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A Quick Lightly Sweetened Bread For Any Meal Of The Day
This Vegan Irish Soda Raisin Bread is made with only 9 simple ingredients. With flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, vegan butter, vegan buttermilk and delicious plump raisins. This is a wonderful bread that does not need any physical kneading. Just throw it together in a bowl mix it up, form it into a ball, cut a cross on the top, throw it in a case iron skillet and bake. Yes! It’s that easy! This is a perfect bread to make in the morning before everyone gets up or bake before dinner and fill the house with it’s lovely aroma.
A Little History On Baking Soda
We know of baking soda when baking that it helps baked goods rise. But! Did you know that it is called sodium bicarbonate and when mixed with a salt called saleratus it reacted in such a way that it made baked goods rise. This is the baking soda that we use today.
However, back in the day the Pioneers collected buckets of this saleratus salt near Independence Rock in Wyoming. It was made from a powdery chemical that was slightly moist that made a leavener from wood ashes and lye. Who’d a Known?
Baking soda was first used as a cleaning and drying agent when processing mummies. Yes! Plus it does a whole lot more. It has been used as an all purpose cleaner, in dish soap, oven cleaner, as a polisher, tooth paste, exfoliate, heart burn relief, eliminates refrigerator and freezer odors, wash vegetables and so much more.
Lets go back during the Irish famine years when baking soda bread was known of but through these hard times it wasn’t a staple. The imports of corn became the necessity of choice since wheat was unavailable. Being that as it may corn maize became the Irish main consumption of food. Hard to believe but true! It wasn’t until after the Famines of 1845 – 1852 that soda bread became popular after wheat and foreign flour became available again in Ireland. Making it an easy bread to make with any meal. Hence the Irish soda bread we all know about.
Like this quick and easy recipe I have for you today of Vegan Irish Soda Raisin Bread. I hope you like it.
How To Make Vegan Irish Soda Raisin Bread
This bread has a little labor to it but not that bad. Start with preheating your oven to 375º F. Measure out the raisins and separate them so that they are not sticking to each other. Set them aside.
Make the buttermilk mixture in a small bowl. Add the plant based milk (I use coconut because it keeps the bread moist longer) and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Set aside to curdle.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar of choice. Cut the cold butter into small cube pieces. Add the butter by sprinkling it over the mixed flour and cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter. Cut the butter into the flour until it is in small crumbly pieces.
Make a well in the middle of the crumbled butter and flour mixture and pour the buttermilk mixer in it. Flip the sides of the flour over on top of the milk and stir it with a large wooden spoon. You may need to use your hands to make it into a cohesive dough. There should not be any dry patches or be overly sticky.
Add the raisins in by kneading them into the bread. Don’t over knead with your hands because the warmth will melt the butter and the bread will be tougher. You can add more buttermilk if you need to.
How To Shape And Cut The Top Of Irish Soda Breads
Pat and shape into a round loaf and cut a cross into the top of the dough. Make sure the cuts are 1/2 inch deep. Place the rounded loaf into a cast iron skillet (I use American made Lodge Cast Iron Skillets) or use parchment paper inside of the iron skillet as a liner. Bake for 43 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Watch your cooking time so as not to over cook this bread.
I love all soda breads I hope you like this Vegan Irish Soda Raisin Bread as much as we do. Enjoy!
More Recipes You may Like:
Vegan Irish Colcannon With Leeks And Garlic
Super Yummy Irish Whiskey Mimosas
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Vegan Irish Soda Raisin Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 43 to 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Irish
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Irish Soda Raisin Bread is made with only 9 simple ingredients. With flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, vegan butter, vegan buttermilk and deliciously plump raisins. This is a wonderful bread that does not need any physical kneading. Just throw it together mix it up, form it into a round ball, cut a cross on the top, throw it in a skillet and bake. Yes! It’s that easy!
Ingredients
Vegan Irish Soda Raisin Bread
- 2 1/2 cups Organic All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup Coconut Sugar or Sugar
- 1/4 cup cold Vegan Butter, cubed small
- 1 cup Plant Based Milk, I use coconut milk to keep the bread moist longer
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice, to mix with plant based milk to make buttermilk
- 3/4 cup Raisins
Instructions
Vegan Irish Soda Raisin Bread
- Preheat your oven to 375º F.
- Measure out the raisin and separate them so that they are not sticking to each other. Set them aside.
- Make the buttermilk mixture in a small bowl. Add the plant based milk (I use coconut because it keeps the bread moist so much longer) and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Set aside for the milk to curdle.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar of choice. Cut the cold butter into small cube pieces. Add the butter by sprinkling it over the mixed flour and cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter. Cut the butter into the flour until it is in small crumbly pieces.
- Make a well in the middle of the crumbled butter and flour mixture and pour the buttermilk mixer in it (Checkout the photos above). Flip the sides of the flour over on top of the milk and stir it with a large wooden spoon. You may need to use your hands to make it into a cohesive dough. There should not be any dry patches or excessive stickiness.
- Add the raisins in by kneading them into the bread. Don’t over knead with your hands because the warmth will melt the butter and the bread will be tougher. You can add more buttermilk if you need to.
- Shape into a round loaf with your hands (it will be a little flat in shape). You may need to add flour to your hands to stop any dough from sticking to you. Cut a cross into the top of the dough. Make sure the cuts are 1/2 inch deep. Place the rounded loaf into a cast iron skillet (I use American made Lodge Cast Iron Skillets) or use parchment paper inside of the iron skillet as a liner. Bake for 43 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Watch your cooking time so as not to over cook this bread.
- Take out of the cast iron skillet to stop the bottom from over cooking. Put the loaf of bread onto a wire rack. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into because when hot it is crumbly. Serve warm.
- Enjoy!
Notes
You can use other dried fruit or nuts if you don’t have raisins or to add in with the raisins. Just make sure it all adds up to 1 cup of fruit and nuts to add to the bread.
all Irish soda bread is good the day of and the day after making it. You can store in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You can freeze it for longer storage.
