Beetroot, Goat's Cheese & Thyme Soda Bread

1. Preheat your oven to 230°C/Fan 210°C/Gas 8. Dust a baking tray with a little flour.

2. Peel the beetroot, then coarsely grate it. Scoop it into a muslin cloth or clean tea towel and wring it to squeeze out as much liquid as possible – this will stain the cloth purple, so don't use your favourite tea towel, rinse it straight away, and get it in the wash as soon as possible to limit the staining.

3. Pick the thyme leaves off their woody stalks. Crumble the bûche de chèvre into small pieces.

4. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a very large bowl. Add a generous pinch of salt and whisk everything together. Pour 250ml of the sour milk or buttermilk into the flour. Add the beetroot, ¾ of the goat's cheese and thyme. Shape your hand into a stiff claw and stir it around the bowl, mixing the flour and milk and bringing it together to make a soft, light dough. If it’s not coming together, add more sour milk/buttermilk until it does.

5. Turn the dough out onto a work surface dusted with flour. Wash and dry your hands and then gently knead and pat the bread into a smooth round about 3cm high. Lift onto the baking tray. Slash a deep cross into the bread and stab it in each corner with your knife.

6. Bake for 15 mins, then turn the oven down to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Take the loaf out of the oven and sprinkle over the remaining goat's cheese and thyme. Bake for a further 30 mins till it sounds hollow when tapped. This bread is best eaten on the day it’s made.

7. No Waste, More Taste
This bread is a great way of using up milk that has gone sour. If you don't have any sour milk, you can use buttermilk, or measure out 300ml milk and stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice till it looks curdled and lumpy. Looks terrible, but it helps to make a perfect soda bread.