If you’re looking for a traditional style soda bread, look no further. Today I’m sharing my recipe for a brown soda bread.
There are plenty of varieties when it comes to soda bread, so it’s not a one size fits all kind of situation. You can get soda breads made with white, brown and wholemeal flour and even a mixture – I really think it depends on where you’re from as they have their own variation.
This bread does have a different texture and taste to other breads but thats what makes it special. The other thing to note is that this bread doesn’t contain any yeast but does contain bicarbonate of soda as a leavening agent and the use of buttermilk in place of water – these small differences make the bread unlike many other products.
If you make this loaf, make it in advance. Then you can have a full Irish breakfast and enjoy the bread to help soak up that hangover.
For the wheat bran, take some wholemeal flour and sift it. The bits left over in the sieve are what you’re looking for, keep them in a bowl until needed later on.
Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?
Ingredients:
500g Brown bread flour.
20g Wheat bran.
15g Black treacle.
3g Salt.
30g Bicarbonate of soda.
15g Granulated white sugar.
40g Butter or shortening.
390ml Buttermilk, cold.
Method:
Before you get into the making and baking, you’re best to do some prep work. Weigh up all your ingredients, line a baking tray with a piece of parchment paper and get any other equipment ready, like a stand mixer or spatula.
Into your mixing bowl of choice, place the brown flour, salt and butter and mix over a low speed for about 1 minute.
Add in the bicarbonate of soda, black treacle, granulated white sugar and butter milk, then mix on a low-medium speed for 3-4 minutes until a dough forms.
You’ll know the dough is perfectly mixed when it’s similar to scone dough.
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and give it a brief knead, just to help work the final few bits in. Bring it into a ball shape.
While it’s on the counter top, flatten the ball shape into a disk, turning to keep it as circular as possible.
Place onto a lined baking tray and rearrange the shape if needed.
Now you can cut the dough in either a ‘+’ or ‘x’, cutting all the way through, so this using a plastic or metal scotch scraper.
Dust the top of the loaf with the wheat bran and leave on the counter top for 20 minutes, then you can place the bread in the oven and bake it off at 220˚c/430˚f for 25-30 minutes.
Once baked, the bottom of the bread should sound hollow. Remove from the baking tray and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Slice the bread into slices and enjoy it on its own with butter or as part of a full Irish breakfast.
That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my Instagram and Twitter. The YouTube video will be linked down below.
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