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).
For more information on Jane Cooper and other recipes visit the Cooking with Jane page here.
