Shamrock Bread with Wild Garlic

Ingredients
450g plain white flour
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 level tsp salt
3-4 tbsp chopped wild garlic (allium triquetrum)
350-400ml sour milk or buttermilk (the quantity depends on the thickness of the milk)

Method
Preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas Mark 8.
Soda bread is best cooked in a conventional oven rather than a fan or convection oven.
Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl, add the chopped wild garlic. Make a well in the centre and pour most of the milk in at once.
Using one hand with the fingers stiff and outstretched, mix in a full circular movement from the centre to the outside of the bowl, gradually drawing in the flour from the sides. Add a little more milk if necessary — shop bought buttermilk is thinner than farm-fresh, so you will need less rather than more. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky. The trick with all soda breads is not to overmix the dough — mix the dough as quickly and as gently as possible, keeping it really light and airy. When it all comes together, a matter of seconds, turn it out onto a well-floured work surface.
Wash and dry your hands then dust them with flour.
Tidy up the dough and flip it over gently. Divide into three equal pieces and pull off a tiny bit for the stem. Pat each into rounds, about 4cm deep. Transfer to a lightly floured baking tray, use a little buttermilk to attach the leaves of the shamrock to each other.
Add a little stem at the base, make a little indent at the top of each leaf to imitate the shamrock shape. With the tip of a sharp knife, prick in the centre of each leaf to let the fairies out otherwise they will jinx your bread!
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200°C/Gas Mark 6 and bake for 30 minutes more, until cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread – if it’s fully cooked, it will sound hollow. Allow to cool on a wire rack and serve.
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