Wholemeal Soda Bread

Preheat the oven to 230°C (fan 210°C, gas mark 8).

Place the flour, caster sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and then the buttermilk.

Bring together to give a soft dough, fold over once or twice until smooth but don’t over knead as you need to keep as much air as possible in the dough.

Turn the dough out onto a greased baking tray and shape into a round 4cm deep. Cut a deep cross in the centre to divide into 4, without cutting all the way through. Dust with a little extra flour before baking.

Bake the bread immediately for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C (fan 180°C, gas mark 6) and bake for a further 30 minutes until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath.