Why you need to try SODA bread: The four-ingredient recipe home cooks are loving during self-isolation - and it costs just $3.20 a loaf
- An amateur baker has revealed how to make soda bread using four ingredients
- All you need is some plain flour, baking soda, buttermilk and a pinch of salt
- The bread is baked in the oven at 220C for 40 minutes or until it has browned
- The recipe was shared by on American travel and cookery blog, Trial and Eater
- One loaf costs just $3.20, making it considerably cheaper than buying in store
- Australians have been baking bread at home since the COVID-19 crisis erupted
The author of a popular cookery website has shared a simple recipe for Irish soda bread which uses four basic ingredients still available in supermarkets and costs just $3.20 a loaf - considerably cheaper than buying a batch in store.
Kelly, a health adviser from North Carolina, is the founder of Trial and Eater, a vegetarian food blog which specialises in quick and easy dishes that are straightforward to make without compromising on taste.
Kelly showed bakers how to make delicious soda bread with 480g of plain flour, 350ml of buttermilk, one teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt in less than 10 minutes, before oven baking the dough for 40 minutes until toasted and brown.
Her recipe has been shared by hundreds of Australian amateur cooks who have been baking their own bread, cakes and pastries since the coronavirus pandemic triggered widespread panic buying and forced millions to self-isolate at home.
Soda bread can be prepared in just 10 minutes using plain flour, buttermilk, baking soda and a pinch of salt before it is baked in the oven at 220°C for 40 minutes
Before starting the dough, the oven should be preheated to 220°C.
Add the flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl and sift the dry mixture together to remove any lumps.
Using clean hands, make a well in the centre of the mixture and slowly pour in the buttermilk.
While the scarcity of regular milk has skyrocketed since panic buying began earlier this year, buttermilk remains readily available in supermarkets and has a shelf-life of up to two weeks, making it a clever addition to a lockdown shopping list.
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Knead the mixture together with your hands until just combined, taking care not to 'overwork' the dough or handle it for too long which makes it tight and prone to breaking when you stretch it out for baking.
The texture should be soft and crumbly, but still moist enough that it holds together.
Roll the dough into a ball and place it gently onto a baking tray which has been lightly greased with butter or margarine or lined with baking paper.
Using a knife, make a large 'X' across the dough, pressing about an inch deep.
Slide the tray into the oven and bake on 220C for roughly 40 minutes, or until the outside of the loaf is toasted and brown.
How to make bread with BEER
Ingredients:
- 3 cups self raising flour
- Half a cup of white sugar
- One 375ml bottle of beer, or can use soda water
- Optional: Herbs, cheese or bacon
Method:
1. Sift flour into a mixing bowl and stir in sugar
2. Add beer until combined
3. Place in greased tin and bake it the oven for 40 mins at 190C
This homemade bread can be made in 40 minutes using self-raising flour, white sugar and beer
The recipe has been keeping households fed and entertained across Australia.
One woman said she bakes multiple loaves at once because they are 'devoured' so quickly by her husband and children.
Another shared her own three-ingredient technique, which uses three cups of self-raising flour, half a cup of white sugar and a 375ml bottle of Pilsner beer to make a large loaf of sweet white bread.
