IRELAND (Republic of)

COUNTRY	IRELAND
Dishes	Irish Soda Bread
Time	1 hour
Effort	2/10
Rough cost	£3

COUNTRY	IRELAND
Capital	Dublin
Population	5,011,500 (122nd largest)
Land mass	70,273 km2 (118th largest)
Languages	Irish, English
Religion	78% Roman Catholic

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The Republic of Ireland, or Eire (Irish goddess name), is composed of 26 out of the 32 counties which make up the island of Ireland. 40% of the countries population lives in the Greater Dublin Area, on the eastern side of the island, bordered by the Irish Sea. Dublin is one of the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. The nation of Ireland was officially declared a Republic in 1949 and Ireland joined the EU in 1973.

Irish cuisine is fairly heavy on meat and dairy products, supplemented with veg (shout out to potatoes) and fish. It also features a lot of classic hearty peasant dishes such as like colcannon, stew, coddle, and boxty. Mwara made some fresh Irish soda bread which is a very traditional Irish bread loaf. This bread is super easy to make – no proving, no yeast, no problems! Bridget majorly copped out this week and just went for some pints of Guinness, which is a dry stout classically made in St. James Gate, Dublin.

RECIPES

Irish Soda Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 170g wholemeal flour
• 170g plain flour (+ extra for dusting)
• ½ tsp bicarb
• ½ tsp salt
• 290ml buttermilk

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
2. Stir the two flours, salt and bicarb into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the buttermilk in, mixing quickly with a fork to form a soft dough. (add a little more milk / flour depending on whether the dough is too sticky / wet respectively).
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 2-3 minutes. Form the dough into a round and flatten it slightly before putting it on a floured baking sheet.
4. Using a sharp implement, cut a large cross on the top and bake in your pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes (until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped). Cool on a wire rack and then enjoy warm with fresh butter.

Thank you and see you in Italy! M + B x