Here’s a low-fat recipe in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

(It’s for an Irish soda bread, so it’s not a good recipe if you are on a no carb diet.)

I will give you the basic recipe first, and then some variations.

Basic recipe.

4 cups flour (I like to make this 2 cups whole wheat flour, and 2 cups all-purpose flour)

2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease and lightly flour the baking sheet.

Put the flour in a large bowl, along with the baking soda and salt. Use a whisk or fork to combine it well,
and make a well in the center. Pour in the buttermilk. Using either your hand, or a wooden spoon, stir until the mixture is blended. It should produce a soft dough, if it is too wet and sticky, add a little bit more flour. Try not to overwork the dough, as it will make for a tougher loaf.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface, and using floured hands, shape the dough gently into a round. (Before you shape the dough, you can also cut it in half, and make two small loaves rather than one large loaf.) Flatten the loaf slightly, it should be about 2 inches high. Transfer it to the baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut a deep cross into the top of the loaf, and prick each of the four segments.
If you’re baking two small loaves, reduce the cooking time given below.) Bake the bread for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°. Continue baking until the loaf is golden brown, and sounds hollow when tapped, another 20 to 30 minutes. (Oven temperatures vary, you may need to adjust these cooking times to your oven.) Transfer the soda bread to a wire rack and let cool 20 to 30 minutes.

This basic recipe has about 8 g of fat in total, 4 g from the buttermilk, and 4 g if you use 2 cups of whole
wheat flour.

Some variations on this recipe:

Add 1 cup of raisins or currants, which have been plumped in boiled water for 10 to 15 minutes and drain well.

Add 1 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans. (You could also add 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup nuts.)

If your prefer sweeter soda bread, add a few tablespoons of sugar to the buttermilk and mix well. The sugar will add about 45 calories a tablespoon, but as little as three or 4 tablespoons makes the bread pleasantly sweet.

You can make this recipe with all whole wheat flour, it makes for a slightly denser loaf, and requires a
little bit more liquid, be careful not to add too much though. (You can also make it with all all-purpose
flour, which makes for a much lighter loaf, but I prefer the texture of the whole wheat and all-purpose flour mixture.)

This is a fairly easy bread to make, and you can be enjoying it in less than two hours.

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