Soda Bread with Oatmeal & Fresh herbs
Soda Bread with Oatmeal & Fresh herbs
Paul Youd
This bread is very quick to make and does not require high gluten Bread flour. There is no yeast, so you don't have to wait for the dough to rise, it is instant bread. It can be made without the oatmeal too, just replace the amount of oatmeal with spelt/white flour. The pictures here show it with 2 tbsp. chopped, sun-dried tomatoes and dried Basil added as optional extras. Experiment with other additions/herbs. Measure ingredients in advance, before you start, because you need them in quick succession once you start making it. You can make it without the egg, just use 50 ml. more milk or water.
Note From Mamta; for other wonderful, home-made bread recipes, please visit Paul's blog; www.nobreadisanisland.blogspot.com
Ingredients
300 gm. spelt flour
100 gm. fine or medium oatmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. fresh herbs chopped or replace with 2 tsp. dried herbs. Dry basil (tulsi) is used in pictures here
2 tbsp. chopped sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
2 tsp. cream of tartar*
1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda*
200 ml. milk or yoghurt or butter milk**
1 egg
50 gm. softened butter (or 3tbs. olive oil)
*You can use 3 teaspoons of baking powder alone instead of the cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda.
**The buttermilk or yoghurt replaces the cream of tartar. If using yoghurt, just use a teaspoon of bicarb of soda.
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 220 C, 425 F, gas mark 7.
Prepare your baking sheet, either grease it or line it with baking parchment.
Place the flour, oatmeal, salt and herbs into a large mixing bowl, add the cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda. Stir the dry ingredients to mix them evenly.
When the oven is hot, add the milk, butter/oil and egg and begin mixing with a palette knife or similar.
Mix together into a soft dough, adding more flour or water as needed.
Turn it out onto a floured worktop; firmly mould it into a round flat loaf, about 3 cm. thick. With practice you can get the mixing and shaping done in less than two minutes.
Place it on your prepared baking sheet. To allow the heat of the oven to reach the centre of the dough more easily, cut a deep cross into the top of the loaf with a sharp knife.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes. The loaf is ready when it has a good colour underneath and a skewer comes out clean. You may need to put it back in, upside down, for a few more minutes.
Place to cool place, on a wire rack, and for a softer crust, wrap the bread in a tea cloth.
