Rustic Irish Soda Bread

May 9, 2011 by lanashabit

On my way to write this post, I had to input my WordPress username and password because the ‘Remember Me’ was no longer activated….

That means I’ve been away for far too long.

As I mentioned in the last post I travelled to New Mexico for my senior design project review with the Air Force. We were up at 0500 (yes, we spoke in military time) to watch the sun rise, give presentations to colonels, make multiple trips to Home Depot for tools we left at home and to showcase and test our devices. We had to prove our devices were capable of going through mud pits, over logs and traverse a steep, rocky and sand-laden mountain side.  I had the honor of riding one of our electric bikes up a mountain.

After seeing the terrain, I think all the boys were secretly happy they were not riding up the mountain side. They held down the fort with their walkie-talkies, tools and hot coffee, while myself and 2 other guys rode up a mountain. Not Fair!

This was a picture I took near the start of the 7 mile course just before being told to put my camera away.

To make a long story short, 3 of our devices made it to the top. The battery on my bike died halfway through the course and I used every shoulder pad, need pad and shin guard I was wearing.

I travelled with 9 guys and was happy to get home for some girl time.

To bring you up to speed:

1. One final down, one to go
2. I will officially be a college graduate this Friday!!

One more final, means more studying…

Suddenly cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen floors has become important….
Plans to spend only 2 hours with friends turns into 5…
Shopping for a graduation dress becomes a fashion show…
And baking becomes, yet another scapegoat…

Behold, rustic Irish soda bread.

This recipe is vegan and replicates the traditional use of buttermilk with soy milk and vinegar. The vinegar allows the soy milk to curdle and thicken, resulting in a very moist bread with a slightly crunchy exterior. The raisins and dates provide the perfect hint of sweetness. I used stevia in place of sugar, but feel free to substitute 3 tablespoons of white sugar if that is what your have. This bread requires no kneading or rising thanks to the baking soda (hence the name) and is reminiscent of a semi-sweet scone.

I used NuNaturals Baking blend that I won from Kelly’s blog a while back. The MoreFiber Baking Blend has made its way into all my recipes lately and I’m loving it. Stevia is all natural, has zero grams of sugar and zero calories. It makes a bread with great nutritional stats.

Rustic Irish Soda Bread

Inspired by Novel Eats

1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups spelt flour*
2 teaspoons stevia (MoreFiber Baking Blend)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 dates, pitted and chopped

* You can substitute wheat flour or oat flour. If you use oat flour reduce baking time to 25-30 minutes or it will burn (yes, this happened to me). My favorite was spelt flour.

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Line sheet pan with parchment paper and
2. Mix together the soy milk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, including raisins and dates, until well combined.
4. Add the curdled soy milk and form into one large dough ball (you may need to add a little flour if it’s too sticky to handle). Slightly flattened ball and place on prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

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