A young friend came to stay for the weekend and made us some soda bread one morning! yum yum!  So will find a recipe on here to try one day when we run out of bread - and actually have an oven, which we don't at present.

Here's one recipe from the ever helpful BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/irishsodabread_67445):

Ingredients

• 170g/6oz self-raising wholemeal flour
• 170g/6oz plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 290ml/½ pint buttermilk (or could use yoghurt)

Preparation 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.
   Watch technique1:58 mins
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 here's one with accompanying home-made beans on toast from Tom Kerridge: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/10260001/Tom-Kerridges-proper-baked-beans-on-soda-bread-toast-recipe.html
   
   

...and while I'm at it, here's a good recipe for scones, for those days when there's no bread in the house:

Ingredients

• 225g/8oz self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 55g/2oz butter
• 25g/1oz caster sugar
• 150ml/5fl oz milk
• 1 free-range egg, beaten, to glaze (alternatively use a little milk)

Preparation method

1. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Mix together the flour and salt and rub in the butter.
3. Stir in the sugar and then the milk to get a soft dough.
4. Turn on to a floured work surface and knead very lightly. Pat out to a round 2cm/¾in thick. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out rounds and place on a baking sheet. Lightly knead together the rest of the dough and stamp out more scones to use it all up.
5. Brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg. Bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden.
6. Cool on a wire rack and serve with butter and good jam and maybe some clotted cream

Tea Bread

ha ha!

Now that we're definitely moving I'm sorting out cupboards, especially in the kitchen.  I've come across the bottom of lots of packets of shreddies, shredded wheat and all bran, the bits which no-one wants to eat. 

No-one seems to like to eat the bits at the bottom of the packets, probably because, although they're perfectly alright, they tend to go soggy when the milk's added.  So am going make a fruit loaf with them.

Here's my take on the classic All-Bran tea bread recipe:

5oz cereal (mine was mixture of shredded wheat, shreddies and all bran)

5oz raisins or sultanans

10 fl oz tea, milk or orange juice

2 oz sugar

6 oz SR flour

2 eggs

1. Soak cereal in tea/milk/juice for a couple of hours.  
2. Add dried fruit, sugar and eggs.  Stir in flour.
3. Cook about an hour at about 190C.
4. Eat: sliced, and spread with lots of butter.