Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread

Gluten-free Irish soda bread is a great recipe for bread bakers who are short on time. You still get the benefits of homemade bread, but you don’t need yeast, the recipe calls for basic ingredients you probably already have, and it’s much faster than traditional yeast-based bread. Or maybe you just want to try an Irish recipe!

The History of Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread dates to the Irish Potato Famine, which started in Ireland in 1849. A fungus infestation destroyed a large portion of the potato crop for many years. The famine proved catastrophic for Ireland, and during this time the Irish needed to come up with tasty recipes using simple, affordable ingredients.

The famine is long over but the love for this hearty loaf of bread endures.

Scenes from beautiful Ireland, the inspiration for this recipe: Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle, and Connemara.

Choosing Your Flour

I used Simple Truth Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix for my bread, which contains brown rice flour, potato starch, white sorghum, rice flour, quinoa, millet, amaranth, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum. I also like King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour.

If your gluten-free flour doesn’t contain xanthan gum, you should add one teaspoon of this. Another option is to add one teaspoon of flaxseed meal mixed with two teaspoons of water as a substitute. If your flour already contains xanthan gum, as mine did, you don’t need to worry about this. Xanthan gum is a plant-based stabilizing and thickening agent.

This recipe uses gluten-free flour, but you can also use traditional wheat flour if you don’t have gluten sensitivities. For traditional wheat flour, I like King Arthur Pastry Flour Blend for Irish soda bread.

Ingredients and Variations

This recipe calls for buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (many people don’t), you can substitute regular milk and one teaspoon of lemon. For this recipe, I used Horizon Organic Lowfat Milk with lemon.

I used Country Crock Original margarine in this recipe. Other options include Country Crock Light if you want to reduce the calories. I also like Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread if you prefer to avoid soy. Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter is great as well. Note that if you use unsalted butter, you should add a pinch more salt to your recipe.

Other variations include substituting currants for the raisins or adding caraway seeds.

Traditional vs. Modern Irish Soda Bread

Just to be clear, my version isn’t the “traditional” Irish soda bread as I used gluten-free flour and added raisins. I made a few modifications for modern tastes and to make the bread gluten-free.

If you’re a purist, the New York Times has published a recipe for Traditional Irish Soda Bread that contains only four ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk. This is probably closer to what the 19th century Irish used to make their loaves.

There is actually an organization whose goal is to preserve the tradition of soda bread called, not surprisingly, The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread.

How to Serve Irish Soda Bread

You can eat your soda bread at breakfast topped with butter or marmalade or with lunch or dinner as an accompaniment to soup.

Irish soda bread tastes best when you first make it, so eat up!

Looking for more easy baking recipes? Try our Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake for a taste of the Mediterranean!

Guten-Free Irish Soda Bread

Patrice Rutledge

This gluten-free Irish soda bread offers a modern twist on the traditional Irish recipe. Using basic ingredients, you can quickly create a hearty, delicious loaf of bread. No yeast required!

5 from 9 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine Irish

Servings 10 servings

Calories 272 kcal

Equipment

• whisk
• silicone baking sheet
• pastry brush

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg large
• 3 cups gluten-free flour
• 2 tablespoons cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup margarine softened
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon margarine melted
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Grease a baking sheet (or use a silcone baking sheet or parchment paper).
• In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut the softened margarine into the flour mixture.
  
• Add the raisins to the flour mixture and combine.
  
• Add the whisked buttermilk and egg to the flour mixture and stir.
• Form a ball with the dough using floured hands. Place on the baking sheet.
  
• Combine melted butter or margarine with the tablespoon of buttermilk. Brush on top of loaf using a pastry brush. Use a knife to cut an "X" on the top of the loaf.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and serve immediately.

Notes

If your gluten-free flour doesn't contain xanthan gum, you should add 1 teaspoon. Alternatively, add 1 teaspoon flaxseed meal with 2 teaspoons of water.

If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute one cup regular milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. I used organic low-fat milk with lemon juice in this recipe.

 

 

Nutrition

Serving: 10gCalories: 272kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 5gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 509mgPotassium: 123mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 519IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 132mgIron: 2mg

Keyword bread, gluten-free, Irish soda bread, quick bread

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