The raisin kick continues here at Skyhold's kitchen! And we have their versatility to thank for that. These dried grapes of wonder are deliciously compatible with sweet and savory baked goods, from cookies to breads. This entry we're baking Fereldan soda bread with raisins.
Lately I have tried speedplaying Dragon Age: Inquisition and to rack up quick experience points, I have been wallowing in the Hinterlands. But it is an area of the game worth thoroughly exploring because it is well crafted. The ancient Avvar and Alamarri stones sites dotted all over the terrain remind me of old stone circles of west Ireland. They are small and their placement appears to have a purpose still unknown. Indeed much of the pre-Fereldan lore and imagery in Dragon Age appears have been greatly inspired by Irish, Saxon, and Welsh myth and culture.
But stones and lore do not teach us everything about a people and culture. Food is a better teacher.
Many folks are familiar with soda bread (especially around this time of year) as a traditional Irish staple. I decided to change an old quick-style recipe to include vegan ingredients. The magic ingredients that make this tasty spell work are soy milk and apple cider vinegar.
Traditionally, soda bread calls for buttermilk. To curdle soy milk like buttermilk, you only need to follow two steps:
1) Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to 2/3 cup of soy milk.
2) Allow it to sit for a minimum 10 minutes.
And that's it! You now have vegan buttermilk for soda bread or any other recipe that calls for buttermilk. The ratio can be adjusted to your tastes and I encourage you to experiment on your own to achieve that taste and consistency you like best. The ratio listed here worked great for this recipe. Other times, I have used as much as one cup of soy milk with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, set for 12 to 15 minutes. You can decide what consistency and taste you want.
But to truly begin, assemble all your ingredients your counter: all-purpose flour, soy milk, apple cider vinegar, double-acting baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, shortening, applesauce and raisins. You can also add caraway seeds, but I did not have any at the time of baking.
Once you have set aside your soy milk and apple cider vinegar, sift the flour. Then sift the remaining dry ingredients together.
Next, add chilled shortening. It is important that the shortening is cold to cut well with the dry ingredients. Take the time to set the shortening in your refrigerator 1 or 2 hours before preparing all other ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to work the shortening into the flour until the mixture feels like a coarse meal, similar to cornmeal.
Then add the raisins (and caraway seeds) and stir.
Now we are ready to use the vegan buttermilk! The soy milk should be curdled and have a slightly ripe smell. Mix in the applesauce gently.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry...
And mix until well combined.
Now, don't be a silly, forgetful baker like me and remember to flour your kneading surface before taking your bread dough out of the bow. There should be about a tablespoon of flour under that gooey, tasty mass below. Flour keeps dough from sticking terribly to surfaces as you knead. But alas, kneading my soda bread dough on my large cutting board was difficult and did not go as quickly as it should have. Remember to flour your kneading surface! Also, dusting your hands with some flour helps, too.
From here, the steps are easy. Add the dough to a well-greased, round baking pan. I used my spring form pan. You can press the round dough into the pan for a thinner, wider loaf, or leave as a tight ball as shown below. Either way, cut a cross into the dough.
Bake in your oven for 35 to 40 minutes at 375℉ and enjoy the free smells.
Now you have Fereldan Soda Bread!
If you can help yourself, allow the bread to cool to room temperature before slicing.
Store in a container with a tight lid. You can enjoy this delicious, hearty, sweet loaf for up to two weeks.
Fereldan Soda Bread
Recipe Yields: 1 loaf
Prep Time: about 12-20 minutes
Bake Time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients
2/3 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted, plus 1 tablespoon, unsifted
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup shortening, chilled
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 to 1 cup raisins
(Optional: 2 tablespoons caraway seeds)
Directions
Set oven to 375℉ and grease an 8-inch round pan, set aside.
Add apple cider vinegar to soy milk and set aside to curdle, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Sift the baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into the flour. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until well combined and has the consistency of coarse cornmeal. Stir in the raisins (optional: add caraway seeds). Mix the applesauce into the curdled soy milk and add to the dry ingredients. Swiftly stir into a well-mixed dough.
Sprinkle the tablespoon of unsifted flour on a clean surface. Briefly knead the dough on the floured surface. Place dough in the greased pan. Cut a bold cross over the top so the bread will not crack in baking.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of the bread loaf, if clean when removed, bread is done. If not, bake for another 3-5 minutes.
Remove loaf to a wire rack until cool.
Slice, serve, and enjoy! Store in a tight container for up to two weeks.
End Notes: It feels good to experiment and have some fun in my kitchen. This recipe came together purely because I happened to have all the necessary ingredients on hand. It is nice to shake up routinely-used ingredients from time to time.
The new name debuted on Twitter earlier this month! This, Skyhold's kitchen blog, shall henceforth be known as Foods of Thedas. All my old name links on Twitter can't be updated, but all links below have been adjusted. Also, social media icons now listed above!
I picked up speedplaying because I have been providing Flycam footage to a Dragon Age fandom Youtuber, Cole from The Kingdom. I have been subscribed to his channel for a couple of years. I really enjoy his Talking Dragon Age series for and have been enthusiastically collecting lots of recorded game scenery for him. I also provide recordings for another BioWare fandom YouTuber, Crimson Wolf. I have plenty of saved game files, but sometimes I have to speedplay through to get to the right cutscene. Speedplaying in general has opened my mind to a different type of gameplay that I find almost as immersive as slowly working my way through quests alongside the main story. I found that treating the rifts and Corypheus' threat as an emergency situation, the tone and style shift perspective. There are fewer options avaiallbe and that makes the situation all the more dire in theme and execution. To move things along though, I stuck to the Inner Circle quests to pick up additional experience points. I did not even bother to recruit Sera and Bull, set a new record for running through the Fade, and endured the fastest, most emotionally tense hate-love relationship with Solas in this last run through. From all this, I oddly feel like the game was better served by my quick, cut and dry choices. It just goes to show Dragon Age is for any pace of gamer and can feel just as new and fun as it did when first played with new limitations or perspectives.
Walk always in the Maker's light.
Like what you are reading? Great! Come back for a new entry on the third Thursday of each month. And have a look at my previous entries for other recipes and Dragon Age-related trivia and oddities!
Have any friendly suggestions or cool ideas? Want me to veganize your favorite recipe? Please feel free to comment below. You can also email me at foodsofthedas@gmail.com, message me at AGSamuels on Reddit, or tweet me at @FoodsofThedas on Twitter. You can also follow me on Instagram, @foodsofthedas.
If you try out any of my recipes, please share pictures on social media using the hashtag (#)foodsofthedas.
Foods of Thedas, Formerly Gourmet Vegan Thedas
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