simple soda bread

I cook. That's what I do. Usually savoury recipes, usually starters & mains, occasionally a dessert or two. Baking has always evaded me; or more accurately, I've always evaded baking! The fear of the unknown I guess? Don't get me wrong, I can make a decent bit of shortcrust pastry for a fantastic lemon tart (recipe to follow!), but bread has always been something I've bought rather than made. Time for that to change!

So here we go, head first into the world of bread making. We're starting with arguably the simplest of all: soda bread. No yeast, no kneading, no proving, no knocking back; in fact not much of anything, and ready to eat from start to finish in less than an hour - my kind of bread recipe indeed!

Thanks to Easy Food Magazine for this recipe from their latest issue!

Ingredients

• 500g plain flour
• 400ml buttermilk
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200c / 180c (fan) / gas mark 6.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. Make a well in the middle and pour i the buttermilk.
4. Mix gently together with your hands until well combined.
5. Lightly flour a large surface and plonk the mixture onto it. Knead for 30-60 seconds, just to bring it together, and form into a round shape.
6. Place the bread onto a lightly floured baking sheet (or alternatively line with a piece of baking parchment) and place the bread in the middle.
7. Flour the blade of a knife and cut a cross across the top of the bread, around 2cm deep.
8. Place in the middle of the pre-heated oven and bake for around 45 minutes.
9. Check the bread is cooked by tapping the bottom of the loaf - it should sound hollow. If it does, it's done.
10. Hey presto; you've just made bread.