Granny's perfect Irish soda bread recipe that is ready to eat in minutes

A reporter has shared a family heirloom of a recipe that has been passed down through generations - and it only requires four ingredients.

Martha Brennan has spilled the family secret while writing for the Irish Star, and said that the recipe 'couldn't be easier'.

The writer noted that her grandmother used to be able to whip out the soda bread in a matter of minutes, as she said: "There were sometimes variations - an egg to bring it together or a knob of butter for moisture - but the core ingredients were always the same. White flour, brown flour, baking soda and buttermilk.

"She would take turns teaching each of her grandchildren how to make it, dunking our unwilling hands right into the gooey mixture.

"That last step is what's really key: mixing the dough with your hands versus a spoon makes it much easier to combine and judge the mixture. It might be disconcerting at first, but what's more authentic than putting the electric mixture to one side and going back to tradition?"

Martha warned avid recipe lovers that you will need to use a specific type of flour in order for the process to work perfectly.

She added: "Irish wholemeal flour is coarse and contains pieces of bran and wheat germ that give brown bread its iconic texture and taste."

You can find wholemeal flour in most supermarkets, such as this Allinson wholemeal plain flour for £2.10 from Tesco, and Sainsbury's own-brand wholemeal flour for just £1.50.

Read on below for the perfect Irish soda bread recipe, according to Martha's grandmother.

The 'perfect' Irish soda bread recipe

Ingredients

• Plain white flour
• Wholemeal brown flour
• One teaspoon of baking soda
• Buttermilk

Method

To begin, preheat the oven to 200C and grab a large mixing bowl. The amount of flour you will require will depend on the size of loaf that you are aiming for.

Martha said: "My grandmother measured in fistfuls, or 'fishts' as she would say in her West Cork accent. Start with maybe five fistfuls of white flour and four fistfuls of brown flour."

Next, add in the teaspoon of baking soda. Martha added: " also like to add in a few spoons of sugar if you have it on hand."

Then, pour in just enough buttermilk to wet the dough and give it a mix with your hands. It should almost come together in a ball. If not add in more buttermilk.

If you then make the mixture too wet, then add in more white flour. If you can't find any buttermilk, or have none to hand, then squeeze half a lemon into some normal milk and let it sit for five minutes instead for some DIY buttermilk.

Dump the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times until it's shaped into a round.

Cut a cross into the round shape and then place it onto a floured-up tray.

Bake the bread for around 15 to 20 minutes and remove it from the oven. Turn it upside down, and then put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. It should make a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom of it.

Let the bread cool, then enjoy your perfect soda bread with some butter and jam.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.