Brown soda bread
Makes 1 x 900g (2lb) loaf
melted butter, for greasing
250g wholemeal flour, plus a little extra for dusting the top
200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting the tin
1 tsp bread soda
1 tsp salt
400ml buttermilk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp honey
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Prepare a 900g (2lb) loaf tin by lightly brushing it with melted butter and dusting with a little plain flour.
Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix.
In a separate jug, gently whisk all the wet ingredients together with a fork, then mix this into the dry ingredients. Add a little more buttermilk if the mixture is too dry – it should be a soft, wet dough.
Pour the dough into the prepared tin and sprinkle a little extra wholemeal flour on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 45–50 minutes. To check it's baked, remove the bread from the tin and tap the bottom – it should sound hollow when it’s fully cooked. If it doesn’t, keep the bread out of the tin and put it back in the oven directly on the oven rack for an extra 5 minutes and check it again.
Remove from the oven and wrap in a clean tea towel while it’s cooling – this will stop the crust getting too hard.
Guinness brown bread
Makes 1 x 900g (2lb) loaf
melted butter, for greasing the tin
300g coarse wholemeal flour
150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting the tin
50g porridge oats, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1 tsp bread soda
1 tsp salt
250ml buttermilk
200ml Guinness stout
100g treacle
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Prepare a 900g (2lb) loaf tin by lightly brushing it with melted butter and dusting with a little plain flour.
Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix.
In a separate jug, gently whisk all the wet ingredients together with a fork, then mix this into the dry ingredients. Add a little more buttermilk if the mixture is too dry – it should be a soft, wet dough.
Pour the dough into the prepared tin and sprinkle some extra porridge oats on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes. Carefully take the bread out of the tin and place it back in the oven on the rack for a further 5 minutes. To check if the bread is baked, tap the bottom – it should sound hollow when fully cooked.
Remove from the oven and wrap in a clean tea towel while it's cooling to stop the crust getting too hard. Serve with smoked salmon, horseradish crème fraîche and pickled red onion and garnish with chopped fresh chives.
