Vegan Irish Soda Bread & my comentary on coconut oil

I have been experimenting with vegan baking. I love making soda bread for St Patrick's Day, and so I decided to try my luck with a vegan version. I recently bought a container of virgin coconut oil because I heard that it is good in vegan baking. I had also heard that it is "good for you." Skeptical, I decided to try it, and I did some research. Here is what I came up with...

1. It is delicious
2. It bakes up beautifully for a vegan butter replacement

3. "Good for you"...not so much

In a simple caloric break down Coconut oil is...100% fat, just like any oil. It is NOT a hydrogenated fat, or a fat that is scientifically changed in a lab so that it's structure is unrecognizable to your body and all of it's organic beneficial properties are stripped. Yet it is a saturated fat, and in one teaspoon there are 4.5g of saturated fat or 7% of your daily value. This is MORE than the amount of fat in butter, at 4.1g per teaspoon. Olive oil is much the same yet not a saturated fat. They are all fats. Are all fats created equal?

No. Your body uses both saturated and unsaturated fats for essential functioning of the brain, skin and protection of your organs. You need them, but with ANY kind of fat you only need very small amounts.

So back to coconut oil. It is a plant-based saturated fat that vegans our anyone who appreciates deliciousness can use. It works excellently in baking and is solid at room temperature. I know people use it for saute and roasting also. I liked it, but I would also advise people to know that it is not a magic food. It will make you fat like any other fat. Hold it at arms length, and enjoy it sparingly. It worked great in my soda  bread which made me happy, but that does not mean that I can go and eat the whole loaf myself because it is vegan. Reality.

Bake up some vegan Irish goodness, no haggis, butter, mutton, sausage or leprechauns included.

Vegan Irish Soda Bread

2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
8 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup golden rasins
1/2 cup dark rasins
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 1/3 cups vegan buttermilk (you can use almond milk with 3 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar, let sit 5 min)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flours, sugar, salt, baking soda, & baking powder in a medium bowl.
2. With a pastry blender blend in coconut oil into dry ingredients until the oil chunks are the size of small peas. Stir the raisins and caraway seeds in gently with a fork.
3. Stir in the vegan buttermilk until just combined. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 8-10 times. Shape into a 8 inch round. Gently cut a shallow cross in the top of the bread. Brush with almond milk and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of sugar.
4. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes away clean. Cool on a rack.

Additional web information on coconut oil:

 Info on the new hype and how to use coconut oil
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/dining/02Appe.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Dr Joel Fuhrman weighs in
 http://www.diet-blog.com/06/coconut_oil_the_doctors_debate.php