Soda Bread

Soda Bread

80% hydration, no yeast, 50 min, makes 1

Ingredients

wholemeal flour  250g
plain flour      250g
milk             400ml
lemon            1 tbsp
bicarbonate      1 tsp
salt             1 tsp

The lemon sours the milk, and the bicarb reacts with that acid to make it rise, no yeast needed. Vinegar works in place of lemon. Real buttermilk (a good use for the leftovers from making butter) or thinned yogurt are just as good if you have them.
All wholemeal for a heartier loaf, all plain for a lighter one.

Recipe

1. Heat the oven to 200°C. Stir the lemon into the milk and leave 5 minutes to sour and thicken.

2. Mix the dry ingredients, then stir in the soured milk to a soft, sticky dough. Don’t knead, just bring it together.

3. Shape into a round on a floured tray and cut a deep cross in the top.

4. Bake 40 minutes until golden and hollow-sounding underneath. Cool on a rack.

Work fast and don’t overmix. The bicarb starts working the moment it hits the soured milk, so get it in the oven quick. The cross helps it bake through evenly.

❄ Freezer
Freeze: whole or sliced, in a bag. Best fresh, so freeze what you won’t eat day one.
Reheat: whole, from frozen into a hot oven 10/15 min. Sliced: toast from frozen.
Keeps: 2 months frozen, best eaten the day it’s baked.