper to mine, which is a trick I learnt from my friend Sue. It adds a warmth and bite that is exceptionally good with cheese or marmalade. I also use spelt (the trendy grain!) because it adds a nuttiness that I love. Spelt flour is lower in gluten, but for a bread that is not yeasted and doesn’t need to be kneaded (there‘s a pun there somewhere), the gluten content is not important. It’s so quick to put together that it can easily be made in the morning and baked in the oven in time for breakfast.
The smell of this bread and some Irish cheese or salmon or preserve will remind you what it is to be Irish. The taste will bring you back to years gone by (or at least how I imagine they were!) and making this bread will remind you that simple pleasures are often the best. Go on, give it a try!
Wholemeal soda bread
150 grams spelt flour
150 grams coarse wholemeal flour
200 grams plain white flour
2 teaspoons bread soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (optional)
400 ml buttermilk (thick buttermilk is best)
Method
Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius. Sprinkle a flat baking tray with a generous amount of flour.
Sieve and mix all ingredients except the buttermilk together . Make sure there are no lumps of bread soda.
Add enough buttermilk until it forms a soft wet dough (It should be wetter than you expect!).
Pull together briefly and shape into a ball. The aim is to get this into the oven as quickly as possible.
Place on a floured baking tray.
Cut a cross about a third of the way deep into the loaf with a floured knife. A serrated knife generally makes this job easier.
Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the base of the bread is firm and sounds hollow when you tap it. Throw some water into the bottom of the oven or place a tray of water into the bottom of the oven if you like a softer crust.
Wrap in a tea towel while cooling.
This is delicious with butter, jam, cheese…the list is endless. If you’re looking for something exotic to smear on your warm bread, try some Mango and Lime curd. Zesty and sweet!