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Irish bread on baking soda in the oven

Irish Soda Bread

Delicious homemade bread — a simple, easy recipe! Irish soda bread is a great one for anyone who wants to learn to bake their own bread at home. Toasted sunflower seeds give it a special flavor and charm. You can really taste the warmth and coziness of homemade bread! For extra add-ins, you can toss in a little plain raisins or prunes, some sesame seeds, or even a pinch of turmeric.

MariaS

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Kefir (room temperature, 1% fat; buttermilk works too)

450

Flour (with bran)

500

Sunflower seeds

Baking soda

Salt

Sugar

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 17 % 8 g

Fats 6 % 3 g

Carbohydrates 77 % 36 g

205 kcal

GI: 6 / 0 / 94

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather your ingredients for the Irish soda bread. Use 1% kefir (or buttermilk), and it's best to take it out of the fridge ahead of time so it comes to room temperature. For the flour, I used regular all-purpose flour and stirred in 2 tablespoons of bran to make a bran flour.
Step 2:

Toast the sunflower seeds until lightly golden in a dry skillet, no oil. Stir them often so they don't burn.
Step 3:

Sift the flour to aerate it, then return any bran left in the sieve back to the flour. Add the toasted sunflower seeds, baking soda, and fine salt. I usually add a little sugar to almost any dish to balance the flavor, and this bread is no exception. Mix everything together.
Step 4:

Knead a soft, slightly sticky dough, gradually pouring in the room-temperature kefir.
Step 5:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Dust the dough, your work surface, and your hands with flour, turn out the dough, and shape it into a round loaf. Cut a cross in the top with a sharp knife.
Step 6:

Put the shaped dough in the oven right after kneading and bake for 35–40 minutes. The loaf should rise noticeably and turn golden. Take the finished bread out, cover it with a clean towel, and let it cool.

There are all kinds of variations on Irish soda bread — with oats added, with crushed garlic tucked inside — so experiment to your taste. To avoid the soapy soda aftertaste that some people notice, especially in freshly baked bread, dissolve the baking soda in a little boiling water before adding it to the dough.