How to make Irish soda bread

Method

Step 1

Heat the oven to 230°C/fan oven 210°C/mark 8. Sift the white flour and the bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Add the wholemeal flour with 1tsp sea salt and mix well.

Step 2

Make a well in the centre and pour in almost all the buttermilk, mixing in big folds with your hand and adding more milk if necessary. The amount of buttermilk will vary from day to day, depending on how dry the flour is, or if it is very humid in the kitchen. The dough needs to be soft but able to hold its shape. If it becomes too soft, add an extra handful of flour. Try to incorporate all the dry ingredients with as few folds as possible – the more you mix, the heavier the bread will become, so keep it light.

Step 3

Dust a surface with white flour and turn the dough out onto it. Dust the dough generously with more white flour. Shape it lightly into a circle, press gently to flatten it a little and place on a floured baking sheet.

Step 4

Using the back of a knife, make a cross indentation in the bread – not too deep – then pierce each quarter twice.

Step 5

Bake the bread for 20 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/mark 6 and cook for a further 20-25 minutes.

Step 6

To check if the bread is done, tap the bottom of the loaf. It should sound hollow. If not, put it back in for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.