Simple soda bread

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

Description

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
  2. Place the flours, oatmeal, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a large bowl and mix together.
  3. In a separate bowl, use a balloon whisk to beat the egg and buttermilk together.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool, then serve slightly warm with some soup or a nice wedge of cheese.