Irish Soda Bread

Before you mix the dough for Irish soda bread, heat the oven to 220 °C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or dust it lightly with flour. Tip both flours into a large bowl. Add the baking soda, the salt, and the sugar. Stir all of the dry ingredients together well. This spreads the soda evenly through the flour, so the loaf rises in one even push rather than in patches.

Make a well in the center of the dry mix and pour in the cold buttermilk all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon or with your hand, only until the flour comes together. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky, not smooth like a kneaded yeast dough. Work quickly here, since the soda starts to act the moment it meets the buttermilk. Do not overwork the dough, or the crumb will turn dense and heavy instead of light.

With lightly floured hands, move the dough onto the prepared sheet. Shape it gently into a round loaf about 7 cm tall. With a sharp knife, cut a deep cross into the top that reaches almost to the bottom. The cross is the classic mark of this loaf. It also lets the heat reach the middle, so the bread opens up evenly and bakes through to the center.

Bake for 15 minutes at 220 °C. Lower the temperature to 200 °C and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is deep golden. The finished loaf sounds hollow when you tap its underside. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before you slice it. Cooling on the rack keeps the crust crisp, instead of going soft from trapped steam underneath, and it lets the crumb settle so it does not gum up under the knife.