Simple soda bread

Name: Simple soda bread
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 250 g wholemeal flour; 100 g plain flour plus extra for dusting; 50 g pinhead oatmeal; 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 large free-range egg; 1 x 300 ml tub buttermilk

A classic loaf made easy

Vegetarianv

“You can’t beat the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the house, and it’s such a rewarding thing to learn how to make. The great thing about this simple recipe is that you can whack it straight in the oven without having to wait hours for the dough to rise. Bonus! ”

Serves 8

Cooks In1 hour 10 minutes

DifficultySuper easy

Bread British Beautiful baking recipes Breakfast Cheap & cheerful Money-saving recipes

Nutrition per serving

Calories 195 10%
Fat 2.2g 3%
Saturates 0.4g 2%
Sugars 2.9g 3%
Salt 0.9g 15%
Protein 9.4g 19%
Carbs 37.8g 15%
Fibre 4.2g -

Of an adult's reference intake

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Ingredients

250 g wholemeal flour
100 g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
50 g pinhead oatmeal
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1 large free-range egg
1 x 300 ml tub buttermilk

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Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
Place the flours, oatmeal, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a large bowl and mix together.
In a separate bowl, use a balloon whisk to beat the egg and buttermilk together.
Use a fork to stir the egg mixture into the flour, then as it starts to come together, use your hands to pat and bring the dough together.
Shape the dough into a ball and place onto a lightly floured baking tray. Use your hands to flatten the dough slightly so you end up with a disk, roughly 6 to 7cm thick.
Score a cross into the top of the bread with the blunt edge of a knife, then bake in the centre of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a firm crust has formed and it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool, then serve slightly warm with some soup or a nice wedge of cheese.

Tips

If you can’t find pinhead oatmeal, use rolled oats instead – blitz them in a food processor first, then you’re good to go.

Be careful not to over-mix the dough – stop mixing as soon as it comes together otherwise you’ll end up with tough, dense bread.