The Best Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread

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Traditional Irish soda bread typically makes its appearance only once a year on St. Patrick's Day.  In my college days, I used to make this bread during our yearly corned beef n’ cabbage night because it was easier than regular bread, which required yeast and lots of time waiting for it to rest and rise. 

More like a quick bread, soda bread gets its leavening happening from baking soda and a little acid from the buttermilk. It does come out a little dry and stodgy but I have always enjoyed its scone-like texture and contrast of sweet currants with savory caraway seeds.

Gluten-Free Traditional Breads

Now that most of my baking is gluten or grain-free, I’ve been going back to my early baking days to reinvent these traditional recipes with alternative ingredients. The first time I tried making soda bread gluten-free, I ended up with something more useful as a paperweight or doorstop rather than a loaf of bread. Despite its tough exterior it was still a  tasty doorstop, so I knew I was on to something.

The issue with transforming any gluten containing bread recipe with gluten-free flours is getting the  texture and flavor right and avoiding too much density or mealiness. There’s nothing worse than producing dense, mushy bricks when you’re baking gluten-free. Since we don’t have the magic of gluten with its ability to create those nooks and crannies and springy texture, we have to mimic these bready characteristics with the right combination of ingredients.

Bringing on the Flavor and Texture

I keep going on about this subject, but I’ll fast forward to what worked for this particular recipe. More eggs, more butter, and a variety of GF flours to maximize flavor and make a lighter loaf. Another trick to amp up the flavor is already inherent in a soda bread because it often includes tasty ingredients like currants and herbs. I added dried dill and caraway but you can also add other dried herbs if you’d like. I also soaked the currants in freshly brewed black tea to soften them and bring in a teatime note. Don’t forget to drain the currants before adding them to the dough mixture, otherwise you’ll most certainly get a soggy loaf.

Dairy-Free/Egg-Free Options

If you don’t do eggs or butter, no worries at all. I included some dairy and egg-free ideas. Just expect a slightly flatter loaf. Please let me know how you like this version because for now, I only have the egg and butter version dialed in. I am happy to continue testing for an egg and dairy-free version moving forward.

In the meantime, enjoy my Gluten-Free Spotted Irish Soda Bread recipe. I think you’re gonna love it!

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Gluten-Free Spotted Irish Soda Bread

Yield: 1 7-inch round loaf, Serving size 1 slice

Author: Lizette Marx

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 55 MinTotal time: 1 H & 15 M

Can a gluten-free version of Irish soda bread be less stodgy and crumbly than the traditional loaf? If you make this one, then the answer is "yes, indeed!" The combination of gluten-free flours, dill, and currants soaked in black tea as well as the sour buttermilk and cubes of butter, make this bread rival the original. You'll want to make this soda bread on any day of the year. And just in case you're wondering, "spotted" stands for the currants generously dotting this bread. If you're not a dried fruit lover, try it with grated cheddar!

Ingredients

• 1 - 2 black tea bags (or 1 - 2 tablespoons loose leaf tea)
• 1 cup currants

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• 1 cup cassava flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
• 1 tablespoon date sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 2 tablespoon ground flax
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon dried dill
• 1 tablespoons caraway seeds

Wet Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, diced or grated
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk*

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF
2. Place currants in a small bowl and pour 1 1/2 cups of hot black tea over them. Allow to soak while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
3. In a large bowl, add sorghum flour, brown rice flour, blanched almond flour, cassava flour, potato starch, 1/2 cup of rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, xanthum gum, date sugar, ground flax, sea salt, dill, and caraway seeds and whisk together thoroughly.
4. Add the butter and using a fork or a pastry cutter, break up butter throughout the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Drain currants and add into flour mixture. Whisk until currants are distributed evenly.
6. Stir in eggs and then gradually pour in the buttermilk. Continue stirring until mixture forms into a soft dough. The dough should not be too sticky and should easily form into a round. If it is too soft and sticks a lot to your hands, sprinkle in a little more sorghum flour (no more than 1/4 cup).
7. Sprinkle in half of the remaining oats and work through the dough gently.
8. Transfer dough to a clean counter or cutting board dusted with sorghum or brown rice flour and the rest of the rolled oats. Roll dough over the oats and form into a round.
9. Place dough ball onto a cast iron pan and using a bench scraper or a knife, make a large 1/4” “X” on the dough.
10. Place in the oven and bake for 55 minutes or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
11. Allow the soda bread to rest for about 20 minutes before cutting into portions. The bread will resemble a giant scone and may be a little crumbly but it is so delicious! I hope you enjoy!

Notes

See variations below:

• If the idea of dried fruit in your bread gives you the cringe, feel free to omit the currants.
• Instead of currants, try 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar.
• Can't do dairy. No problem. Useyour favorite nut or seed milk. Add 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar to sour non-dairy milk and use in the recipe as indicated. 
• Instead of butter use a good quality vegan butter of choice. 
• Instead of eggs, make a flax egg. Mix 2 tablespoons of ground flax with 6 tablespoons of water. Mixture will become gelatinous and “eggy”. Add flax egg when the recipe calls for eggs. 

Marx Culinary

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