What better way to celebrate St Patrick’s day than with a delicious easy to make soda bread. Perfect to eat on it’s own or topped with pure butter/almond butter or a drizzle of honey if you would like a sweet treat!
Ingredients
2 cups unsifted whole-wheat flour
2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups light buttermilk
Method
Preheat oven to 450°F. Dust a clean surface with flour. Spray a baking sheet with Pam and dust with flour. (Note: Aim for the centre when you do this, or you’ll be scrubbing burnt, floured Pam off your bakeware.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together. Make a well in the middle. Pour in about 2/3 cup of the buttermilk. With one hand, stir it into the dough in a circular motion. Add another 2/3 cup of the buttermilk. Stir again with your hand, until flour is incorporated. Repeat until buttermilk is gone, and you have a big ol’ lump of dough, which should be, “soft, but not too wet and sticky.”
Turn dough out on to your floured surface. Clean your hands, dry them thoroughly, and dust them with flour. Lightly knead dough a few times, until it’s a rounded loaf-like shape. Pat it down into a round, 2″-thick disc. Transfer to baking sheet. With a serrated knife, cut a deep X across the bread. Prick each area a few times with the knife.
Bake 20 minutes on 450°F. Drop the heat to 400°F and bake an additional 30 to 35 minutes. Bread should appear finished and sound hollow when you knock on it. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack until you’re ready to dig in.
