I made Irish Soda Bread one time, right after Gabriel and I got married. It was a dismal gluten-free recipe failure, and I never tried it again. But…
With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up, and thinking about all things Irish, I decided, five-ish years later, to give it another crack.
Apparently I’ve learned some about baking since then, because guess what? This time it turned out pretty good!
The crust is a little bit like our gluten-free, yeast free sandwich bread. Nice and thick, but a lot crunchier.
This recipe though, is much more, well, soda bread like. A tighter crumb, and not as flexible. It’s amazing the impact a slightly different mix of flours can have!
I don’t particularly care for raisins or caraway seeds, so of course, I left them out of my soda bread. Am I missing out on the complete Irish experience doing that? I hope not!
This would be a really awesome addition to chicken noodle soup, or really, anything involving gluten-free egg noodles!
Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 extra large egg
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 2/3 cups gluten-free flour mix
- 1 teaspoon guar gum
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup currants or raisins (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Place a small, lightly oiled cast iron skillet in oven to preheat.
- Combine the milk with the lemon juice and let sit 2-3 minutes to coagulate.
- Add egg and beat.
- Add baking soda and set aside to let the baking soda start to work.
- Add the flour blend, xanthan gum, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse several times to combine. Add butter and process until it’s the size of small peas. (of course, you can also do this using a pastry blender or fork.)
- Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the currants and caraway seeds until it’s evenly combined. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl well while stirring.
- Scrape dough into hot skillet, and working quickly, use a rubber spatula to shape dough into a dome. Lightly dust the top of the loaf with flour.
- Place skillet of dough back into the oven.
- Turn the oven down to 375F. Rotate the bread 180 degrees halfway through the baking time. If it browns too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, until the bread has baked through. If you have an instant read thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 200F.
- Let cool slightly on a wire rack before serving. Naw, just kidding, I think eating bread while it’s still hot enough to melt butter is one of life’s greatest joys!
But hot or cold, enjoy!
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EMILY says
Should I leave out the guar gum if my flour has xanthan gum in it?
Thanks
Elise says
Yes!
Nikki Frank-Hamilton says
This looks delish! I have pinned it to save it to make later. I love being able to pull it up at the store & grab the ingredients. I am gluten-free and so this will be a staple for us. I am going to peruse your site for more goodies. Thanks!
Kate says
Hi! Yours looked so delish, I’m sad because mine came out very, very dry. I’m going to try again (how can I resist your scrumptious pictures?) but I have 2 questions….1) could it be my eggs? Do you have your own chickens bc I’ve found farm fresh eggs are much bigger than even XL at grocery (what I used) & 2) butter- room temp or from fridge? THANKS!!!!!
Elise says
Hmmm, I wish I knew what went wrong! 🙁 I *do* use farm eggs, but don’t think they’re all THAT huge, and yes – cold butter. Sorry I didn’t make that more clear to begin with.
vegetarianmamma (Cindy) says
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays Party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what you share next time!
-Cindy
Rhianydd says
Hi there, do you know whether any non-dairy milk would work with this receipt please? I’m allergic to dairy products 🙁
Many thanks
Elise says
Coconut milk (like the stuff in the grocery store dairy case – not the really thick canned stuff), or almond milk should work well.
Dawn says
This was simple and yummy. I did use soy milk and extra butter and omitted xanthum gum since my mix had it. You can do so much with it. I added raisins and I think k if I add more sugar, cinnamon, cranberries and raisins it will be a great holiday bread.
Caroline says
Made it. Had it with soup. Didn’t last long. So total success. A little on the sweet side – think I would add less sugar.