Soda bread help

A long time ago I did some soda breads but been a long while so prefer to just find a recipe for you by googling it. The last one I did was a mix of spelt and rye but I think best go simple first then when you've got the hang of it experiment.

Here is a recipe from BBC Food...

• 170g/6oz self-raising wholemeal flour

• 170g/6oz plain flour

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 290ml/½ pint buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6.

2. Tip the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly with a large fork to form a soft dough. (Depending upon the absorbency of the flour, you may need to add a little milk if the dough seems too stiff but it should not be too wet or sticky.)

4. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly.

5. Form into a round and flatten the dough slightly before placing on a lightly floured baking sheet.

6. Cut a cross on the top and bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Two things to add...

1. If you don't have buttermilk then milk with a tablespoon of lemon is a good substitute. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice into a cup then fill with milk till the correct amount. Stir and leave for 5 minutes.

2. This is quite high hydration - 85%. If is too high for you to handle then drop the hydration to 75% (I think this might be better) which will = 255ml buttermilk (I know gram for gram, or ml for ml, buttermilk will not produce the same hydration as water but near enough). Or you could try the recipe as it is then make changes if you need to.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/irishsodabread_67445