Traditional Soda Bread
Irish soda bread uses no yeast — the leavening is the reaction between buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda. Ready in under an hour, best torn (not sliced) and eaten warm with butter.
Ingredients
450 g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp fine sea salt
400 ml buttermilk
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 200°C. Dust a baking tray with flour.
- 2
Sift the flour, bicarbonate and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the middle.
- 3
Pour in the buttermilk and stir with a table knife just until it comes together — do not knead.
- 4
Turn the shaggy dough out onto the tray, shape gently into a round and cut a deep cross across the top (to 'let the devil out', as the tradition has it).
- 5
Bake for 30–35 minutes until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes; eat within a day.
Cook's notes
Handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking makes soda bread tough and heavy.