A Northern Irish classic, wheaten bread is also the classic plain soda bread from further south in Ireland. As Jules grew up near Belfast and went to the same school as Trish Deseine (who knew?), our inspiration for this recipe, we call it “Wheaten”. Whatever you call it, this is an Irish classic and intrinsic to Irish food culture. So simple to make, tasty and versatile, this should be part of any cooks repertoire. We like it with a bowl of soup for lunch and toasted for breakfast the day after.
Northern Irish Wheaten Bread – makes 1 loaf
- 250g plain flour
- 250g wholemeal flour
- 1 barely round tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 450-475ml buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 225C.
Mix the flours in a large, wide bowl, add the salt and sieved baking soda. Run the mixture through your fingers to distribute everything evenly.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk. Stir the mixture in circles with outstretched fingers starting from the centre of the bowl and working outwards. It shouldn’t take long for the dough to almost come together. Give it a very quick knead in the bowl to make sure all the flour is incorporated.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.
Sprinkle a little flour on your hands and gently tidy the dough into a round and transfer to an oven tray. Tuck the edges underneath with your hands, then gently pat with your fingers into a loaf about 4cm thick.
Cut a deep cross into the bread and prick the centre of the four sections with a fork.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 200C for a further 15minutes. Turn the bread upside down and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes or until done – you can tell as it will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack.
(Original recipe from Trish Deseine’s ‘Home: Recipes from Ireland, Hatchette Livre, 2015.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
Leave a Reply