Traditional Irish breads are made to be part of a Samhain celebration, well in my eyes anyway. We have tried several over the years and this, a recipe given to me by an old friend, is the one we come back to each year.
Quick and simple to make, it’s just a case of mixing the dry ingredients, then mix the wet ingredients and combine the two. I did up the flour and reduce the buttermilk from the original recipe as I found it a bit too wet. It is a forgiving recipe and you can play with it a little to suit your needs.
500g Plain Flour
50g Sugar
1 tsp of Salt
3 tsp of Baking Powder
115g soft Butter—cut into mix with two knives
400ml Buttermilk
1 Egg
1 tsp. Baking Soda
Pre heat over to gas mark 6; 200c
Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Next add the butter to the mix. The best way to do it is to cut the butter into the mix with two knives. This is a technique that can be a little difficult to master but it is easy once you get used to it. Put this to one side when combined
Place the buttermilk into a bowl and add the egg and baking soda, mix well. Add this to the dry mixture, combining well
Flour the bottom/sides of a pan, we used a baking tray and that worked well, with flour on your hands work the dough into a round loaf. Cut a cross into the top of the loaf
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped
This is perfect with stews and soups as well as eaten warm with butter when it’s still warm
