YOU WILL NEED:450g bread flour; 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda; 300 ml yoghurt (full fat will give a lighter texture than low-fat) ;1 tsp salt
TO MAKE:
Preheat the oven to 230°C/gas 8. Dust a baking tray with a little flour.
Sift flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a very large bowl. Pour most of the yoghurt into the flour, saving about 100ml fluid in the jug. Cup your hand tightly and stir it around the bowl, bringing the mixture together to make a soft dough. If it’s not coming together, add more yoghurt until it does.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface dusted with flour. Gently gather the bread into a round by shaping your hands to be a rough circle a little larger than the dough and turning anti-clockwise a quarter turn or so every time. Flip over, pat into a neat round and lift onto the baking tray. Mark a couple of slashes across the bread and poke the knife into 4 points around the sides. This lets steam escape so the loaf cooks evenly – it keeps the bread light.
Bake for 15 minutes, turn down the oven down to 200°C/gas mark 6 and bake for a further 20 minutes. Turn the bread over and continue baking for 10–20 minutes until it sounds hollow when tapped. Best eaten on the day it’s made, but makes a fantastic bread salad or croutons the next day.
Bread but more interesting
To make this into flatbread, leave to sit for 20 minutes at the point you turn it onto the work surface. Divide into 8 pieces and roll out on a generously floured surface. Cook in a wide, flat pan on a medium heat, turn over when the top puffs up. Serve plain or brush with garlic butter.
For a mezze or salad, brush the cooked bread liberally with Trewithen butter that has been slowly melted with a couple of large rosemary stalks. Crumble a generous pinch or two of Cornish sea salt over the top and pop into a very hot oven for a couple of minutes. Serve piping hot.
For flat bread pizzas, cook the breads lightly on each side, brush with oil or butter, top and cook in the oven for 7-10 minutes.
Turkish-topped flatbreads: fry minced lamb with cumin and cinnamon. Spread the cooked flatbread with chilli jam, spread the mince mixture across the top and bake in a medium hot oven for 5-6 minutes. Top with chopped coriander and mint and a drizzle of Trewithen natural yoghurt and fresh chopped chilli if you like it spicy.
Soda scones: Mix a generous handful of currants or sultanas through the dough. Cut the bread mix into 6-8 pieces roughly the same size and shape to rounds, brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 200°C/gas 6 for 10-12 minutes.
Sloppy Joes: a couple largish spoonfulls of ragout will go a long way with some bread. Add water to thin it out a bit to be more of a pouring consistency. Slice the cooked soda bread fairly thick and place side by side in a shallow baking tin. Cover with sliced tomato, a good pinch of paprika and salt. Spoon over the sauce and grate cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes in a hot oven until cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve with a green salad, olives, pickles or relish.