If you want grain, sew da bread. Sorry, SODA BREAD.

Quick, easy and hearty.  Soda bread, made slightly heartier for that winter lunchtime snack.  'Traditional' (yawn) recipes either use wholemeal or plain flour, but I had some other flours lying about so I decided to chunk up the dough a bit.

Soda Bread cooling on a wire rack.

I used:  (FYI - I nicked the basic recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and manned it up)

• 100g of Spelt Flour
• 100g of Granary Flour
• 250g of Strong White Flour
• 2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp of salt
• 300ml of cultured buttermilk (Sound weird?  You can buy this in most supermarkets.  In Sainsbury's it's near the cream and yoghurt section.  If you can't find it, use a live natural yoghurt instead.)
• 50ml of milk

Preheat oven to 200degC (fan 180).  You need the oven to be hot before the dough is ready as you want the dough straight in the oven as soon as it is mixed and the bicarb is still working away strongly.

Mix the flours (use any combination you want) with the salt and bicarbonate in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.  Pour the buttermilk into the well and then use the milk to rinse out the tub and add that to the bowl as well.  No point in wasting all the butterymilk goodness.

Using a spoon, stir the buttermilk and gradually work your way out into the four so that the flour starts to mix into the milk.  Keep doing this until it is mostly incorporated and then get one of your hands messy.  Clean the spoon off with one hand and then use that hand to finish mixing the dough until it is well mixed up.  If you need to add a little flour do it now and do it quickly.  You want a dough that is still slightly sticky without being wet.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and continue to kneed until well mixed, but do not over kneed this. A minute is more than enough for kneeding, less is better.  You are not looking for a smooth, elastic dough like for yeast bread.

Shape the dough into a rough round and put onto a floured baking sheet or like me, on a baking sheet covered with a silicone sheet that has been well floured.  (I use silicone sheets a lot).  Dust generously with flour and then with a long, sharp serrated knife, cut a cross in the dough to a depth of about half to 2/3 deep.

Put it right in the oven and cook for 40mins or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped. underneath.  If it still sounds 'heavy' give it another 5 minutes.

When done, take it out and leave to cool slightly on a wire rack for a crunchy crust.  Eat while still warm with butter and jam or like me, with salted butter and strong cheese.  When it goes cold simply toast it and add even more butter.