Cakes & Bakes: Bonnag

A couple of weeks ago, we were watching an episode of Countryfile where they hopped over to the Isle of Man.

One of the features they did from there was the annual Bonnag World Championships – which, last year, was won by 11-year-old Tom Keig.

Bonnag is a traditional Manx bread which, it is believed, has been around for hundreds of years. It can be ‘plain’ as I’ve made here or can be sweet with the addition of dried fruit such as currants, raisins, candied peel and mixed spice.

I went in search of a recipe but could only find ones with sketchy quantities and instructions. I guessed at the consistency and wetness of the dough. I thought it would be really similar to Irish soda bread in its ingredients and method. Anyway, it turned out really well. It was delicious straight from the oven with a smearing of butter!

Click here or on the image below to pin the recipe for later.

Bonnag

2017-03-15 18:10:29

The national bread of the Isle of Man

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

45 min

Total Time

55 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

45 min

Total Time

55 min

Ingredients

450g/16oz plain flour
pinch salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp cream of tartar
60g/2oz cold butter, cubed
250g buttermilk

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
Grease a baking tray and set aside
In a large mixing bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients
Rub in the cubed butter and make a well in the centre
Pour in the buttermilk and mix until the dough just comes together
Tip the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball. Do not over-knead
Place the ball of dough on to the greased baking tray and bake for ¾ of an hour or until the top becomes golden brown
Allow to cool on a wire rack

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Fruit and nut soda bread

This week has been quite busy, so today’s Cakes & Bakes is going to reflect this – it’s a fruit and nut soda bread loaf. Soda bread is delicious. It’s not an emergency or last resort loaf, but having said that, it’s a real godsend if pushed for time.

It was my birthday on Tuesday, so I had a lovely lie-in while Justin took the dog for a walk. In the afternoon, he took me for a pub lunch locally at the Staff of Life.

We stayed indoors during the evening but we shared a bottle of bubbly and caught up on some Scandi drama on television.

Yesterday, I went into Manchester city centre for yet another after-birthday lunch with a friend. Alas, after the whirlwind couple of days of being wined & dined, I’m getting back into the daily work schedule…

Fruit and nut soda bread

2018-07-23 19:03:00

Yields 1

Cook Time

40 min

Cook Time

40 min

Ingredients

350g/12oz plain flour
50g/1¾oz wheatgerm
1tsp salt
1½tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp cream of tartar

2tbsp caster sugar

40g/1½oz cold butter, cubed

250g/9oz buttermilk
50g/1¾oz currants
50g/1¾oz chopped walnuts

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Instructions

Preheat the oven and grease a 450g/1lb loaf tin
In a large mixing bowl, add flour, wheatgerm, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar and sugar and mix
Rub in the butter
Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in the buttermilk
Using a bring the mixture towards the middle, mixing until it just comes together into a ball of dough
Add the currants and walnuts and knead just a few times until the fruit and nuts are evenly distributed throughout the dough
Form into a loaf shape, add to the tin and make a single deep cut along the long side
Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden and the bottom sounds hollow when knocked
Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing and eating

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Cheese soda bread

Sometimes you want a lovely fresh loaf of home-made bread but you don’t always have the time for all the kneading and proving it can involve. On days like that I make a soda bread round. Bish, bash, bosh – it’s mixed, baked and ready to eat in just over half an hour.

I’ve not made a cheese soda bread loaf before – or even found a recipe for one anywhere – but you just know it’s one of those things that’s going to be a success!

It’s definitely one to try!

It’s lovely fresh out of the oven with a generous spread of butter. Good with pâté too – and cheese of course.

It also makes great toast and the bread’s flavour combines very well with all kinds of breakfast ingredients – bacon, sausages, beans, mushrooms. Or one of our favourites – a simple poached egg.

Cheese soda bread

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Course Bread

Cuisine British

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

200 g/7oz plain flour
150 g/5oz wholemeal flour
50 g/2oz wheatgerm
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
30 g/1oz butter cubed
300 g/10½oz buttermilk
100 g/3½oz mature cheddar cheese grated

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/430ºF/Gas mark 7
Grease a large baking tray and set aside
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients well
Rub the butter into the flour mix before making a well in the centre
Pour the buttermilk into the well and begin bringing the flour from the edge of the bowl towards the centre using a spatula or dough scraper
Add the grated cheddar and knead the dough into a ball, trying not overwork
Put the dough on to the baking tray, make a deep cross on the top using the dough scraper or large sharp knife
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on the top
Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving

The brand of buttermilk we buy in the supermarket only comes in 250g containers. We just top up the recipe amount with 50g plain or Greek yoghurt

Keyword bread, cheese,, soda bread

Our Daily Bread

It’s been a long, long time since I featured a recipe in one of our blog posts, but I just had to share this one. It was the first time that I’d made an Irish soda bread loaf and couldn’t believe how quick & easy it was!

Irish Soda Bread

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Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

225 g/8oz/2 cups unbleached plain all purpose flour
225 g/8oz/2 cups wholemeal wholewheat flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
40 g/1½oz/3tbsp butter or lard shortening
1 tsp caster superfine sugar
350-375 ml/12-13fl oz/1½-1¾ cups buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Sift the flour & salt into a large bowl
Add the bicarbonate of soda & cream of tartar, then rub in the butter or lard. Stir in the sugar
Pour in sufficient buttermilk to mix to a soft dough. Do not over-mix or the bread will be heavy & tough. Shape into a round on a lightly floured surface
Place on the prepared baking sheet and mark a cross using a sharp knife, cutting deep into the dough
Dust lightly with wholemeal flour and bake for 35-45 minutes or until well risen and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Serve warm

AND THAT’S IT!

I had a slice straight out of the oven, slathered with butter, topped with a fried egg, sprinkled with salt & cracked black pepper – delicious! It’s sure to become a regular H is for Home kitchen favourite!

The recipe above was taken from Bread by Christine Ingram & Jennie Shapter