| 1 | * you will need somewhere between these two amounts of buttermilk, depending on how much liquid your flour tends to absorb. |
| 2 | Try to avoid using regular milk: if you must, use baking powder instead of bicarbonate of soda. |
| 3 | -- lightly grease a heavy skillet (if making "soda farl", the flat version of soda bread) or preheat the oven to 450°F (if making "soda cake", the round, more breadlike version). |
| 4 | Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl; make sure the soda is evenly distributed. |
| 5 | Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add about half the buttermilk. |
| 6 | Stir until you have a raggy dough that is very squashy but which looks more or less dry. |
| 7 | Add more liquid sparingly until you achieve this texture. |
| 8 | Blend until all the flour has achieved this consistency; then turn out immediately onto a lightly floured board and knead ***for no more than a minute or a minute and a half***. |
| 9 | Overkneading makes this bread very tough, and it"s very easy to overdo it. |
| 10 | If making soda cake, shape the dough into a circle about 8-9 inches across and about an inch and a half thick. |
| 11 | Cut a cross about on the top, about half an inch deep, and place on a floured baking sheet. |
| 12 | Bake at 450°F for 45-50 minutes. |
| 13 | If making soda farl, shape the dough into a circle about 9 inches by one inch thick and cut into four wedges or "farls": place in the preheated skillet, with cut edges about half an inch apart. |
| 14 | Cook slowly on the stovetop over low-to-medium heat: it should take about 20 minutes for the farls to puff up and turn a light brown on the pan side. |
| 15 | Turn them and cook for another 20 minutes. |
| 16 | -- for a softer crust on either soda cake or soda farl, wrap in a dishtowel after baking. |
| 17 | -- for more information on making sodabread and its variations, please see the file "sodabred.txt" included with this zipfile. |
