Hey everyone,
I am most passionate about the techniques of cooking! I'm a firm believer that if you master the techniques you can cook alot of different dishes. I'm most passionate about French cooking, Italian (pastas from scratch), and comfort food.
Food is a passion... and whether it is a simple afterwork meal or a full on dinner party, fresh ingredients are a must. I don't understand fast food or ready meals, as for me it is just as simple to do something from scratch. My style is as varied as my travels... on an average day it is possible to find me cooking Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Nepalese, Germany, French, etc as it is a traditional Irish fare. As an avid gardener, i love when I can eat my own fresh produce... and most recently have discovered the delights on putting together what used to be called Salade Compos... and now is the far more tasty Poke bowl...
I love exchanging ideas around food... and hearing about experiments in bread making... which I have to admit can be very hit and miss in my kitchen :)
So, if you're enjoying a naked outdoor meal... and would like to serve some traditional Irish bread... here is a simple foolproof recipe for Brown Soda Bread...
A warning... this is a very liquid mix so you will need a 1 lb loaf tin
450gm wholemeal strong flour
50gms bran/pin head oats/porridge oats (proportions to your taste)
.5 litre Buttermilk (you can also use whole milk with lemon juice added to sour it)
Salt to your own taste
Brown Sugar
100 gms salted butter
1 tsp Bread Soda
2 eggs
Mixed seeds
First of all take the flours and butter and rub them together until like fine breadcrumbs.
Mix in the salt, sugar, seeds and bread soda.
In a jug, combine the Buttermilk and Eggs and mix well.
and this is the secret of the bread... Add the liquid to the dry and mix well BUT... for less than three minutes. If you mix for any longer the bread will be tough... so quickly combine and it will turn out light and moist.
Put the mix into a well buttered loaf pan, and put into a pre-heated oven at 180c for 1 hour...
you will know when it is ready as the smell of the bread will spread through your kitchen...
Leave it to cool, and for storage, wrap it in a cloth...