This is a type of bread commonly eaten in Ireland, however in the North of Ireland it's mostly cooked on a griddle rather than in the oven as it can be in other parts of Ireland and so it's perfect for out round the campfire and a good alternative to regular bannock..It's easy to make and always a great favourite with most people in these parts where it's normally referred to as Soda Farls.
you will need soda bread flour and buttermilk..if you can't get regular soda bread flour you can use self raising flour with a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate and a half teaspoon of salt, and if you can't get buttermilk then you can mix 3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt with full fat milk and leave it for a few hours to let the cultures grow..
mix 3 cups of flour with enough buttermilk to make a bread dough
put the griddle on to a medium heat
pat the dough out into a circular shape about 1/2 inch thick and cut into triangles
put them on the griddle for about 7 or 8 minutes per side or until they form that lovely leopard spotted colour on the baking surface
split them open and add a lump of butter, and taste one of the greatest wonders of the world!!
I've made soda bread for years and didn't know there was a soda bread flour. Great news if it's available around here! And I'll have to try this griddle top method, too. I learned a trick a few years ago of wrapping hot loaves straight out of the oven with a damp tea towel for about 6 hours before cutting into the bread. Several marvelous degrees of difference in the flavor and texture. Also, as an aside, I'm from the Southwest US and we eat a lot of what they call Indian Fry Bread. The really good fry bread makers claim only one flour is suited for the endeavor: Bluebird Flour. It does make a difference, but I have no idea what's different about the flour itself--the grind? the enrichments? the wheat...?
ReplyDeleteThat sounds great Penny, in my ignorance I believed it was an Irish thing! Will have to try that tea towel trick!
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