Growing up, we had fresh brown soda bread baked weekly by my Aunt Sadie, said Anna Haugh. She measured the ingredients for it with her hands; she never used scales. This update takes the guesswork out of the equation, and also adds butter, sugar and egg; though not traditional in Irish soda bread, these ingredients result in a softer crumb and allow the bread to stay fresh for up to three days. Baking the bread in leftover bean cans is also a fun twist on tradition, but if you don’t have any, a 500g loaf tin will do.
Ingredients – Makes 1 x 500g loaf, or 2 baked bean can-sized loaves, or enough for 4 generously
30g salted butter, plus more for the cans or tin300g coarse wholemeal flour, plus more for the cans or tin1⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda1 tsp baking powder25g demerara sugar1 tsp fine sea salt1 egg, lightly beaten300g buttermilk
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C fan. Butter and flour two old baked bean cans, or a 500g loaf tin. It’s important to have your oven preheated and your cans or tin prepared before starting the recipe, as once the dough is mixed it is best baked immediately.Melt the 30g of butter and leave it to cool slightly.Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix so they are evenly dispersed. Make a well in the centre, then add the cooled melted butter to the well with the egg and buttermilk and mix well and quickly with a spoon. Your mix should be wet and drop off the spoon.Working fast, divide the dough between the prepared cans or tin. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C fan and cook for a further 35 minutes.Take the bread out of the cans or tin and let cool. Once cool, if you wrap it in cling film it will stay fresh for longer. This is delicious just with butter, or wonderful with smoked salmon.It stays fresh for up to three days, so there’s less chance for any of it to go to waste. If you keep it in the fridge, it will last even longer, and be great for toast (though not for sandwiches, if you have chilled it, as that toughens the texture).
Taken from Cooking with Anna: Modern Home Cooking with Irish Heart by Anna Haugh, published by Bloomsbury at £26. Photography by Laura Edwards. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99 (incl. p&p), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.