The practice of using baking soda started out of necessity. Yeast won't make dough rise unless the baker uses "strong" flour, which was scarce in parts of Ireland. Baking soda, however, could be counted on to leaven bread. The baking soda has to be combined with something acidic in order to do its magic. In this case, we've used buttermilk. So, not only is this a historic and tasty recipe; it's pretty foolproof, too.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1-2/3 cups buttermilk

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub in the cold butter or margarine until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour in most of the buttermilk; you may need slightly less, depending on the balance of white and whole wheat flour. Mix well, turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

2. Shape the dough into a round loaf. Cut a cross in the top with a sharp knife and put the loaf in a greased round pan, such as a cake pan or pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Let cool before cutting. Makes one 6 inch loaf.

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