Soda Farls

Method

1. Set a girdle, bakestone or heavy cast-iron frying pan over medium-low heat and leave it 5 minutes to come to an even temperature — a pinch of flour thrown on should turn pale gold in about a minute, not scorch. Dust the surface lightly with flour and use no fat.
2. Sift 150 g plain flour, 0.25 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 0.25 tsp fine salt into a wide bowl and stir them through with your fingers so the raising agent is evenly spread; any lump of soda leaves a bitter yellow fleck in the crumb.
3. Make a well and pour in 130 ml cold buttermilk all at once. Cut it through the flour with a table knife in a quick figure-of-eight for about 20 seconds, until you have a soft, tacky dough with no dry flour left. Do not beat or overwork it — the soda begins fizzing the moment it meets the buttermilk.