Better Soda Bread

I have written many times about the therapeutic nature of baking bread with my bare hands – the pounding, pummelling and stretching that kneading requires is an excellent workout for nervous energy, both mental and physical, as is the slow rise and the soft yeasty scent that permeates my home as the dough starts to rise. But sometimes there isn’t time, or energy, or there’s a soup on the back burner and I want something a little more instantaneous. Soda bread is a brilliant standby for thes