Anything like homemade bread?

Unlikely. Homemade bread is homemade bread. Nothing is so comforting to the palate as a freshly baked bread with butter or cheese, specially while it´s still warm!

Even more than flavor, to me bread is all about memories. My dad´s mother, who passed away a few years ago, at the age of 99 years old, always baked her own bread. She actually used to grow, make, bake and eat her own food, as I hardly saw her going to the supermarket every time I went to see her in a very small village up in the north of Portugal.
And her bread is one of the strongest memories I have from those times. To be honest, I wasn´t particularly fond of it, only when it was still warm, because she used to bake big quantities of bread and 1 to 2 days were enough to turn it into stone. But the good feeling that I can´t forget is the smell of the wood burning and to see the bread bake in the big oven made of stone or clay, I can´t really remember.

My mother-in-law, for example, has a house in the countryside, 1 hour away from Lisbon, where me and my husband used to go quite often during the weekends. And she has this neighbor who makes and sells an absolutely amazing bread - rustic, flavorful, dense. All the good qualities you can expect from a great and more traditional bread (not difficult to find in Portugal!)

And this big introduction brings me to my own neighbor and good friend Claire who invited me this week to make bread with her. Like me, as an English she´s used to a much denser bread, hard to find here in Singapore, so every now and then she prefers to do her own (among other things that she has taught me as well - thank you!)

This bread - called Irish Soda Bread - was extremely easy to make, with wholemeal flour, plain flour, salt, baking soda and buttermilk. And it´s not necessary to let it rest to grow. Once everything is mixed the bread goes directly to the oven...

... and ta da this is the result:

Really tasty and delicious with butter or cheese.

And speaking of which, take a look at this Portuguese cheese I had at my Portuguese friends house last friday. This cheese is called Serra da Estrela, which is the name of the highest peak of the country, where this cheese is made. The flavor is strong, but not overwhelming, and the texture very creamy. If you ask me, it´s bread´s best friend!