This tasty brown loaf is Irish soul food, usually known as wheaten bread in Northern Ireland and soda bread in the Republic (the name comes from the baking powder used instead of yeast as a raising agent).
The main ingredient you’ll need to hunt down is buttermilk, which is hardly ever used in Spanish cooking. Luckily, the Germans and Dutch love it as much as the Irish and it can be found in Lidl under the name Suero de Mantequilla. Kefir or mazada are also available – they’re a little thicker, but work very well, providing that allimportant sour tang.
INGREDIENTS
• 100g plain flour
• 125g wholemeal flour
• 1 tspn baking powder (bicarbonate of soda)
• 1 level tspn salt • 1 dessertspoon sugar
• 50g butter • 200-250 ml buttermilk
• A handful of rolled oats (optional)
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (180 fan).
2. If you’re using a 1lb loaf tin, line it with greaseproof paper.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Melt the butter and add to the well, along with most of the buttermilk (you may not need it all). Mix well with a knife or spatula until you have a fairly thick dough.
4. Put dough in baking tin and even out the top or simply shape the dough into a round loaf on a floured surface, then slash a cross in the top with a knife. Sprinkle rolled oats on the loaf to decorate and add texture.
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for half an hour before eating.
Chef’s Tip: This bread is hard to beat served warm from the oven with room temperature butter, but sour cream, smoked salmon and chopped chives are a particular favourite topping.
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