Festival Recipe
Irish Soda Bread
Recipe by Finn Ni Fhaolain
- ServesMakes one regular sized soda bread or one small loaf tin
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of self-raising flour e.g. Dove’s Farm
- 1/2 cup milled linseed mix
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt + salt flakes for the top of the bread if you wish
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 medium free range egg
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, linseed mix, baking powder and salt. Mix it all together.
Create a well in the centre of the dry mix and add the buttermilk and egg. Combine everything with a wooden spoon or using your hand as a “claw” mixer.
If you find the mix a little wet just add a little more flour or a little more buttermilk if it hasn’t fully come together – different gluten-free flour mixes will have different absorbencies so this will make up for the variation.
If you’d like a handy sliced bread for toast and sandwiches line a 9-inch loaf tin with paper and pour in the mix.
For a classic soda bread turn the dough out onto a floured board and mould into a ball with your hands, place it on a papered baking tray and cut an X across the top.
To jazz up the loaf I usually add some pumpkin seeds and Achill Island sea salt flakes to the top.
Place into the oven. 5 mins at 220C for a crisp crust and turn down to 200 for a further 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. You know its fully baked when you tap the loaf and it sounds hollow.
Top tip – for those wanting a dairy-free loaf you can sub 1 cup of a dairy-free milk of your choice (I use cashew or almond, oat wouldn’t have a high enough fat content) plus 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar instead of buttermilk and get just as good a loaf!
