Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread

This simple gluten free Irish soda bread is perfect served with any meal, but especially around St. Patrick’s Day. 

If you’ve been frustrated with making gluten-free breads, you will be delighted with this quick and simple gluten free Irish soda bread recipe. It truly is hard to mess up.  

That makes it the perfect side to serve with nearly any meal, but especially with soup, such as stuffed cabbage soup or with homemade corned beef.

I remember back when I first started baking gluten-free for my husband, and it was such a learning curve! It was such a relief to finally have something easy and fool proof.

The process for making it is similar to our gluten-free, yeast-free sandwich bread, which has served so many families with yeast allergies so well throughout the years. But the texture with this soda bread is denser, with a nice thick, crunchy crust. Perfect – as I mentioned – for serving with soup! 

Ingredients for Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread

The main ingredients for Irish soda bread are simple, and most likely already in your pantry.

• Gluten-free flour blend. I have used Judee’s gluten-free flour successfully, and usually make my own flour blend with them. Or with another high quality mix such as King Arthur’s all-purpose gluten-free baking mix. Typically, A mix of brown rice flour, sweet white sorghum flour, and arrowroot powder, or cornstarch, make a nice, neutral flavored blend. One mix I don’t care for in this recipe is the Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 baking mix. I’m not Knocking Bob’s Red mill in general, just that mix for this recipe.
• Guar or xanthan gum. If you’re making your own flour blend, you will need to add your own binder to partially replace the gluten your flours lack, These gums help hold your bread together, and keep it from drying out and being overly crumbly. If you’re using a premade mix, it likely already includes a gum or other binder, so be sure to check before adding more, as too much can cause your bread to be gummy, and shrink into a solid, gummy mass as it cools.
• Buttermilk. The acid in buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to create a bigger, faster rise, as well as add a tangy flavor. I like to use homemade buttermilk, but if you don’t have any on hand, milk combined with lemon juice also works really well.
• Egg. This adds structure and softness to your loaf. For gluten-free breads, eggs make it easier to keep your bread moist longer.
• Baking soda. This is a leavening agent that reacts most strongly with buttermilk, and helps give you a nice oven spring, and the classic Irish soda bread flavor.
• Baking Powder. Another type of leavening agent that is more even, and helps create a finer crumb.
• Salt. This aids in leavening, as well as adding flavor and helping to preserve your loaf against bacteria as it ages.
• Sweetener. Adding sugar or honey to your gluten-free soda bread helps bring out the flavors, as well as helps keep your bread from drying out.
• Butter. This added fat helps create an environment for the leavening agents to work, as well as adding flavor and richness to your loaf.
• Raisins, caraway seeds, etc. These are flavor additives, and optional, depending on what you’re serving, For a traditional St. Patrick’s Day feast, you may want to add them, but other times, you may want to skip them – it’s up to you! As an aside, I like to use Craisins instead of raisins, which is what you’ll see in these pictures.

Tips for making gluten free Irish soda bread

• Use a food processor to cut in your butter. I find a pastry cutter to be tedious and time consuming. Instead, combine your dry ingredients in the food process, add butter, but into chunks, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Once that’s done, dump it back into a mixing bowl, and proceed as normal.
  
• Use pans lined with parchment paper. This virtually guarantees nothing sticks to your baking sheet, and makes clean up super easy
• Slice the cross-cut in the top of the bread with a sharp knife or razor blade. We all know what happens when we use dull knives.
• ​You can use unsalted butter, salted butter, or even vegan butter in this easy gluten-free Irish soda bread
• Using dairy-free milk however is a bit more tricky. Almond milk is great in baking, but you may need to adjust the quantity. Start with 3/4 of a cup, and add a bit at time as needed for the dough to come together.

How to Make Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Whisk buttermilk and egg together in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Add baking soda and set aside to let the baking soda start to work.
4. Add the flour blend, guar gum, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl or food processor fitted with a steel blade. Stir, or pulse several times to combine.

   

5. Add butter and cut in, or process until it’s the size of small peas.
6. Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl. 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.
   
   
7. If using add-ins such as raisins or caraway seeds, mix those in now
8. Scrape dough onto parchment-lined cast-iron skillet or baking sheet, and use a wetted rubber spatula to shape dough into a dome.
9. Lightly dust the top of the loaf with flour, and use a sharp knife to slice a very shallow cross shape into the top.
   
   
10. Place in center of oven.
11. Turn the oven down to 375º and bake for 35 minutes until done through.
12. Turn bread around halfway through the baking time. If it browns too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil.
13. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
14. Enjoy!

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• Gluten Free Zucchini Bread Recipe
• Gluten Free Meatballs

Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread Recipe

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Irish Soda Bread is delicious- here’s a great gluten-free option for your family.

• Author: Elise

Ingredients

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• 1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup milk mixed with 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 (omit if using a mix that already contains guar or xanthan 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)

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Whisk buttermilk and egg together in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Add baking soda and set aside to let the baking soda start to work.
4. Add the flour blend, guar 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.)
5. Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl. 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.
6. If using optional add-ins such as currants or caraway seeds, mix those in now
7. Scrape dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet, and use a rubber spatula to shape dough into a dome. Lightly dust the top of the loaf with flour, and use a sharp knife to slice a very shallow cross shape into the top
8. Place in center of oven.
9. 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.
10. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the bread has baked through.
11. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
12. Enjoy!