Soda Bread

By the time you read this I will have jetted off on holiday to Turkey. I’ve never visited the country before and am of course very excited to sample the food, hopefully I will have some lovely foody photos and perhaps a recipe or two to share with you on my return. In the meantime, I thought I ought to share with you a couple of recipes I managed to fit in before flying on the 27^th, so as not to abandon the blog completely for half a month!!

This soda bread is the laziest loaf I’ve ever made. I think the aim is to have as little contact with the dough as possible, great for those who don’t like to knead, so it’s therefore best to mix the ingredients in a magimix. After that, just place the extremely sticky dough on oiled baking parchment and bake in the oven for half an hour. The lovely, slightly sweet, and very rustic looking (!) loaf is great toasted with butter.

From Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic

250g plain white flour

250g plain wholemeal flour

100g porridge oats

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

25g butter, in pieces

500ml buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Oil a baking sheet with flour. Place the flours, salt, oats and bicarbonate of soda into the food processor. Add the butter and mix until rubbed in.
2. Add the buttermilk through the funnel whilst the machine is running, until everything is thoroughly mixed (but not over mixed).
3. Bring the dough together lightly and handle gently. Place on the baking sheet and shape to a round loaf, about 20cm in diameter. Make a deep cross in the top with a sharp knife.
4. Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, tap the base of the loaf to check its cooked through, it should sound hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Culinary Know How: SECOND YEAR

Budget: UNDER £3

Kitchen Requirements: FOOD PROCESSOR, BAKING SHEET, SHARP KNIFE, COOLING RACK.