Weekend Baking | Soda bread with added hygge

Hygge must be the most overused Danish word of 2016, I put together a few hygge inspired home styling tips back in the autumn and now that the cold snap is here, there is little else to do but settle in, batten down the hatches and well… hygge!

Getting cosy is something I am good at, I’m always cold and seek warmth wherever I go so I’m well prepared. We’ve got the blankets, the fluffy cushions and rugs, the candles – I am obsessed as you know – and wine food is a big deal in our house which is a good thing since eating and drinking are such an integral part in the art of hygge.

I want to share a really simple recipe with you for a soda bread loaf – and when I say it’s simple I really mean it. You will have a fresh loaf on the table within about 40 minutes. We love it and it rarely lasts more than a day in our house which is just as well because this baby doesn’t keep well.

Let’s Bake!

Ingredients:

370g plain flour

130 plain wholemeal flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp salt

40g melted butter

1tbsp of honey

340ml butter milk (or make your own with milk and lemon juice)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas 6/ 200C

2. Put the flours, bicarb and salt into a large mixing bowl and combine, no need to sift. Make a hole in the centre and pour in the melted butter and honey (I like to combine these two together first) along with the buttermilk. Bring it all together into a sticky dough.

3. Tip the dough onto lightly dusted work surface and knead just enough to shape the dough into a ball shape. You must be careful not to overwork this dough or you will activate the gluten and it will become very heavy and tough to eat.

4. Place the dough on a baking tray and create the traditional cross of a soda bread loaf using a wooden spoon handle (dust lightly with flour first so it doesn’t stick) push it down until you almost feel the baking tray at the bottom without actually cutting through the dough.

5. Dust the tops with a little flour and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the bread has risen, is a nice golden brown and the dough inside where the cross was made isn’t damp.

TIP: If I’m not entirely sure the bread is cooked through but it looks a good colour, I usually cover the bread with foil so the top doesn’t burn and give it an extra 5 minutes in the oven.

6. Serve whilst still warm with butter and jam, a huge mug of tea or coffee and hygge to your heart’s content!

I want to give a special thanks to the lovely people at M&Co for helping me to stay cosy through the winter, as I mentioned in a previous post there is a lot still to come from them in the months ahead so keep your eyes peeled. You can browse the sale and a few new season pieces here.

This post was written in collaboration with M&Co. Thank you for continuing to support the sponsors that make Tinker Tailor Online possible. All words and opinions are my own.