An Italian twist on a North-East traditional recipe
Before sourdough bread and all its rustic variants became fashionable, writes Mandy Watson of MandyCanUDigIt, working-class housewives made do with simpler fare – rosemary soda bread with sun-dried tomatoes was born from one of those recipes.
This recipe comes via my Mam from my Gran (her mother-in-law). Money was often tight and popping down to the shops for a fresh loaf wasn’t the done thing. Instead, making a plain soda bread leaf was the answer, hot from the oven and dripping with butter.
There’s no yeast in this bread – the bicarb and baking powder do the rising.
The original plain soda bread recipe
- 1lb plain flour (Doves Farm is good)
- Half a level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 1 level teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 level teaspoon salt
- Approx half a pint sour milk (milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice) or buttermilk
Sieve dry ingredients together.
Mix enough milk to give a soft, but not sticky dough.
Turn on to a lightly floured board and shape it into an 8″ round cake with a shallow cross cut into the top.
Turn on to a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at Gas mark 6, 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C for 30-35 minutes.
Rosemary soda bread with sun-dried tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes wouldn’t be found in my Gran’s store cupboard, but here are a few additions that bring soda bread into the ‘posh artisan bread’ category. (I doubled the recipe to make the two loaves above and dimpled the surface instead of cutting a cross into it.)
When you’ve mixed the ingredients into a soft dough, add 2oz (50g) of chopped sun-dried tomatoes, patted dry from their oil if in a jar.
Add half a tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary (half that if using dried) and then knead until combined.
When shaped into the 8″ rounds, brush the top with olive oil from the sun-dried tomato jar (or ordinary will do), then sprinkle over some rosemary and sea salt. Bake as the ordinary recipe. The result is similar to focaccia but without the hassle of dough rising.
To buy fresh rosemary, visit our Find Us page. Try our recipe for Gremolata or parsley sauce.