NEVER Bake Your Soda Bread Again — Try This Old IRISH Trick

Before anyone round here had an oven, every loaf in the parish was baked in a bastible, a heavy iron pot with a lid, set down in the turf fire. My mother baked this way until the day she died, and there's a reason her bread was always better than what you'd buy in a shop. The trick is the lid. Keep it on and the loaf steams itself. It rises higher, stays soft in the middle, and still gets that crackling crust. You don't need a turf fire. A cast iron pot in your own oven does the very same job. If your grandmother or great-grandmother left Mayo, or anywhere in the west of Ireland, this is very likely the bread she grew up on. I'm cooking it for you, the way she would have. What you'll need: 450g (1 lb) plain white flour 1 level teaspoon bread soda (baking soda) 1 level teaspoon salt About 400ml (14 fl oz) buttermilk A cast iron pot with a lid Oven: 230°C (450°F). Heat the pot in the oven first, bake with the lid on for 30 minutes, then take the lid off for another 10 to 15 minutes. If you have a memory of soda bread from your own family, tell me about it in the comments. I read every one. Subscribe to Nana Bridie's Kitchen for more of the old recipes from the parish. #IrishSodaBread #SodaBread #IrishCooking #TraditionalIrishRecipes #NanaBridie