Recipe For Leek And Cheese Soda Bread

I could collapse right now from pure exhaustion. As I type this (21st September) it has been a week since I slept well. On the Sunday night that we were in Oban I did not get a very good night’s sleep. I think this has to do with a combination of factors. The first being the amount of light that came into the room from the hotel passage lights and the second being the fact that it was the last night of our holiday. Then on the Tuesday night we flew from Paris to Johannesburg. That flight leaves at 23h30 so by the time you have had dinner it is early morning. I took a sleeping tablet and slept, but economy class seats do not make for comfortable sleeping. I must admit to only waking up at 8am which was great. Dave and I decided that on our first night home we would not set the alarm and so Wednesday night we went to bed early – about 9pm, and woke up at 6am! So much for sleeping in. Then life went back to normality and Thursday night we were in bed at 10pm and up at 5h45. Friday night we went out with friends for dinner and we got home and watched the very end of the first match of the Rugby World Cup. Saturday we were up bright and early and headed for the farmer’s market. I came home, and using leeks that I had bought, made this leek and cheese soda bread. I divided the dough in half, placed one lot into the fridge, and the other was baked to take with us to friends. We went over to watch the South Africans lose to Japan and that necessitated a few glasses bottles of wine. We ate late, commiserated and spoke of anything but the game. Sunday we slept in but, as our area was zoned for electrical maintenance I could not do any of my blog baking. Instead we went to friends for an afternoon braai. We then had a visitor and after he left I put the second loaf into the oven to bake. I only took it out of the fridge when I turned the oven on, and I was really surprised at how well it turned out. Dave and I had the bread with sweet potato soup for dinner, and stayed up very late watching Vettel win the Singapore Formula 1 race. Now it is Monday morning and I am counting the minutes down to my third cup of coffee, and a slice of my soda bread.

500g bread flour, plus extra for dusting 12g fine salt 300mls buttermilk 75g soft butter 20g baking powder 1 large leek, white part only, finely chopped 75g mature Cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 220° Celsius Line a baking tray Place the flour, salt, buttermilk, butter and baking powder into a stand mixer bowl Use a flat beater and mix on a medium speed for 2 minutes Add the leeks and the cheese and mix until incorporated Turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide in 2 Roll each piece into a ball Flatten to 5cm thick Cut a deep cross into the dough and dust with flour Place onto the baking tray Bake for 40 minutes, turning the bread over for the last 10 minutes Turn onto a wire rack to cool and serve warm You can freeze buttermilk - defrost in the fridge overnight.

I used my pizza stone instead of a baking tray.

You can mix the dough by hand for 5 minutes if you don't have a stand mixer.

You can place half into the fridge and bake when needed 3.4.3177

Click on the links for conversions and notes.

The Inside Of My Leek And Cheese Soda Bread

Blog-checking lines: For the month of September Meredith from the Poco Loco Olsons challenged us to experiment with soda bread.

What I blogged September 28:

Tandy

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About Tandy

Tandy is passionate about using regional, seasonable and sustainable produce when she cooks. She lives in Gordons Bay in a cottage with her husband, three dogs, a tortoise and a fish. Tandy and Dave are busy building a house which is an adventure all in itself. Each year they visit a new place to experience the food of the area and you can follow along on their adventures.