Grandma's Irish Soda Bread - The Ultimate Comfort Food

As the weather gets cooler,  there's nothing better than great comfort food like homemade soups and  breads.   I was taught how to bake delicious Irish soda bread, with this recipe, by my grandmother Bridget Finnegan Lyons (1894 - 1989).  Please note the bread does not keep long and is best toasted from day 3 onwards.  It is sheer perfection when served with a strong Irish or English cheddar cheese.

4 cups stone ground wholewheat flour
2 cups of unbleached plain flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups of buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Mix flours, salt and bread soda thoroughly in a bowl.
Make a well in the center.
Add almost all of the buttermilk.
Mix quickly and turn out the slightly soft dough onto a well floured surface.
Knead lightly and form into a round approx 1-1/2 inches thick.
Place in lightly greased baking pan.
Make a deep cross with a sharp knife. 
Brush with a little buttermilk.

Bake in a cast iron or heavy based pan. First, bake for 20 mins at 450 degrees. Then turn down heat to 350 and continue baking for 25-30 minutes. It's baked when it sounds hollow when tapped from underneath.

To keep crust soft, wrap in a clean teatowel and place on its side to allow excess moisture and heat to escape.

John Lyons is an LA based landscape artist.  He also runs a terrific series of educational gardening classes called Earth Matters.  For more on John, check out his company The Woven Garden.