Hi from Dublin Ireland

First, a hearty welcome to this site.

Two years ago, after watching a bunch of episodes of the British Baking Show, I purchased the British Baking cookbook by Paul Hollywood.  Included is a recipe for soda bread.  Simple to make, and that eventually launched me upon this hobby of producing bread (yes, I got the bread bug).

What I ultimately realized about starting with soda bread was not only that it is simple to make, but it got my hands in contact with the flour.  There is something magical about feeling the dough change in texture, elasticity, extensibility, and so forth.  Of course that is not relevant to soda bread, which goes straight from a ball of dough into the oven soon after being formed, but the experience of handling dough was important.

Now I tend toward sourdough breads, some with a bit of commercial yeast (the instant dry variety), but often purely with the starter.  I cannot say for sure that it all goes back to my initial forays with soda bread, but I have a certain nostalgia for soda bread.  (I also can still clearly recall arriving at a bed-and-breakfast in Cork and being served a basket of freshly baked bread that included a brown soda bread that was unbelievably tasty.)

Again, welcome to this site.  Hope to see some of your bakes.

Welcome from Perth Western Australia Paul  that looks like a nice set up you have there. We look forward to seeing more of your postings in the near future.

kind rgards Derek

Hi Paul - Great picture! Good luck with your sourdough in that great looking oven!