Let’s start with a question: Do you sometimes get an idea in your head that you just can’t shake until you do something about it? I certainly do and, more often than not, these are food or flavour related. This probably isn’t surprising for someone who’s constantly thinking about food, but it does lead to some random and unexpected dishes making an appearance.
Towards the end of last week one of these ideas got lodged, and I was completely taken in by it. It was to have smoked salmon on freshly baked soda bread. Simple, yes, but also very satisfying. Also ‘salmon and soda’ trips off the tongue quite nicely, which is just a pleasant addition to the whole thing.
Only, when it came to it I realised that I had absolutely no idea how to make soda bread. It’s something my mum’s made countless times over the years, so I know what it should look like and how it should taste, but not where to begin. Thankfully a combination of the internet, the BBC and Nigel Slater was very quickly at hand and after I’d worked out a butter milk replacement - 1 tbsp of lemon juice into 250ml of milk, stirred and then left for five minutes, if you’re interested - we were good to go.
I really liked the idea of making it in a big casserole dish as it looked fantastic coming out of the pot, but I guess it’s not the only way to do it, so that bit I leave up to you. It’s also the simplest of all the bread recipes out there (as it doesn’t involve either yeast or proving), so if you need a loaf in a hurry then this could be exactly what you require.
This version has equal quantities of wholemeal and white flour (which it seems is quite unusual), but it worked beautifully with the salmon. Next time I might play around with the ratios a bit and perhaps include some herbs or spices, but those are ideas to permeate my brain’s foodie obsession with another day.
Soda bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 Loaf 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This recipe is a composite of several different recipes, but takes most of its cues from this Nigel Slater BBC recipe. It makes a medium sized loaf that could feed four at lunch time. The ratios of each flour it alterable, but it helps the flavour to have a bit of both in there.
Ingredients
- 160g wholemeal flour
- 160g plain white flour
- 250ml milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Instructions
Take a large casserole dish/pan and put it in the oven, preheating it to 180ºC. Pour the milk into a jug and add in the lemon juice; stir and leave for five minutes.
Into a large bowl pour both your flours, the slat, sugar and bicarbonate of soda, then using your hands mix this all together so that it is thoroughly combined. Make a well in the middle and pour in a third of the milk. Mix this into the flour mix (either your hands or a mixer) and then slowly add the rest of the milk whilst continually mixing. It should come together as a soft-ish dough pretty quickly.
Take the dish from the oven and flour it, so that the dough won’t totally stick. Then add in the ball of dough, replace the lid and put back into the oven. It will take about 25 minutes to bake, then remove the lid from your dish and bake for five minutes more. Once baked remove from the oven and leave in the dish for five minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.
The soda bread is best served whilst still warm.
- Category: Baking
Yum Yum, I’ve never made soda bread before but this sounds delicious
It’s so good - definitely worth a try, and super quick. Thanks for dropping by!
Love the idea of doing it in a casserole dish. Soda bread is fab just to throw together. I usually brush mine with water and throw a handful of mixed seeds on top before baking for a bit of extra crunch.
It’s a bit different, isn’t it? I love soda bread, might try your trick with the seeds next time, I think it would add a great extra dimension. Thanks for stopping by.
I have woken up in the middle of the night to bake bread just because I needed to have some with yoghurt the next morning.
That’s dedication! And definitely a good opportunity for some soda bread!
I’ve never made soda bread before, I’ll have to give it a go! Husband has and says it’s so easy and quick to make. I love soda bread, and with salmon sounds gorgeous!
I’d never properly made it before this either - it’s really straight forward though, definitely worth a shot!
I am a bit of a cheat - and even though I make soda bread rather often - I just use ‘soda bread flour’ lol. It is so wonderfully quick and tasty though, and works so well with any other additions. Herby cheesey goodness is my fav 🙂
I bake my bread in a casserole dish like that too - I tend to keep it covered to lock in the moisture, and cook with steam - then take the top off for the last 5 minutes or so to brown nicely. Works so well 😀
Oh that’s a total cheat! If it works though, why not? Definitely a good trick doing it in the dish, works really really well!
Ah, this looks lovely! I never made soda bread before (in fact, I never made bread at all), but I really like it, and can never resist a salmon open sandwich. You might have triggered a new cooking challenge here 🙂
Thanks! If you want to get into bread, soda is a great place to start (no yeast to worry about!) I can never resist salmon, it’s just too wonderful. Let me know how you get on!!
Soda Bread is one of my favourite things to make and I only recently discovered it. Your looks lovely and a great combination with the smoked Salmon:-)
It’s amazing, isn’t it? Love it. I always assumed it was hard to make - turns out not so! It’s such a winning combination. Could eat it all the time happily! Thanks for stopping by.