This week, all two days of it, has taken it’s toll. I feel like an auld one. My shoulders in particular ache. My mind is impressively dull. What’s half of 45? 27.5? No. It’s not. It took me four goes online and one call to a certain shoe shop, let’s call it wOffice, to not buy a pair of boots. For the love of all that is good in this world how could it be so complicated. So I write this post barefoot and exhausted.

I made this bread last week in an attempt to not eat sliced pan for lunch. It turned out quite well. Enormous but well. The original recipe says serves 6. I can only assume that refers to the baked beans he makes on the same page because the bread will serve a shag load more.

Now the Tom in question is not my Tom. It’s Tom Kerridge. His take on the traditional Irish soda bread is lovely, he adds strong flour. It makes the bread slightly springier and easier to slice. I’ve altered his recipe only slightly and due only to the limitations of my cupboards.

Tom Kerridge amuses me, he reminds me of a huge, good natured baby. He’s presenting the new fancy Bake Off on BBC. I like his new, not so buttoned up shirt look. The show itself is mad. I think I prefer the original.

Ok. Off we go.

Oven temperature 200 Celsius

Butter                                       85g

Wholemeal flour                  340g

Strong white flour               340g

Malthouse flour                     110g

(if you don’t have malthouse flour just use some more wholemeal or some other interesting flour like rye or spelt)

Baking soda                             2 teaspoons

Salt and pepper

Buttermilk                              400ml

Whole milk                             250ml

Preheat the oven and find a good, big baking tray. Dust the tray lightly with some flour.

Melt your butter.

In a large mixing bowl put in all of the dry ingredients and give it a good mix.

Measure out the milks.

Add the milks and butter to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine. The mix should hold its form and not be too runny. If it is, add more flour. If it’s a bit dry, add a dash of milk.

Scoop it out onto the tray into a large heap. In theory you should slash it but I didn’t.

Put the heap into the oven for 40-55mins.

It should be a good deep brown colour when cooked and hollow when you tap it’s bottom. Rarr.

Let it cool down a good bit before trying to slice.

Eat it with loads of butter.