Cheese and onion soda bread for soup night

On soup nights, I like a warm loaf on the table. Yeast bread needs hours, and I rarely have hours on a weekday. Soda bread needs none: no kneading, no rising, no waiting. I stir it together in one bowl, it goes into the oven, and forty minutes later there is a craggy, golden loaf with cheese melting through it. It is the bread I make most in autumn and winter.

Soda bread rises because bicarbonate of soda reacts with something sour, usually buttermilk. If I have no buttermilk, I stir a tablespoon of lemon juice into milk and leave it for five minutes, and it works just as well.

For one round loaf I use 450 g of plain flour, or half plain and half wholemeal, one level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, one teaspoon of salt, 100 g of mature Cheddar, grated, two spring onions or a small red onion, finely chopped, and about 400 ml of buttermilk.

I measure the bicarbonate carefully with a proper measuring spoon, level, not heaped. Too much makes the bread taste soapy and turns it yellow-green inside.

I heat the oven to 200°C, or 180°C for a fan oven, and dust a baking tray with flour. In a large bowl I mix the flour, bicarbonate and salt, then stir through most of the cheese and the onion, keeping a small handful of cheese for the top.

I make a well in the middle, pour in most of the buttermilk, and stir with a table knife or my hand, quickly, just until it comes together into a soft, slightly sticky dough. If it is dry, I add the rest. Speed matters here, because the bicarbonate starts working as soon as it meets the buttermilk, so the bread should go into the oven straight away.

I do not knead it. I tip it onto a floured surface, shape it gently into a round about 5 cm high, and put it on the tray. With a floured knife I cut a deep cross into the top, almost to the bottom. The old saying is that the cross lets the fairies out; in practice, it helps the middle of the loaf bake through. I scatter the rest of the cheese on top.

It bakes for 35 to 40 minutes, until it is risen, deep golden, and sounds hollow when I turn it over and tap the bottom. If it sounds dull, it goes back for five more minutes. Then it cools on a rack for at least twenty minutes. Cut too hot, the middle is gummy.

Soda bread is at its best on the day it is made, warm, with butter and a bowl of soup. On the second day it is wonderful toasted. It also freezes well in slices. I keep it wrapped in a clean tea towel, not in plastic, so the crust stays crisp.

The dough contains raw flour, so the children do not eat it from the bowl, however good it smells. This loaf contains wheat and milk, which I mention to guests.

Cheese and onion soda bread. Makes 1 loaf. About 50 minutes. You need 450 g plain flour, 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp salt, 100 g grated mature Cheddar, 2 spring onions and about 400 ml buttermilk (or milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice). Mix the dry ingredients with most of the cheese and onion, add the buttermilk, bring together quickly, shape a round and cut a deep cross. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 200°C (180°C fan) for 35–40 minutes.

What do you like to eat with your soup?