I love the way you can jazz up soda bread, with this one I’ve added cheese and oats. You can also add some fresh herbs either a tablespoon of chopped chives or parsley would work really well and I will definitely be including some when I next bake it. You could also add a chopped chilli.
What you need: makes 1 loaf
400g plain white flour or you can have half wholemeal and half white flour 100g jumbo oats 75g strong cheese, grated I.e. A mature or vintage cheddar 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs (optional) 350-400ml buttermilk (you can make this using fresh milk and adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to the milk
You will also need a Large bowl and a baking sheet.
How to make: 1. Preheat the oven to 200c or gas 6. 2. Put all the ingredients apart from the milk into a large mixing bowl and mix them well together. (Photo 1). 3. Add enough milk to form a fairly wet sticky dough (soda bread dough should not be dry). You might not need all the milk hence stating 350-400ml. 4. Lightly grease the baking sheet with a little butter or oil 4. Shape the dough into a round shape and place on the baking sheet. (Photo 2). Dust the top with a little flour and using a knife cut quite deeply to mark the loaf into quarters. 5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, when you tap the loaf of its bottom it should sound hollow when cooked. (Photo 3) Enjoy! (Photo 4).
