Ingredients / Shopping List
200g white flour mix (strong flour and plain white)1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda1/2 tsp cream of tartar1 tsp salt1 tsp sugarI tablespoon oil200g bio yoghurt or buttermilkI tablespoon oil200g bio yoghurt or buttermilkTopping:I tblsp rolled oats25g cheese
Prep to Cook: Mixing bowl, sieve, measuring jug, wooden spoon, flat baking tray, teaspoon, knife, dough scraper. Oven 210°C or Gas mark 7
Prep:
Sieve the two flours, bicarbonate and cream of tartar, sugar and salt twice.
Blend oil into the yogurt or buttermilk and stir well.
Add to flour and begin to mix.
If the dough appears too floury add a little milk.
Aim for a soft dough and knead it lightly on a floured table top.
Cut into half and shape to the size of a grapefruit.
Place on baking tray.
Use the dough scraper to press a deep cut almost but not quite dividing the ball into four quarters.
Mix oats with grated cheese and sprinkle on the loaves.
Bake for 10 mins then reduce oven temp and bake for further 10 mins.
Bicarbonate of soda is a raising agent that makes quick bread traditionally baked as a quartered loaf, sometimes called a Soda Farl.
Cooks Know How: Soda bread is a ‘leavened’ or raised bread that uses sodium bicarbonate as the raising agent. The bread flour mixed with white flour increases the amount of gluten present. This protein, gluten, helps the flour to trap the gas produced by the sodium bicarbonate. Carbon dioxide is released during baking, especially in the first minutes in the very hot oven. The buttermilk or yogurt provides some steam to help raise the mixture. The chemical reaction producing the main raising agent, carbon dioxide, is between the cream of tartar which is acid, and the sodium bicarbonate which is alkaline. The buttermilk or yogurt is also acidic and the balance of acid and alkali creates perfect conditions for carbon dioxide gas production. This gas raises the dough and makes a light textured loaf. During cooking the gluten in the flour sets, or denatures, to become rigid and form the risen structure of the loaf.
The cheese and oat topping creates interesting texture and flavour and makes links to traditional Soda Farls originating in Ireland and Scotland.