1 lb White flour
Dessert spoon sugar
Level teasp. salt
Scant level teasp. Bread Soda
4 oz Sultana
12 oz. Butter milk, approximately
1 egg (optional - If you leave it out, add a little more butter milk)

I generally just guess the measurements. I've been doing it for a while now and it adds a bit of variety to my bread eating experience! However it is the Ballymaloe recipe that I first learnt so I will give you that recipe. This is for Spot of Dog. For regular white bread you can leave out the Sultanas & Sugar. The egg makes the loaf a little richer.

This makes a small loaf. Have your oven pre-heated to approx 200 C.

I always mix using my hands. A great trick is to only use one hand once you've added the liquid. This gives you a clean hand to rectify any mistakes!

Put all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix with hand being sure to aerate the flour by lifting it and allowing it to fall back into the bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk - all at once if you're sure of the quantity. Mix using one hand and hold the bowl with the other, try and achieve this in 4 or 5 good sweeps so as not to over mix. The mixture should come together easily without it being too wet. Scrape directly onto a floured baking tray - this where the clean hand is useful. Cut a cross in it the full length and width of the loaf and spike each quarter with your knife to let the fairy's out (just as important as with mum's loaf!)

Pop into the oven and reduce temp to 180 C after 10 minutes. Cook for approx. half an hour.