Homemade Baked Beans Recipe

Homemade Baked Beans and Soda Bread

Oh my goodness, have you seen Tom Kerridge's TV program on 'BBC 'Proper Pub Food'? 

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*Post updated January 2022

That programme is fantastic - everything he makes looks truly delicious. So, after watching the other day his Proper Baked Beans on Soda Bread Toast just had to be made!

And, I just had to buy his Proper Pub Food Book. I've found the recipes work and are so very easy to follow. I'm so fed up with recipes in books that just don't work.

The preparation time of this recipe is overnight because the dried beans need to be soaked before using.

Amazingly for me, I managed to produce this quite good looking loaf of soda bread too. By the way, the loaf was half this size again, just that we'd eaten the rest before I took this picture.

Soda bread is made using baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and buttermilk instead of yeast.

The buttermilk in the dough contains lactic acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide; how very marvellous is that?

You can add other ingredients to soda bread, such as raisins, or nuts although obviously, they wouldn't go with baked beans!

Or, you might like to try Quick soda bread recipe by Nigel Slater, it's also known as Nigel's Lazy Loaf, it cooks in just 25 minutes.

Baked Beans with Bacon

Everything is better with bacon right? Now, this baked beans recipe also contains bacon, making them extra delicious.

Recipe Top Tips!

• If you're thinking of making this today, sorry but you can't because you have to soak the beans overnight - I know that threw me, I wanted to make it there and then.

• When soaking the beans, be sure to put them into a very large mixing bowl to soak because they swell alarmingly to double their size. 

• You might want to halve the beans recipe because it makes enough to feed a HUGE crowd, in fact, it makes more baked beans than you can shake a stick at.

• The dried beans you need for this are called Haricot Beans - or Navy Beans if you are in the US. You can buy haricot beans in any good supermarket here in the UK.

So here's how to make baked beans with soda bread - enjoy!

Baked Beans Recipe

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homemade baked beans, baked beans with bacon, best baked beans recipe

main, dinner, side

American-Irish

Yield: 6

Author: Jan Bennett

Homemade Baked Beans

This recipe makes enough to feed a crowd, in fact, it makes more baked beans than you can shake a stick at!

Prep time: 3 HourCook time: 2 H & 50 MInactive time: 8 HourTotal time: 13 H & 50 M

Ingredients

The Baked beans

• 400g dried haricot beans (navy beans) - soaked overnight in cold water
• 75ml rapeseed oil
• 200g smoked bacon lardons
• 1 large onion - finely chopped
• 2 fat garlic cloves - grated
• 2 x 400g good quality chopped tinned tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée (paste in the US)
• 150g soft dark brown sugar
• 200ml red wine vinegar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

The Soda Bread

• 340g wholemeal flour
• 340g strong white bread flour - plus extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 85g unsalted butter - softened, plus extra to serve
• 625 ml buttermilk

Instructions

To make the Baked Beans

1. Once the beans have soaked overnight, drain and put them in a large pan. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
2. Drain again and return to the pan.
3. Cover with water and cook for approximately one hour, or until just soft. Remove from the heat and drain.
4. In a large saucepan, heat the rapeseed oil over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until crisp.
5. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until the onion is soft.
6. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, sugar, vinegar and 500ml/18fl oz water.
7. Bring to the boil and then add the soaked beans. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1½-2 hours, or until you have a thick sauce with soft tender beans.

To make the Soda Bread

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.
2. Mix all the ingredients together and form into a loaf shape.
3. Pop the loaf onto a non-stick baking tray and dust with flour. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
4. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Slice and toast when your beans are done.
5. Season the beans with salt and pepper and serve with slices of toasted soda bread.

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