IRISH SODA BREAD.

Well today I was looking for something to cook/bake that I haven't tried before.
Irish Soda Bread seemed like a good idea but then whilst making it I suddenly thought...............

'How am I going to know if it's any good as I've never even tasted it before?'

The recipe I used is a James Martin Recipe from the BBC Food Website.

Again whilst making it I hit another problem.I had no buttermilk and no assess to any so it was time to improvise and make a substitute.

I used instead of buttermilk I used 1/2 pint of milk with the juice of half a lemon in it and left it for 20 minutes.

The recipe is as follows with the substitute added:

Ingredients
170g/6oz self-raising wholemeal flour
170g/6oz plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
290ml/½ pint buttermilk

Method
1.Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6.
2. Tip the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir.
3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly with a large fork to form a soft dough. (Depending upon the absorbency of the flour, you may need to add a little milk if the dough seems too stiff but it should not be too wet or sticky.)
4.Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly.
5. Form into a round and flatten the dough slightly before placing on a lightly floured baking sheet.
6. Cut a cross on the top and bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

and I've put 3 pictures on here so you can see how it turned out.