Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread
Learn how to make this Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread for your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations! This is the BEST gluten-free Irish soda bread made with gluten-free flour, sugar, raisins, butter, and buttermilk. A sliceable and delicious traditional Irish soda bread with a gluten free twist!
In reality I am 25% Irish. If you knew my maiden name though, you’d probably think I was 100% but no, Italian claims most of it.
Still we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day growing up like Americans do except without all the crazy drinking. Basically, we wore green, had corned beef and cabbage and bought Irish soda bread at the local grocery store in March when they had it.
I honestly LOVED Irish soda bread. It was sweet but not too sweet and was perfect toasted up with a little butter. The only thing I didn’t like was the caraway seeds in it. Totally threw me off.
But that’s ok! Because now as an adult, I can make my own and choose for it to be gluten free, a little more dense and cake-y AND have 0% caraway seeds.
🍞Does Irish soda bread have gluten?
Traditional Irish soda bread does use gluten as it is a classic all-purpose flour or wheat flour depending on the recipe. The gluten aids in the elasticity of the bread and creates texture. So using a gluten-free flour you will find the texture will be slightly different than a traditional version but still delicious!
🥄How To Make Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread
1️⃣Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 450F. Grease a cookie sheet and set aside.
2️⃣Mix dry ingredients: To a large mixing bowl, combine the gluten-free flour blend, baking soda, baking powder, salt and raisins.
3️⃣Mix wet ingredients: In a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together butter, sugar and egg until it’s fluffy and combined.
4️⃣Combine: Add 1/2 cup of dry ingredients followed by buttermilk into the wet ingredients. Mix in intervals until all ingredients are fully incorporated without overworking.
5️⃣Knead Irish soda bread: Sprinkle some gluten-free flour on a flat surface and place bread dough on top. Knead a few times until you are able to shape the flour into a round but flat disk that is 1 inch thick. With a sharp knife, score an X on top.
6️⃣Bake and cool: Place on a greased cookie sheet in the oven for 5 minutes at 450. Once 5 minutes is up, reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and let cook for 2-3 hours before slicing and serving.
👩🏻🍳Chef Val’s Tips & Variations
- Choose the Right Gluten-Free Flour Blend: Make sure you find a GF flour blend that has xanthan gum. If without xanthan gum, the texture will change. You will find that Bob’s Red Mill, Krusteaz, and King Arthur are all great brands that stay consistent. But any brand will work.
- Irish Soda Bread Muffins: If you want to skip a loaf of bread consider making muffins instead. Use a muffin liner and then scoop the dough into each muffin tin. Then reduce the baking time, and cook until each of the muffins are baked fully.
- Flavor Profile: Feel free to change up the flavor of this soda bread recipe. Add in caraway seeds, fennel, or other herbs, or even shredded cheese or chopped nuts for a savory version. Omit the raisins and add in other dried fruit, mix in a little cinnamon, to make it a light and sweet bread.
- How to make buttermilk if you don’t have it on hand: You can take 1 cup of milk and add 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the milk. Mix and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. This will cause the mixture to thicken. Stir and then incorporate into the bread dough.
- Rye Flour Blend: Add 1/4 of rye flour paired with 3/4 gluten-free flour blend. This is going to offer a nutty and flavorful pairing to the bread. This will create more of a savory bread, so I would omit the raisins.
- Don’t Overmix Dough: Make sure that when you are mixing up the bread dough you do not overmix. If you do this it will create a dense and heavy bread. Use an easy hand, and once the dough is formed you can bake and serve.
🔥How To Reheat Irish Soda Bread
I find that the soda bread is best when warmed up and lightly toasted. This is a dry bread so warming it up helps to add moisture back in and create a softer texture.
- Reheat in Oven – Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then slice your bread and place it on a prepared cookie sheet. Then you can brush the bread with butter on both sides or a bit of water. This will help prevent it from drying out. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until the bread is warmed through.
- Air Fryer – The same as the oven preheat to 350 degrees. Then slice the bread, and place it in the air fryer basket. Leave space between the slices of bread. You will heat for just 3-5 minutes. The longer the bread heats it will crisp up similar to toasting in a toaster.
❔FAQ
Does baking soda contain gluten?
Baking soda is a gluten-free ingredient. This is a leavening agent which is used in most baked goods which is going to help the baked goods rise properly as they bake. If you are celiac, purchase a brand that is certified gluten free to avoid cross contamination.
Where can I buy gluten-free Irish soda bread?
If you have a gluten-free section at your grocery store or specialty store you might be able to find this bread on the shelf. Or you can shop online and ship it to your home.
Can I substitute gluten-free flour with almond flour?
Unfortunately, you can not use almond flour for a swap to the gluten-free flour blend. The texture of almond flour offers a different texture and is in a sense more gritty, compared to a flour blend. It will not offer the right binding properties and so the bread will lack in flavor.
🍪More Gluten Free Baked Goods
- Gluten Free Zucchini Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Gluten Free Strawberry Lemon Bars
- Gluten Free Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
Easy Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend
- 1.5 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder make sure its gluten free
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ cup Raisins
- ¼ cup White Sugar
- 4 tbsp Grass Fed Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 cup Buttermilk or Buttermilk Substitute
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450.
- In a large bowl, add all of your dry ingredients including: gluten free flour blend, baking soda, baking powder, salt and raisins.
- In a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together butter, sugar and egg until it’s fluffy and combined.
- Begin to add in 1/2 cup flour followed by buttermilk into wet mix in intervals until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Sprinkle some gluten free flour on a flat surface and place bread dough on top. Knead a few times until you are able to shape the flour into a round but flat disk that is 1 inch thick.
- With a sharp knife, score an X on top and place on greased cookie sheet in oven for 5 minutes at 450. Once 5 minutes is up, reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes.
- Place on cooling rack and let cook for 2-3 hours before serving.
