Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Sobrasada & Irish Sheep's Cheese Soda Bread
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
20 minutes
35–40 minutes
1 hour 30 minutes (including cooling)
Serves:
1 large round loaf (8–10 wedges)
Mark created this dish for Great British Bake Off ™ Series 11. Both judges praised the loaf — a decent soda bread with a genuinely delicious cheese-crusted top — and neither questioned the pairing of soft Mallorcan sobrasada with Irish sheep's milk cheese. Their one reservation was that the flavour...
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Ingredients
FOR THE LOAF: Sobrasada, 200 g (7 oz) — soft Mallorcan cured sausage; split: 100 g rendered, 100 g diced pea-sized Buttermilk, 375–400 ml (1 1/2–1 2/3 cups), cold — start at 375 ml, flours vary Runny honey, 20 g (1 tbsp) Unsalted butter, 25 g (1 3/4 tbsp), melted and cooled slightly Plain (all-purpose) flour, 350 g (2 3/4 cups), plus extra for dusting Wholemeal (whole wheat) flour, 150 g (1 1/4 cups), coarse or medium grind Bicarbonate of soda, 8 g (1 1/2 tsp), sifted if lumpy Fine sea salt, 8 g (1 1/2 tsp) — do not increase; the sausage and cheese are both salty Sweet smoked pimentón, 4 g (1 1/2 tsp) Irish sheep's milk cheese, hard or semi-hard, 150 g (5 1/4 oz), coarsely grated — split: 100 g into the dough, 50 g reserved for the crown Chives, finely chopped, 6 g (2 tbsp), optional
FOR THE BUTTER (OPTIONAL): Double (heavy) cream, 300 ml (1 1/4 cups), cold Flaky sea salt, 3 g (1/2 tsp), to taste Sweet smoked pimentón, 1 g (1/4 tsp), optional
EQUIPMENT: Large mixing bowl Small saucepan Coarse grater Round-bladed knife or dough scraper Sharp knife Baking sheet Wire cooling rack Digital scale — strongly recommended, as buttermilk absorption varies by flour Stand mixer (optional, for the butter) Muslin (optional, for the butter)
Method
STEP 1: HEAT THE OVEN AND RENDER THE SOBRASADA
Heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6 and lightly flour a baking sheet. Break up 100 g of the sobrasada and warm it in a small saucepan over a low heat for 3–4 minutes, pressing with a spoon, until it collapses into a loose brick-orange fat with a little solid left in it. Do not let it fry or catch — you want it melted, not crisped. Take it off the heat and let it cool to lukewarm.
STEP 2: BUILD THE FLAVOURED LIQUID
Whisk the melted sobrasada and its fat into the cold buttermilk along with the honey and the melted butter. It will look alarming — orange, separated, flecked — and that is correct. Whisk until the fat is dispersed rather than floating in a single pool. Dissolving the sausage this way is what carries its flavour into every part of the crumb instead of leaving it in isolated pockets.
STEP 3: MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS
In a large bowl, combine both flours, the bicarbonate of soda, the fine sea salt and the pimentón. Mix thoroughly. The bicarb must be evenly through the flour before any liquid arrives, and the pimentón should tint the flour a faint even pink rather than streak it.
STEP 4: ADD THE SOLIDS
Dice the remaining 100 g of sobrasada into pea-sized pieces and toss them through the flour with your fingertips until each is separately coated. Add 100 g of the grated sheep's cheese and the chives if using, and toss again. Reserve the remaining 50 g of cheese for the crown — it is not to be diverted into the dough.
STEP 5: BRING THE DOUGH TOGETHER
Make a well and pour in most of the buttermilk mixture. Using a round-bladed knife or your hand held like a claw, cut and turn until you have a soft, shaggy, slightly sticky dough, adding the last of the liquid only if dry flour remains in the base of the bowl. Work fast and stop early: the moment the buttermilk meets the bicarb the rise has begun, and every extra turn spends some of it. The dough should look under-mixed.
STEP 6: SHAPE AND CUT THE CROSS
Turn out onto a lightly floured worktop and shape into a round of about 18 cm / 7 in with two or three gentle movements — no kneading. Lift onto the floured baking sheet and flatten very slightly with your palm. With a sharp knife, cut a deep cross most of the way to the base without cutting through, opening the quarters slightly.
STEP 7: CROWN THE LOAF
Press the reserved 50 g of grated cheese firmly into the open cross and scatter it over the crown. It will catch and brown into a savoury crust, and it is the part of the bake the judges singled out — leave it at full strength.
STEP 8: BAKE
Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the loaf is deep golden, the cheese on top has caramelised and the base sounds hollow when tapped. If the top is colouring hard before the centre is set, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes rather than dropping the oven temperature. A skewer through the middle should come out clean of raw dough; melted cheese and sausage fat on the skewer are expected.
STEP 9: COOL
Transfer to a wire rack and leave for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Soda bread finishes setting as it cools, and cutting it hot gives a gummy crumb. Warm is ideal; hot is not.
STEP 10: CHURN THE BUTTER (OPTIONAL)
Whisk the cold double cream in a stand mixer on medium until it curdles and the buttermilk separates. Drain through muslin, squeeze out the excess liquid, then work in the flaky sea salt and a pinch of pimentón to echo the loaf.
STEP 11: TO SERVE
Cut into thick wedges and serve warm with the butter. Take a bite from the very centre of a wedge, with no crust and no top cheese in it: it should taste clearly of smoked paprika and cured pork.
EQUIPMENT:
Large mixing bowl
Small saucepan
Coarse grater
Round-bladed knife or dough scraper
Sharp knife
Baking sheet
Wire cooling rack
Digital scale — strongly recommended, as buttermilk absorption varies by flour
Stand mixer (optional, for the butter)
Muslin (optional, for the butter)
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Instructions
FOR THE LOAF:
Sobrasada, 200 g (7 oz) — soft Mallorcan cured sausage; split: 100 g rendered, 100 g diced pea-sized
Buttermilk, 375–400 ml (1 1/2–1 2/3 cups), cold — start at 375 ml, flours vary
Runny honey, 20 g (1 tbsp)
Unsalted butter, 25 g (1 3/4 tbsp), melted and cooled slightly
Plain (all-purpose) flour, 350 g (2 3/4 cups), plus extra for dusting
Wholemeal (whole wheat) flour, 150 g (1 1/4 cups), coarse or medium grind
Bicarbonate of soda, 8 g (1 1/2 tsp), sifted if lumpy
Fine sea salt, 8 g (1 1/2 tsp) — do not increase; the sausage and cheese are both salty
Sweet smoked pimentón, 4 g (1 1/2 tsp)
Irish sheep's milk cheese, hard or semi-hard, 150 g (5 1/4 oz), coarsely grated — split: 100 g into the dough, 50 g reserved for the crown
Chives, finely chopped, 6 g (2 tbsp), optional
FOR THE BUTTER (OPTIONAL):
Double (heavy) cream, 300 ml (1 1/4 cups), cold
Flaky sea salt, 3 g (1/2 tsp), to taste
Sweet smoked pimentón, 1 g (1/4 tsp), optional
EQUIPMENT:
Large mixing bowl
Small saucepan
Coarse grater
Round-bladed knife or dough scraper
Sharp knife
Baking sheet
Wire cooling rack
Digital scale — strongly recommended, as buttermilk absorption varies by flour
Stand mixer (optional, for the butter)
Muslin (optional, for the butter)
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: HEAT THE OVEN AND RENDER THE SOBRASADA
Heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6 and lightly flour a baking sheet. Break up 100 g of the sobrasada and warm it in a small saucepan over a low heat for 3–4 minutes, pressing with a spoon, until it collapses into a loose brick-orange fat with a little solid left in it. Do not let it fry or catch — you want it melted, not crisped. Take it off the heat and let it cool to lukewarm.
STEP 2: BUILD THE FLAVOURED LIQUID
Whisk the melted sobrasada and its fat into the cold buttermilk along with the honey and the melted butter. It will look alarming — orange, separated, flecked — and that is correct. Whisk until the fat is dispersed rather than floating in a single pool. Dissolving the sausage this way is what carries its flavour into every part of the crumb instead of leaving it in isolated pockets.
STEP 3: MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS
In a large bowl, combine both flours, the bicarbonate of soda, the fine sea salt and the pimentón. Mix thoroughly. The bicarb must be evenly through the flour before any liquid arrives, and the pimentón should tint the flour a faint even pink rather than streak it.
STEP 4: ADD THE SOLIDS
Dice the remaining 100 g of sobrasada into pea-sized pieces and toss them through the flour with your fingertips until each is separately coated. Add 100 g of the grated sheep's cheese and the chives if using, and toss again. Reserve the remaining 50 g of cheese for the crown — it is not to be diverted into the dough.
STEP 5: BRING THE DOUGH TOGETHER
Make a well and pour in most of the buttermilk mixture. Using a round-bladed knife or your hand held like a claw, cut and turn until you have a soft, shaggy, slightly sticky dough, adding the last of the liquid only if dry flour remains in the base of the bowl. Work fast and stop early: the moment the buttermilk meets the bicarb the rise has begun, and every extra turn spends some of it. The dough should look under-mixed.
STEP 6: SHAPE AND CUT THE CROSS
Turn out onto a lightly floured worktop and shape into a round of about 18 cm / 7 in with two or three gentle movements — no kneading. Lift onto the floured baking sheet and flatten very slightly with your palm. With a sharp knife, cut a deep cross most of the way to the base without cutting through, opening the quarters slightly.
STEP 7: CROWN THE LOAF
Press the reserved 50 g of grated cheese firmly into the open cross and scatter it over the crown. It will catch and brown into a savoury crust, and it is the part of the bake the judges singled out — leave it at full strength.
STEP 8: BAKE
Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the loaf is deep golden, the cheese on top has caramelised and the base sounds hollow when tapped. If the top is colouring hard before the centre is set, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes rather than dropping the oven temperature. A skewer through the middle should come out clean of raw dough; melted cheese and sausage fat on the skewer are expected.
STEP 9: COOL
Transfer to a wire rack and leave for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Soda bread finishes setting as it cools, and cutting it hot gives a gummy crumb. Warm is ideal; hot is not.
STEP 10: CHURN THE BUTTER (OPTIONAL)
Whisk the cold double cream in a stand mixer on medium until it curdles and the buttermilk separates. Drain through muslin, squeeze out the excess liquid, then work in the flaky sea salt and a pinch of pimentón to echo the loaf.
STEP 11: TO SERVE
Cut into thick wedges and serve warm with the butter. Take a bite from the very centre of a wedge, with no crust and no top cheese in it: it should taste clearly of smoked paprika and cured pork.
EQUIPMENT:
Large mixing bowl
Small saucepan
Coarse grater
Round-bladed knife or dough scraper
Sharp knife
Baking sheet
Wire cooling rack
Digital scale — strongly recommended, as buttermilk absorption varies by flour
Stand mixer (optional, for the butter)
Muslin (optional, for the butter)
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