Traditional Soda Bread With Homemade Butter

With no kneading or proving required, soda bread is the perfect loaf for those just beginning on a bread making journey. Quick and simple to put together, it is by no means a loaf exclusively for beginners. Prepare and bake if you are suddenly out of bread in the house, serve in hearty chunks with warm soup, or alongside smoked mackerel pâté, fresh salad leaves and pickled cucumber as a rustic starter. But without fail, the very best way to serve this delicious loaf is warm from the oven with generous layers of homemade butter – just as we do on our ARTISAN BREAD MAKING courses at our COOKERY SCHOOL.
  • DIFFICULTY: EASY
  • 50 MINS

Ingredients

makes 1 loaf
soda bread
  • 500g wholemeal flour
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tsps bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 450g natural yoghurt,kefir or buttermilk
homemade butter:
  • 1 ltr fresh cream, preferrably unhomogenised
  • generous pinch of salt
  • any additional flavours, we love finely chopped roast garlic, grated horseradish, finely chopped herbs or fresh black pepper.

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C and line a baking tray with parchment.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Once combined, pour in the yoghurt, kefir or buttermilk and mix everything together. It is really important not to over-work a soda bread, so mix gently until a dough begins to form. As soon as the dough has formed, shape into a round and transfer to your lined baking tray.

Using a knife, score the top of the dough with a cross and place into the oven to bake for 35-40 minutes. The bread will be cooked when a golden crust has formed and when the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool while you make your homemade butter.

To make homemade butter, pour the cream into a food processor. Turn to a high speed and wait for the cream to whip. Continue beating until the cream splits – keep beating until a ball of butter forms in the bowl.

Transfer the butter to a sieve and strain off any residual buttermilk (preserving the buttermilk for your next loaf of soda bread). Once well strained, return the butter to a bowl and mix through your salt and any additional herbs or flavours you might like.

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