Since Sarah recently shared a recipe for cinnamon rolls/pancakes, I thought I’d return the favor by posting a baking recipe. I haven't seen a recipe for Irish Soda Bread out here, so I hope this adds something new.
Many Irish Soda Bread recipes call for whiskey. This recipe does not use whiskey. I say, if you have whiskey on you in the backcountry, save it and drink it with your freshly baked bread. Also, Irish Soda Bread calls for buttermilk. Instead, use a combo of dry milk + water + vinegar or lemon juice as discussed below. I used vinegar.
Dry ingredients:
¾ c. all purpose flour (+ keep a little extra for kneading in a separate baggie or container)
1 tsp. double action baking powder
2 pinches of salt (my wife thinks more salt would’ve been better)
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ c. raisins (or craisins)
Wet ingredients:
¼ c. “buttermilk”: 1/3 c. water (~2.75 oz.) + 1/8 c. dry milk—mix well and let stand for 5 minutes; add 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice and mix; let stand again for 5 minutes. (add this slowly and do not use it all if you don’t have to)
Mix all dry ingredients at home in a bag and stir in camp to mix up the ingredients again. After making the buttermilk, add half of the buttermilk to the dry ingredients and mix well until a dough forms and there aren’t any lumps in the flour. Keep adding more of the buttermilk until you have a dough that is sticky but not soupy. You shouldn’t really need any additional wet ingredients. Knead for about 1 minute on a flat surface with the extra flour. Form into ball and place in pan to bake. (I use parchment paper and oil for easy removal and clean up.)
Since many of us use different methods for baking, you may want to try this out with your baking set up at home first before taking out into the wilderness to see how long it takes to bake. I use an odd method with my Trangia + Clikstand. It takes about 33 minutes with my set up.
I made mine this one with craisins and had it with butter and honey.
I hope you all find this useful.
-Michael
