Fancy filling your kitchen with baking aroma and treating your nearest and dearest to a tasty treat? Then you should try out this recipe for Treacle Bread brought to us by the Head Chef and owner of Bakestone Cafe/Deli/Bakery, Ali Honour.......
Soda bread is an old staple but here's a super quick and easily adaptable recipe which is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Ingredients:
14oz course ground wholemeal flour
2oz plain flour
1 heaped tsp wheat bran
1 heaped tsp wheat germ
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp bread soda
14oz buttermilk
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 egg
3 tsp treacle
Method:
1. Put all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
2. Separately, whisk the oil and egg into the buttermilk (a little less buttermilk replaced with stout is also an option) and pour into the bowl containing the dry mix.
3. Heat the treacle slightly (this makes it easy to mix) and add to the mixture.
4. The best way to mix is to roll up your sleeves and do it by hand. It only takes a matter of seconds and it's great to get a feel of your dough.
5. You can add any seeds or nuts of your choice at this point. (I have been making a great fruity little number with a handful of cranberries and sultanas, a handful of toasted hazelnuts, a sprinkling of sunflower and pumpkin seeds and 1tsp of vanilla extract.)
6. Lightly grease your 2lb loaf tin or you can make it on a round on a baking tray.
7. Bake at 180c/gas 5 for 20 mins, then 155c/gas 3 for 55 mins.
Now you can eat it straight away, warm from the oven. However, if there is any left, it is delicious toasted the next day for breakfast with butter and marmalade or eggs and a fresh pot of coffee.
Of course, you could always go all out with the fruity one and add a big blob of vanilla mascarpone, your favourite berries and a drizzle of honey. (Yummy!)
Bake Fest Galway 2014, a two day national baking festival, is returning to Leisureland Galway on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th October. Bake Fest 2014 is a not for profit organisation and all proceeds will go to Ireland’s national meningitis support and awareness charity ACT for Meningitis. 
