Whole Grain Soda Bread

In this chilly winter weather, simple meals of hot soup, bread and cheese provide warm comfort as well as nourishment.

I decided to heat up the kitchen with this quick soda bread in a skillet the other evening. It tasted even better than it looks, if that's possible, and lasted for a few days in the fridge as we reheated pieces of it to eat with our Bean and Kale Soup.

Soda breads are easy to stir together with flour, baking soda and buttermilk. Because I can't find organic buttermilk, I use regular milk with 1 tbsp of lemon juice poured into the measuring cup before I measure each cup of milk. It won't look like buttermilk, but it will have the same chemical reaction with the baking soda that causes the bread to rise nicely and have a light crumb.

I made this soda bread a little more complicated by using whole grains of millet and quinoa, along with rolled oats and both whole wheat and white flours.

I lightly sweetened the bread with Lyle's golden syrup - not organic but authentically British. Organic brown rice syrup would be an excellent substitute.

Whole Grain Soda Bread

¼ cup millet

¼ cup quinoa

1 cup rolled oats

2 ¼ cups buttermilk (made with lemon juice okay)

1 tbsp oil

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

¼ cup sunflower seeds

4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 tbsp golden syrup or brown rice syrup

Combine millet, quinoa, 1 cup rolled oats, 1 cup buttermilk and ½ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from heat and let sit until mixture is thick like porridge, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Whisk te whole wheat flour, white flour, salt, baking soda, and ¼ cup sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Work in the butter with your fingers until the largest pieces are pea-size. Make a well in the center and add the syrup, oat mixture, 1 ¼ cups buttermilk and 1 tbsp oil. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough is smooth, homogeneous, and still slightly sticky.

Form dough into a rough ball and place it in the skillet. Brush with a little more milk or buttermilk, and sprinkle a few rolled oats and sunflower seeds on top. Cut a large X into the top and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55-70 minutes. Let cool in pan.