Soda Bread from Great British Bakeoff’s Technical

Serves: 1 small loaf

Time: 45 minutes / Active time 15 minutes, Baking time 30 minutes

Difficulty: It's like I'm not baking - Easy

Health Level: Wright in the Middle

Listening To: Pod Save the People

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups of flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 400 ml of buttermilk (Substitution note see below)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 400°

2. Put the flour, salt and baking soda into a mixing bowl, then stir in the buttermilk and mix to combine to a soft dough - do not overmix.

3. Tip the dough onto a lightly flour work surface and quickly shape the dough into a ball.

4. Flatten the ball slightly and place it on a lined baking sheet. Cut a cross in the top of the bread, almost down to the base, but without cutting all the way through.

5. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes, until golden brown and the base or bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before slicing.

*A NOTE ABOUT SUBSTITUTIONS:

I almost never purchase Buttermilk, I make a substitution at home. There are two ways that I have used to substitute Buttermilk, included below.

My Go-to, Milk and Vinegar

• Pour a little less 2 % or whole milk than one cup and then add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Stir and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Milk and Lemon Juice

• Pour a little less 2 % or whole milk than one cup and then add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Stir and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

I love Great British Bake Off - like more than anyone should love a reality television show about baking. Last fall my good friend and former coworker, Ana, told me about this show. When I finally turned on Season 1, Episode 1 I realized my partner told me about this show as well and I said, “na - I won’t like it.” Whew, I was wrong. Watching the show gave me so much stress relief and inspiration to start learning to bake, (I am much more of a cook than a baker - science and exact measurements scares me), that I was hooked. Now I love to learn how to bake the recipes from the show and build my baking repertoire. Come back to the site to learn to bake with me, Great British Bake Off style!