Traditional Irish Soda Bread with Flax Seeds

First off, my Dad's a huge fan of home-made brown bread. Last weekend, he arrived home from Scotland after being away for just over 2 weeks. I was certain that he would be craving some good home cooking (as he's not the greatest cook in the world) So, I decided to help my Mam out by baking a Traditional Irish Soda Bread for lunch seens as she'd be making dinner. 

This soda bread recipe is really easy to make. Its the base recipe to almost any bread that I bake. I decided to add Flax Seeds to the recipe this time to give the bread a nice grainy texture and also to boost nutrient intake. Apparently flax seeds are one of the biggest nutrient carriers in the world - that's what we like to hear :) If you don't have flax seeds at home don't worry. You can substitute them for sunflower seeds, sesame seeds or even porridge oats.

INGREDIENTS

225g/ 8oz Plain Flour

225g/ 8oz Wholemeal Flour

1 tsp Bread Soda (sieved)

1 tsp Sugar

Pinch of Salt

4 tbsp Flax Seeds

500ml Buttermilk

METHOD

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4

2) Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a large bowl (make sure to sieve the bread soda)

3) Make a hole in the middle of your bowl and pour in the buttermilk

4) Stir in the buttermilk 

(The mixture should almost "plop" off the spoon - if it's too dry simply add more milk and if its too wet add more flour)

5) Pour the mixture into a loaf tin lined with baking paper and bake for approx. 40 mins
6) After 40 mins, remove the loaf from the tin and stick it back in the oven for a further 10 mins
7) Leave to cool on a wire tray before slicing & enjoy!!

I love this bread with real Irish butter and raspberry jam in the morning, or else with nothing but thick slices of cheddar cheese for lunch - YUMMMMYY :)