The Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread photo guide

Here goes :

the dry ingredients

the jugs – Guinness and yogurt

the bowl of black treacle

slowly add the Guinness to the treacle

to loosen

add the yogurt to the Guinness and treacle

and whisk together

the dry combined with the wet

ingredients

the bread on the baking tray – see the

dusting of flour underneath

the loaf, marked into quarters -

the long handle of a wooden spoon works

beautifully!

Ta dah – fresh from the oven

sliced in half – looks good enough to eat

a quarter, ready with a pot of butter

it would be rude not to!

Coming up … the verdict and the sweet treat

Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread … hints and tips

… continued

I mentioned making sure your mixing bowl was set on a non slip mat, alternatively you could use a dampened j cloth.

Here's my non slip mat – a Le Creuset Cool Tool. This mat protects your surfaces from heat and scratches but I've used mine – which I've had for ages – as a non-slip mat and if, like me, you struggle opening stubborn lids on jars the mat does that too!

These mats are brilliant pieces of kit – I would never recommend any kitchen kit that wasn't worth the dosh and I don't believe in filling my kitchen with large pieces of equipment I'll use once and then commit to the discarded equipment heap in the sky or garage, whichever is most convenient!

The Cool Tool is available in cool colours – black, blue, cerise, teal, ultra violet and volcanic. I use mine underneath my mixing bowls but they are also perfect to place on a tray ready for a hot plate of food or bowl of soup. They take multitasking to a whole new level.

Here's a photo :

Time for the photo guide :

Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread …

… the method and hints and tips.

Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Grease a large baking tray or line with baking parchment. Put the flours, oats, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a mixing bowl and toss together. Add the butter and, using your fingertips, rub it into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. In a jug or second mixing bowl, stir together the Guinness, yogurt and treacle, until the treacle more or less dissolves – this will take a little while, but stir patiently and it will come together.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and, with a spatula, wooden spoon or firm hand, bring everything together into a rough dough. Knead for a moment on a worktop, just until the dough has come together, then shape into a rough ball and put on the prepared baking tray. Dust the ball of dough liberally with flour, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to press a deep cross into the dough, ensuring you don't go all the way through the dough, so all 4 quarters are still connected. Bake for 50 minutes until golden, crispy and steaming.

This is the recipe taken directly from the magazine. I've a few suggestions that will make life easier.

It mentions “grease a large baking tray or line with baking parchment”. In all my bread making I've never greased or lined a baking tray. I sprinkle a non-stick baking tray with flour and “swirl” so it covers the tray. The bread doesn't stick – ever.

If you take your butter straight from the fridge as you begin, weigh and cut it into small cubes and place on a piece of cling film by the time you've weighed the remainder of your ingredients your butter will be soft enough to rub into the dry ingredients.

With regard to the “wet” ingredients you'll find life much easier if you begin by weighing the black treacle directly into a small mixing bowl. Weigh your Guinness and yogurt in separate jugs. Make sure your mixing bowl is set on a non slip mat – if you don't have one then use a dampened j cloth.

Gradually drizzle the Guinness into the treacle, stirring all the time and it will loosen, continue until combined. Use a small whisk when adding the yogurt to prevent it splitting. The process takes no time at all.

There's more …

I promised a treat or two … one savoury, one sweet – here's the savoury

Every now and again a recipe catches my eye. It has been a while but recently I came across “Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread” in the January edition of Waitrose Food January 2020 -The Feel Good Issue.

I have always had a weakness for good bread. There's nothing like home-made bread – the only problem is that it's a bit of a faff and it takes too long … unless you're making soda bread – no yeast or kneading needed – what's not to love.

Not surprising then that this caught my attention. The recipe looks easy – the photo is fab so lets give it a go. This is genuine research – so many recipes are a let down, inaccurate – you're drawn in by the clever photography and the Food Stylist.

What follows is the exact recipe from the magazine, followed by some hints and tips and finally a photo guide.

“Wholesome, rustic soda bread looks and tastes like something that hours of love and care have gone into. In reality, it's wonderfully simple and with no yeast or kneading required, a warm loaf can be out of the oven in about an hour”.

Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread

400g strong white bread flour

extra for dusting

100g strong wholemeal flour

50g jumbo oats

10g fine salt

1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

40g unsalted butter, cubed

150g Guinness

175g natural yogurt

60g black treacle

You can see why I fancied this loaf!

Next up … the method

Pastry preferences ...

… there's lots of choice!

This wholemeal pastry recipe is easy and very kind and freezes well.

Pastry case

200g plain wholemeal flour

100g unsalted butter

pinch of baking powder

ice cold water to bind

Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs, then gradually add a glug of water and use and round bladed knife to bring the pastry together.

You can use a processor to reach the breadcrumb stage if you prefer – I'd then tip the pastry into a mixing bowl and add the water by hand.

Rest the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out your “lid” to fit the casserole or pie dish you're using – I use a square casserole measuring 24x24 cms - 9” in old money.

You can find the fast flaky pastry recipe on the Pastry label – there's a photo guide too. I'd suggest you double the recipe for a similar sized lid.

A reminder … there's no pressure here – if you've leftover “roast” and no time to deal with it freeze it but before you do weigh the meat – if you're short of the 400g you can always supplement with the roasted onions and 250g of sliced chestnuts mushrooms, sautéed until any liquid has been absorbed.

Another reminder … you don't have to use any of these suggestions – you can always cheat – use a ready-made puff pastry or shortcrust sheet!

Time out I think from all the organising – we deserve a treat or two.

What to do with leftover roast ...

If you have leftover roast meat or poultry either fridged or in the freezer, how about a curry pie? A lump of leftover roast beef is perfect. As a guide 400g to serve four.

Here's another thought – when you're choosing veggies for your roast and creating extras to use during the week add a couple of medium size onions, peeled and quartered in the roasting pan. You won't be sorry – roasted onions are sweet and delicious.

Whether it's leftover roast beef or chicken (sliced or diced) or a veggie version they are all perfect submerged in a curry sauce.

You do have to decide what sort of top you'd like – sliced cooked baked potato or a wholemeal shortcrust or a flaky puff pastry.

We've explored the fast flaky recently – it would get my vote but any of the other variations are just as good.

If you use the sliced cooked baked potato route, spread the top layer in a bombay aloo spice mix for extra punch.

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp ginger paste or 1” fresh, grated.

2 cloves of roasted garlic or 2 cloves of fresh, crushed

1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, garam masala and curry powder. Use a curry powder that best suits your palate and how much heat you like – mild, medium or hot

1 tsp salt or to taste

Using a medium frying pan, fry the onions in the oil until soft – 3-4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, spices and salt. Fry so that the spices are released - 3-4 minutes. Spread over the top layer of the sliced, cooked, baked potatoes before heating. You can make this “spread” ahead, box (tightly) and fridge.

If you do prefer pastry …

More treasure for the chest … freezer

Are you with me so far? I should probably be asking are you still interested!

Next up, more elements for you to make and freeze – not necessarily quickly – but you'll be really pleased with the results when you can assemble delicious home-made meals – fast.

Who doesn't love a curry – everyone needs a curry sauce in their culinary library – here's mine:

Chip Shop Curry Sauce

50g unsalted butter

2 large onions, finely sliced and chopped

1 tsp of ginger paste

4 roasted garlic cloves

3 tbsp mild curry powder

3 tbsp malt vinegar

½ tsp star anise powder

500ml of the slow cooked star anise chicken stock

2 tbsp slaked cornflour

2 tbsp lemon juice

160ml coconut cream

Using a large saucepan melt the butter and add the onions, garlic and ginger. Fry gently until soft – about 15 minutes, make sure there's no colour. Add the curry powder, star anise powder and vinegar, fry for another minute. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stir occasionally, you don't want it to stick.

Add two tbsp of water to the cornflour, mix and pour into the sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stir until you've got a silky, thickened sauce. Blitz with a hand blender until smooth, add the lemon juice.

You will get approximately 630g of thick curry sauce - I'd divide in half - 315g into two boxes and deposit in the treasure chest!

The sauce freezes well and I'd suggest you might want to do so in portions you know will suit you best. Remember, you can always take out more than one box, infinitely better than wasting part of a larger one.

Defrost the sauce in the fridge, then tip into a medium saucepan and warm it through. If you want to loosen the thickness but enrich the sauce add 160ml of coconut cream and stir until thoroughly absorbed.

It's difficult to get the right balance of “heat” and “spice” in a curry sauce and inevitably you can't please everyone. Chip shop curry is not as strong as traditional curries. To give you an idea of “heat” and “spice” I'd say it's not as hot and spicy as a rendang and not as mild as a korma, so middle for diddle, suitable for everyone.

Clearly this curry sauce takes time – I can only say that it's definitely worth the effort!

By the way, you don't have to use the anise chicken stock, ordinary chicken stock is fine or vegetable stock if you want a veggie version.

Next … what to do with a lump of leftover roast beef