Irish Sodabread

I've Googled lots of American-style soda bread recipes but does anyone have a recipe for the old-fashioned, authentic heavy loaf, using basic baking soda?

(Even better if it's one that can be used in a breadmaker!) Many thanks.

The handy thing about soda bread is that it doesn't need kneading. This is not my recipe; it's from the 'D' lady.


Irish Oatmeal Soda Bread


(Makes one 450g loaf)


Ingredients

175 g wholemeal flour

50 g plain flour

50 g pinhead oatmeal

25 g wheatgerm

1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 level teaspoons salt

1 level teaspoon sugar

1 large egg

275 ml buttermilk

A little extra flour for dusting


Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Grease the loaf tin.

2. Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine

3. Beat the egg and buttermilk together and add them to the dry ingredients. Start mixing, first with a fork, then finish off with your hands to form a smooth dough.

4. Transfer the dough to the loaf tin and level the top. Alternatively, shape into a round shape, about 15 cm across, and make a deep cut across it three times, but don't cut all the way through. Sprinkle with flour and bake in the centre of the oven for 50-60 minutes, then turn it straight out on to a wire rack to cool.




And here's another recipe from England:


Ingredients

2 x 284ml pots buttermilk

420g wholemeal flour

3-4 tbsp sunflower seeds

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp linseed

150g oats

1 tsp muscovado sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda


Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease the baking tin with butter.

2. Put one pot of buttermilk into a bowl. Add two-thirds of the wholemeal flour, all the sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and linseed. Then add the second pot of buttermilk, the remaining flour, the oats, muscovado sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Mix thoroughly.

3. Scrape the mixture into the tin. Smooth the top and drop the tin on the table top a couple of times to make sure the mixture has settled.

4. Bake for one hour. Turn off oven and turn out bread and leave in oven for a further 10 minutes.

Try this.


600g plain wholewheat flour

350g plain flour

2tsp bicarbonate of soda

4tsp cream of tartar

2tsp salt

2tsp light brown sugar(optional)

900ml(1 1/2pints) of milk and water


Sift the first five, stir in the bran left in the bottom of the sieve, add sugar.

Add enough milk and water combi to form a soft dough.


Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead lightly until somooth and soft.


Shape the dough into a round and score into quarters with a knife,then placed on a tray with greased baking sheet.


Bake at 220C/425F for 25/30 min. or until the bottom of the bread sounds hollow when tapped with the knuckles of your hand.


Best eaten on the day it's baked, serve with mature cheese, tomato, I liberally spread mine with cream cheese, it's a matter of taste.

Thames,


Good old soda bread i used to make these by the dozen when i worked in a 2 story large Irish Pub eatery. we used the bread on our Irish platters and Our Irish Club.


Here is my Recipe


2kg of plain flour

2 tblsp Bi-Carb

4 tblsp Sugar

1 tblsp Salt

2 ltr butter milk

1 tsp oil


Mix all dry ingrediants together then add the oil and milk.


Bake at 160 for 45 min then 180 for 15 min.


This recipenever failed me.


Rgds


Brent

Many. many thanks Nakered Chef and Taps - these are the exactly the type of recipes I'm after, i.e. without molasses and buttermilk etc., as I don't ever remember those being authentic ingredients.

Brent: how to get buttermilk - is it just yoghurt beaten up with the fat removed- or is there another way to do it?