Buttermilk Soda Bread

With only a few days left with my library lent copy of "Super Natural Everyday" I figured I ought to try and squeeze in a few more of Swanson's recipes.
As soon as I had read about her Rye Soda bread I knew it was time to get back into the habit of bread baking.

Despite the fact that as a housewife I usually have oodles of time to do all my housewifey projects, there are still days when I just feel like I don't have enough time to get everything done or tackle seemingly time consuming tasks such as baking bread. Soda bread is unbelievably quick (well, in terms of bread baking that is) and still super tasty. If you've been nervous about trying to bake bread you've gotta try this recipe. It's perfect for beginners!

From "Super Natural Everyday" by Heidi Swanson

2 1/3 cup rye flour (I used whole wheat instead)
1 3/4 cup white flour (plus more for dusting and kneading)
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 cups buttermilk (plus more for brushing)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven.
Combine flours, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in buttermilk. Stir until everything comes together into dough. Dump out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just long enough for the dough to come together in a slightly flattened ball (about 30 seconds or so).
Lightly flour a baking sheet (or in my case parchment paper that will go on a baking stone) and place the dough on the flour. Brush the dough all over with buttermilk and sprinkle generously with flour (2 tablespoons or so). Slice four deep slashes across the dough.
Bake for 30 minutes then quickly move the rack to the one of the top racks of the oven. Continue baking for another 20 minutes or until a hard crust forms and the bottom sounds hollow when you knock on it.
Cool on a wire rack.