Chocolate Irish Soda Bread

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I made this bread to celebrate the day (and mostly as an excuse to make something with chocolate). I really can't remember where I came across this recipe, but I tweaked it to make it higher in fiber and nutrition. What I really liked about the recipe was that it used plain yogurt instead of the usual buttermilk that is in most soda bread recipes. Not that buttermilk is bad, but I happened to have two cartons of yogurt and no buttermilk in the fridge!  I have been experimenting with baking by weight, so this one was part of the experiment. The recipe called for 500g of white flour. I weighed out 475g of whole wheat flour and 15g of ground flax seed. It worked just fine. When you weigh your flour instead of measuring it you can combine all types of flour and just use the same amount by weight. You can purchase a fairly inexpensive scale to do this with and you will end up with less dishes (just weigh everything into one bowl- no measuring cups needed). This bread is not very sweet, despite the chocolate. It is perfect for breakfast or as a snack. Enjoy!

Chocolate Irish Soda Bread

475g wheat flour
15g ground flax seed
100g chocolate chips
2 tsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
1 1/3 cups plain yogurt

1. Pre-heat oven to 430 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Add egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix in a mixer until well combined.
3. Turn out mixture onto a floured work surface and knead for a few seconds to bring dough together. Form into a ball and flatten to about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough with a serrated knife in a criss cross shape. Place on a greased baking sheet or cast iron skillet and bake for 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 390 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. Bread will sound hollow when knocked. Let cool slightly and then slice.