A Hairy Bikers soda bread recipe needs no yeast at all, because bicarb and buttermilk raise this brown Irish loaf of white and wholemeal flour. So cut into 12, the Brilliant Bakes round is roughly 175 calories a slice and on the table in about an hour.
“Whenever we cook soda bread we wonder why we don’t make it more often,” admit Si and Dave in Brilliant Bakes. And their twist is malt extract and black treacle whisked into the buttermilk, so the crumb should come out darker and a touch sweeter.
The cross is the step to get right, because they say it must go deep, almost to the base. So my guess is that it lets the heat into such a thick round, though they don’t say why. Then a 10-minute blast at 220°C drops to 180°C, which I read as setting the crust before a slower bake.
Hairy Bikers Soda Bread Recipe
Description
Two strong flours, bicarb and salt come together with buttermilk into a soft, slightly tacky dough, shaped by hand into one round. Then a deep slash and a scattering of porridge oats go on before it bakes on a floured tray.
Ingredients
For the loaf
For the top
Instructions
- Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7.
- Mix the flours: Put both flours in a large bowl, then mix in the bicarbonate of soda and salt.
- Make the dough: Whisk the malt extract and treacle with 100ml of the buttermilk in a jug, then drizzle it into the flour. Then gradually work in the rest of the buttermilk until you have a fairly firm, slightly sticky dough, since you may not need it all.
- Shape: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and shape it into a ball. If it’s very sticky, wet your hands with cold water first, which makes it easier to handle.
- Cut the cross: Sprinkle a baking tray with flour and sit the dough on top. Then cut a deep cross almost to the base and scatter the oats over.
- Bake: Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4 and bake for up to 30 minutes more, until well risen and browned. If the base still feels a little soft, flip the loaf over and bake it upside down for another 10 minutes.
- Cool: Leave the bread to cool slightly on a wire rack, then eat it warm.
FAQs
Is this the same as their soda bread rolls?
No, the rolls are their separate BBC Food recipe, making 6 large or 9 dinner rolls with yoghurt and milk in place of buttermilk. But this page is the single buttermilk loaf from Brilliant Bakes, made with strong flours rather than self-raising.
So if you wanted the rolls, that BBC page is the one, while this round suits a table where everyone tears off a wedge.
Why strong flour in a soda bread?
That’s how the book has it, with strong white and strong wholemeal, although many soda breads use ordinary plain flour. But I haven’t seen a reason given, so I’d keep to strong flour first and treat plain flour as my own experiment.
How much buttermilk will you need?
Up to 400ml, and UK buttermilk often comes in 284ml cartons, which is the size their Family Favourites cornbread lists. So buy two cartons, since one may fall short of the full 400ml, and use any leftover in pancakes or scones.
How do you know when it is cooked?
The recipe in Brilliant Bakes stops at well risen and browned, plus that upside-down rescue for a soft base. But their Big Book of Baking yeasted loaves are done when the base sounds hollow when tapped, and that’s the check I’d add here too.
And they say to cool it slightly on a rack first, so give it a few minutes before you cut in.
What do you serve with it, and how long does it keep?
They want it warm with “lashings of butter”, and in the Hairy Bikers Cookbook it comes with an Irish coddle of bacon, sausages and potatoes. Plus it suits a bowl of their milky leek and potato soup or a thick ham hock pea and ham soup.
They write that it’s best on the day but keeps in an airtight container, and that it toasts well. So I’d toast it from day two, while their no-yeast Welsh bara brith is a loaf that’s better the day after.
