Mary Gleeson’s Brown Soda Bread


Mix dry ingredients and aerate. Add the honey to the buttermilk and mix. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add most of the buttermilk. Mix quickly until just moistened, adding buttermilk as needed for a wet consistency. Turn dough onto a floured board and round it up gently, making it two inches thick. Place on a greased baking sheet and cut a half-inch-deep cross into the top. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 60 minutes, turning the bread over for the last 10 minutes. Tap on the bottom: a hollow sound means it’s done. Cool on a wire rack covered with a damp tea towel.