Soda BreadIrish Soda Bread after baking

Between the day job and wet weather, I've not had much chance to photograph this week. So here's a recipe instead.

• 2 cups plain flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt (or 2 cups self-rising flour)
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon Caraway seed

Mix the ingrediants either adding a little flour if it's too sticky or a little more buttermilk if it doesn't come together into a dough. In the US I use regular flour rather than self-rising because in the US self-rising flour is slightly bitter. In the UK, just use self-rising flour. Kneed it gently and put on a greased baking sheet.

Ready to bake

It's traditional to cut a cross in the top of the loaf, though this time it didn't quite take. I tend to use "lite salt" which has potassium chloride in it. It makes a big difference with yeast breads, though not here.

Bake at 400F (200C) for about 1/2 hour.  I used 27 minutes in a preheated convection oven, but you may want more time in a regular oven. The loaf will sound hollow when rapped on the bottom when it's done.  It will sound a little hollow if it's not quite done, so when in doubt bake it longer.

This recipe was most likely introduced to Irish cuisine after the potato famine when (eventually) the corn laws were lifted and people could afford flour. Baking powder wouldn't have been available before the mid-19th century in any case. A similar recipe - without the buttermilk - makes a good "damper bread" that you can bake directly in the coals of a fire (Build a fire, and brush the coals from the center. Then put the bread in the middle).