irish soda bread x 2 / March 14, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

soda bread is easily my favorite baked good. whether it's fresh out of the oven, a few days old, slathered with butter or jam, or plain, soda bread is one of those foods that speaks to me. i chose to post two irish soda bread recipes - one is grain and gluten free soda bread that is almond-based. the other is a whole wheat recipe that resembles a more traditional st. patty's day soda bread (i figured i shouldn't deprive poor frank of some soda bread just because i can't eat wheat). i was curious as to how the gluten free/grain free soda bread would compare to the wheat soda bread. i have to say its consistency is obviously different, but the taste was spot on! needless to say, i was impressed. in any event, whichever soda bread recipe you choose you will not be disappointed!

the whole wheat soda bread recipe (which is seen above on the dish towel) originally called for 4 cups whole wheat flour. i substituted 2 cups with whole wheat pastry flour just to make it a little softer and not as grain-y. the recipe does not call for any sweetener, i chose not to add any simply because i don't like my soda bread sweet, plus i figured it's healthier without the sugar. if you do want to add sugar, i would say 1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons should sweeten things up a bit. also, i used yogourt here. alternatively, you can substitute it with buttermilk, or even sour cream. and lastly, because this was a real irish soda bread recipe, it did't call for currants (apparently that's an american thing), but i love currants, especially in soda bread! so i added them.

// gluten free irish soda bread

recipe adapted from Elana's Pantry

pre heat oven to 350°

line a baking sheet with parchment paper

// ingredients

2 3/4 cups almond flour

1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup dried currants

2 eggs (room temperature)

2 tablespoons raw honey

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

// directions

in a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, baking soda, and currants. mix with a whisk

in a small bowl, whisk eggs with honey and apple cider vinegar

using a spatula, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients

place dough on the parchment paper lined baking sheet and form dough into a flattened disk - about 8" across, and 1 1/2" tall

using a sharp knife, score the dough a half inch deep, making an "x" over the top

bake for 20 minutes. then, turn oven off and leave in the oven for another 10 minutescool bread before serving, and enjoy

// whole wheat irish soda bread

adapted from: the dish towel with no author

pre heat oven to 375°

line a baking sheet with parchment paper

// ingredients

2 cups stone ground whole wheat flour

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

3/4 cup dried currants

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups yogourt (i used 2% fage greek yogourt)

// directions

in a large bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and currants

in a medium bowl, beat egg and add yogourt - combine

add the wet ingredients to the dry - combine with a spatula

when dough gets crumbly, start kneading it

divide into 2 equal, slightly flattened rounds

slash the tops with a knife

bake for 35 minutes

enjoy your weekend and/or st. patty's day!

(biscuit) cinnamon rolls / February 21, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

i've had my eye on biscuit cinnamon rolls since discovering them on, Joy the Baker's blog a while back. the thought of a flaky, lightly sweetened biscuit, filled with cinnamon and sugar sounded super awesome to me. however, the ingredients called for butter (lots of it!), unbleached flour, a lot of sugar, and buttermilk. so, i thought one day i would muster up the guts to try and substitute some of those things for ingredients i can eat. unfortunately, that day never came. i did however, come across biscuit (style) cinnamon rolls on, The Urban Poser a couple weeks ago that awoke my cinnamon roll interests once again. this time the recipe called for (among other things) almond flour, coconut oil, and honey. all of which on are my "okay" checklist in terms of ingredients. so i gave it a shot. okay, i'm not going to pretend that these rolls came out perfect for me. they didn't. they were mostly a failure. however, a wise woman told me to make this post anyway. she reminded me that everyone makes mistakes, that we learn from them, and so do others. that said, the fact that my cinnamon rolls came out disfigured and raw is in no way a poor refection on the original recipe. i made a series of silly choices like: using hot honey when it should have been cool or room temp, i also should have made sure the temperature of my oven was correct (as it's often not). and lastly, i should have cut the recipe in half (something i always do when i first try a recipe) so as to not waste my (relatively pricey) baking ingredients. i wish you all much success, and i'm sure your rolls will be much more successful than mine!

the cinnamon roll recipe i provide here is grain-free, butter and milk-free, and uses raw honey as a sweetener. i understand that most people without dietary restrictions do not have almond flour or coconut oil lying around the kitchen. therefore, if you are not wanting to purchase special ingredients, i urge you to use Joy the Baker's recipe for biscuit cinnamon rolls. those of you with restrictions, here is an awesome recipe that is good for any breakfast or brunch.

from The Urban Poser

makes about 8 rolls

:: for the dough ::

3 cups almond flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons honey

2 large eggs (room temperature)

:: for the filling ::

1/4-1/2 cup raw honey (depending on how sweet you want it)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup currants

1-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

:: directions ::

preheat the oven to 340°

line a baking sheet with parchment paper

in a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda ( when measuring the almond flour make sure not to pack it, it should be loose)

in a separate bowl, gently beat the coconut oil, honey, and eggs together

add the egg mixture to the almond flour mixture using a spatula. mix until dough is formed. refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes

roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper (sprinkle a little almond flour on the bottom piece) into a 9x13" rectangle

drizzle the 1/4-1/2 cup of honey evenly over the dough - this is where i made the mistake of warming my raw honey, if your honey is

hard, like mine was, then wait for it to cool before you spread it across the dough

once the honey is spread, sprinkle the raisins, grounds pecans, and cinnamon

time for the rolling. roll the edge of the dough away from you. start a tight roll from the beginning. continue to roll until you have a nice uniform log. use the parchment paper to help you roll if needed. be careful when rolling up the dough, as it is very soft

roll the whole log of dough, gently lengthening it out just a bit (like making a snake out of play-dough). it should be smooth and about a 4 inch thick roll

with a sharp knife, cut the roll into about thick slices (about 1 1/2" thick)

lay the rolls cut side down on to a parchment line cookie sheet

bake 10-15 min rotating midway through

i drizzled warm honey over the four rolls that made it

:: enjoy ::