Vegan Soda Bread

I was in the mood for soda bread tonight, but I don't usually keep dairy products in the house.  I was looking through all my recipes for a quick bread that didn't rely on milk for flavor or texture, but I was having trouble finding one.  That's when I remembered that I had a bunch of cartons of almond milk.  I've had vegan friends tell me that they simply substitute soy or other non-dairy products for milk in recipes, and that it "tastes just the same," but I've always had trouble believing it.  Nonetheless, I decided to go for it with the almond milk.

I sort of invented the following recipe (loosely basing it on the River Cottage soda bread recipe):

• 4 cups flour (2 whole wheat, 2 white)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• about 2-3 teaspoons sugar
• about 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• about 3/4 cup of muesli (minus the corn flakes)
• about 1 1/2 cups of almond milk

I baked it at 400 for about 30 minutes.  The bread didn't rise as much as soda bread sometimes does, but it tasted just as delicious as any soda bread I've made in the past.  A quick note on muesli:  It's the best breakfast cereal in the world, usually consisting of oats, dried fruit, chopped nuts, and some sort of corn or bran flakes.  I find that it makes a great addition to any sweet baked good.  I always add it to chocolate chip cookies, which gives them a more substantial texture.  And I usually add it to coffee cake and my awesome pumpkin muffins.  It is a total miracle food, and it's healthy!