I'm not Irish at all, but I bow before their genius. Soda bread is a quick, simple recipe. I learned a lot about what constitutes proper soda bread while working on this recipe and ended up making it twice. The first time I made it, it was technically 'Spotted Dick' which is a great name for a food item, if you ask me. I ended up making a traditional loaf as well because the LAST thing I need in my life? An angry Irish person coming after me because I put sugar and raisins in and still called it soda bread.
Ingredients
1 cup soy or rice milk
1 T. apple cider vinegar
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
Heaping ¼ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ cup raisins*
2 T. sugar*
1 T. apple cider vinegar
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
Heaping ¼ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ cup raisins*
2 T. sugar*
*These last two are optional. They're not technically acceptable in a traditional Irish Soda Bread and the addition of them makes it closer to Spotted Dick. Which, if you think about it, is more fun anyway.
Preheat your over to 350° and whip out your mixing bowls. Start by measuring out your soy milk and adding the vinegar to it. This creates soy-butter milk by curdling the soy milk. Looks gross, works awesome. Next, measure out your dry ingredients (flour, baking power, baking soda, salt) into a bowl. If you're adding raisins, throw them in now as well. Mix the dry ingredients together.
Assume your oven is heated by now, and add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix them together as best you can, and then dump the whole mess out and knead it until all the flour has been absorbed. Your dough will be soft, but it shouldn't be too sticky. Once all the flour has been absorbed, shape the dough into a loaf. It should be about two or three inches high, but the shape doesn't matter. I suggest a pair of buttocks. Or you could go with the more traditional round loaf.
Lightly grease a baking pan or cookie sheet and sprinkle a bit of flour on it, then set your loaf down. Sprinkle the top with a little more flower and pop it into the oven. Alternatively you can put it in a traditional bread pan for more 'professional' looking bread. Martha Steward, eat your heart out. Baking is the longest part of this process, and it takes about 40 minutes. Check it at 30 to make sure it's going well though. You'll know it's done when you stick a toothpick (or a fork, knife, or fingernail) in and it comes out clean. When that time comes, take it out of the oven and set it on a baking rack to cool.
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