Vegan Sourdough Irish Soda Bread
As a sourdough baker, I have mixed feelings about soda bread. I mean, can you really make bread with just baking soda as leavening?
The answer is yes, but you do end up with a different result.
I used this bread as an example of the difference between chemical leavening (baking soda and baking powder) and natural leavening (yeast, including yeast from sourdough) in one of my baking streams (which if you’re not watching me make bread, you’re missing out).
While soda bread is great, it is denser and is reminiscent of a scone. You won’t get the same crumb without patience.
But don’t let me naysay you out of making this Irish soda bread! It is delicious, especially with a dollop of fig jam (tastes like a fig newton—trust me).
This is a sourdough discard recipe, which means the sourdough isn’t leavening the dough, but the sourdough is still playing an important role. The acidity of the sourdough starter activates the baking soda. In a traditional soda bread recipe, this is done with buttermilk. Without the acidity, the baking soda will not leaven the bread. If you don’t have sourdough starter, you can try adding a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to the milk in its place.
You also have to make this bread quickly. The baking soda works instantly, and if you wait too long, the bread will not get any oven spring.
I made this bread to be a PLAIN soda bread but feel free to add raisins or other add-ins! If you add raisins, be sure to soak them for at least thirty minutes before adding them, so they don’t absorb the water from the bread.
Vegan Sourdough Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 150 grams sourdough starter* (3/4 cup)
- 350 grams unsweetened plant-milk** (1 1/2 cups)
- 7 grams salt (1 teaspoon)
- 100 grams whole wheat (1 cup)***
- 400 grams bread flour (3 1/3 cup)
- 6 grams baking soda (1 teaspoon)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 475 F. Place your cast Dutch oven in the oven to preheat.
- Mix the sourdough starter, milk, and salt in the mixing bowl.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients. Start with 100 grams of whole wheat flour and mix until well combined. Then, add 200 grams of bread flour and mix until you can see the little gluten strands start to form. Then, add the last 200 grams of bread flour alongside the baking soda and knead into the dough.
- Knead the dough until it becomes a ball. Don’t worry if the gluten is not formed all the way—you have to move fast. Place dough onto a parchment paper or silicone mat and score an X on top.
- Use the parchment paper or mat to place the dough into the Dutch oven. Cover the Dutch oven and place back into the BIG oven. Lower the heat to 450 F and bake for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, uncover the Dutch oven and lower the heat to 420 F. Bake for another 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, turn off the oven. Crack the oven door open and allow to sit in the oven for 10 minutes or until crust is to your liking.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least fifteen minutes. If you cut into the bread too early, it will be crumbly.
- Slather on some fig jam or vegan butter (or both) and you have yourself a nice snack!
- The soda bread does stale quicker than naturally leavened loaves, but it should last 3-4 days at room temperature stored in a cloth bag or wrapped in a tea towel.
Notes
Supplies
2.5 Quart Mixing Bowl
Fork for mixing
Kitchen Scale or Measuring Cups
Dutch oven
Parchment paper or silicone mat
Razor or sharp knife for scoring
*If you do not have sourdough starter, you can replace with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. However, I suggest you make a sourdough starter using this easy guide!
*If you have a stiff starter (or a starter fed at a 2:1 flour to water ratio), you may want to discard 50 grams of starter the night before and feed it with 50 grams of plant-based milk and 50 grams of flour to make the starter easier to incorporate into the dough.
**If you use homemade plant-based milk (especially if you use seeds like sunflower seeds), your soda bread may turn yellow or green. This is because the nuts or seeds you used contain chlorophyll which reacts to the baking soda by turning yellow. The change in color is just cosmetic and the soda bread is still edible and delicious (and, may I say, FESTIVE). Use store-bought soymilk to avoid this.
***You can replace the whole wheat with more bread flour.
***You can add up to 100 grams of raisins. Soak them at least 30 minutes before adding them into the dough at step 3.
