Although we enjoy making various yeast breads, in the breadmaker I must admit, that needs planning and sometimes a quick bread is called for. I have made beer bread but if you have no beer to hand it is a bit difficult. The other night we decided on a comfort bowl of soup and it was too late to make ‘real’ bread. I had been meaning to try Soda Bread for ages, and a quick google found this wonderful site. Alas, no buttermilk! Further research lead me to believe I could achieve what I wanted with ordinary milk and here is the result.
A quick, light fluffy bread using ordinary milk.
- 225 gm flour
- 1/2 tsp raw sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda - heaped
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 100 ml milk
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Preheat oven to 200C.
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Sift the dry ingredients together twice into a large bowl, make a well in the center. Pour milk in and stir until you have a soft dough (if necessary add more milk a tablespoon at a time).
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Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead into a ball, do not knead for longer than 30 seconds. Cut a cross in top.
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Gently place in greased casserole dish. (See note) and place in oven, set timer for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for further 15 minutes.
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For a crunchy crust put on a rack to cool. For a soft crust, wrap the bread in a tea towel to cool.
The bread can be baked on an oven tray, but I use a cast iron casserole dish with a lid. Lightly grease dish with butter.