This is a very quick and easy recipe for baking with this beautiful UK heritage grain. You can add dried fruits or nuts for extra flavour, or to enjoy the taste of Maris Widgeon without it being overpowered simply bake it plain.

The grains for our organic Maris Widgeon are grown this year less than 30 miles from the mill by local farmers such as John Prior at Castle Combe , Fir Farm at Stow-on-the-Wold and Duchy Home Farm at Tetbury.

INGREDIENTS - Makes one soda bread

• 400g Maris Widgeon flour (I used white)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 300ml buttermilk

Optional additions - suggestions:

• Some chopped dried figs
• A handful of coarsely chopped walnuts
• lightly toasted fennel seeds or poppy seeds for the crust

METHOD

• Preheat your oven to 200°C. Weigh the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the buttermilk. Combine it with a blunt kitchen knife, handling the dough as little as possible – there is no need to knead this dough, in fact, the less you handle it, the better!
• If you want to add in any nuts or dried fruit to the dough do so at this stage.
• When the ingredients are evenly incorporated, shape the dough into a round loaf using your hands. If the crust is a bit shaggy, you can wet your hands with cold water and smooth it a touch if you like.
• Place it on a floured baking tray or stone, and score a deep cross into the top, taking the cuts right down the sides. This will make the bread easy to break into quarters for sharing.
• If you want to sprinkle seeds on the crust do so at this stage– I did a mix of poppy and fennel seeds this time.
• Bake it for 30-40 minutes on a low shelf in the oven. To check when it is done, insert a metal skewer – if it comes out clean, the bread is cooked. Leave it to cool on a wire rack.
• This bread is best eaten on the day of making.