Irish Soda Bread

Quick to make and often baked fresh for breakfast or tea.

Ingredients

• 500g plain flour (or a mixture of wholemeal and plain flour.
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp salt
• Approx. 400ml (14 fl oz) buttermilk

Method

Lightly grease the 1.75L casserole.

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the buttermilk to form a very soft dough.

Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface and shape into a neat round.

Place in the casserole and make a deep cross in the top with a sharp knife.

2, 3 and 4 oven AGA: Bake on the grid shelf placed on the floor of the roasting oven for 30-35 minutes or until the bread is golden and cooked through.

To test if the bread is cooked, tap the underside it should sound hollow.

Wrap in a clean tea towel to cool - this stops the crust hardening too much.

Conventional oven: Bake in an oven preheated to 200C / Fan 180 / Gas 6 for 30 minutes, then turn the bread upside down and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.