Gluten free Irish soda bread that takes 20 minutes to put together, using baking powder and baking soda as the leavening agent. This is the quickest and most delicious gluten free bread and it is without the use of my trusty sourdough starter or yeast! I definitely enjoy the added raisins but you can easily omit them if you are not a fan.
A few years ago, I travelled to Ireland with my cousin James and we searched for and found a castle that had been in the family, generations ago. Some of my ancestors moved from County Cork in Ireland, to the same town in New Zealand, where I grew up. I have always loved my Irish history and I must return to Ireland some day, for another visit. One of my favourite travelling destinations!
There are many versions of Irish soda bread. This is my version and I hope you like it as much as I do?
DO I NEED TO SOAK THE RAISINS?
When you first think of making this bread, soak the raisins. if you don’t have much time then just soak the raisins for at least 15 minutes in hot water. Soaking the raisins certainly helps with the texture of the dough, because dry raisins tend to soak up a portion of the water from the dough, which can result in a crumblier bread. It is best to add the well drained raisins into the dough at the very end of mixing.
WHAT MAKES THIS IRISH SODA BREAD SO SPECIAL?
This Irish soda bread contains a blend of flours that are gluten free whole grains. There is a little starch added for texture, but not a lot. Fibre from the whole grains and the psyllium husk also help to make this a healthy and wholesome bread. Slather a slice with copious amounts of butter and it is way too good!
Soda breads like this one are so quick and reliable. It is such a treat to have bread made so quickly, without all the temperature control that comes with sourdough and yeast breads. The flavour was definitely familiar to me and brought back memories of a soda bread that my Mum used to make.
CAN I SUBSTITUTE ANY OF THE INGREDIENTS IN THIS IRISH SODA BREAD?
I have not tried this bread with an all purpose gluten free blend yet!! If you cannot tolerate the oat flour, you could substitute it with some light buckwheat flour. The egg and the butter add extra binding properties but this recipe works well with a flax egg and oat margarine.
DO I NEED TO USE A DUTCH OVEN?
No! You could use a heated pizza stone or cast iron pan, even a baking sheet. As long as there is a good airflow around the bread for that crispy crust.
WANT ANOTHER BREAD RECIPE?
CHECK OUT THIS GLUTEN FREE SOURDOUGH RECIPE
Irish Soda Bread – Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 15 g golden syrup or honey
- 15 g butter
- 140 g milk dairy, oat or other
- 130 g plain or vanilla yogurt
- 50 g millet flour
- 75 g sorghum flour
- 45 g tapioca starch
- 45 g oat flour
- 40 g brown rice flour
- 15 g sugar granulated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 13 g whole psyllium husk
- 1 large egg
- 85 g raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and cut some parchment paper to fit in the bottom of a Dutch oven or cast iron frying pan.
- Soak the raisins in 2 cups of hot water for an hour or at least 15 minutes, then completely drain them.
- Heat the honey, butter and milk together in a saucepan, until the butter has melted. Cool to lukewarm and beat in the egg.
- Whisk or beat the psyllium husk into the milk mixture, then add the yoghurt and mix it in.
- In a large bowl add the millet flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, oat flour and brown rice flour. Add in the sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder
- Mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and combine everything well so as there is no loose flour. Stir in the well drained raisins until they are completed combined.
- Tip the dough out onto well floured parchment paper and knead the dough for about 2 minutes until it forms into a ball. This is a very sticky dough and you may find it easier to knead it with well floured hands and give it a final shape around the edges with a bench scraper.
- Shape the dough into a disk that is 6 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.
- Cut a cross into the top of the dough with a knife or bread lame, cutting about 1/4 of an inch deep.
- Bake the bread at 400°F in a Dutch oven for 15 minutes with the lid on
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes until the top is crispy and golden brown in colour.
- If baking this bread in a cast iron pan. Preheat the oven to 450°F with the pan in the oven. Immediately reduce the temperature to 400°F as you transfer the dough and parchment paper into the heated pan. Bake the bread for 15 minutes at this temperature and then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. The bread is cooked when it is golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the bread for 20 minutes before slicing and store it in bees wax wraps on the counter for 2 or 3 days.
Turned out terrific
Thank you!
Really nice to recipe, good crumb and nice rise. Great to see a GF bread recipe which uses actual specified flours and not just “gluten free flour blend” . Followed more or less exactly but popped a bag of earl grey tea in with the soaking water for the raisins for a bit more flavor.
Thanks! That’s such a good idea with the earl grey tea!