St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon and a reader asked if I had a dairy free and gluten free Irish soda bread recipe. Our family loves making Irish food, so sure enough I have one that I’m happy to share with you.
Growing up, I don’t remember eating a lot of Irish dishes, with the exception of Shepard’s Pie which was always a favorite. My husband has a lot of Irish family members, so I really fell in love with Irish cooking after attending their gatherings. We make many of them throughout the year, but on St. Patrick’s Day we always have a big feast. We’ll start the day with green pancakes or a shamrock shake (or both!). By lunchtime I’ve got the corned beef and cabbage cooking along with root vegetables, and by dinner we’ve got a shepard’s pie going as well.
It’s so important to us to get the kids in the kitchen with us, so they help us make all of the recipes. Of course, they can’t help with everything at their young ages, so we give them smaller tasks like mixing, mashing, and measuring. When it comes to dessert though, they can take the lead as head chefs. This year we’re making shamrock cookies and pot-of-gold cake pops.
So, back to the gluten free Irish Soda Bread. In two words, it’s simply delicious. The bread has a nice thick crust on the outside and is soft on the inside, with a hint of sweetness to it. I use the word simply to describe it because with 10 ingredients and 20 minutes of prep time, it really is quite simple to make. Here are some helpful hints and step by step photos to help you make it.
Helpful Hints:
- Bake in a pie pan – You can bake this bread on a baking sheet of any shape and size, but it keeps its shape nicely if you use a pie pan.
- Chill your dough briefly – Gluten free dough can be quite sticky and this Irish soda bread dough is no exception. Place it in the fridge in your mixing bowl for 15 minutes to make kneading and adding it to your pie pan easier.
- Prevent clumps of raisins in your dough – Raisins tend to stick together, so lightly flour them in a bowl before adding them to your batter.
- Prevent the bread from cracking by slicing an X (or cross) on the dough before baking. History shows that the cross on top was meant as a symbol of blessing the food and warding off the devil, but it also helps the bread cook more evenly.
- Line your pan with parchment paper. An easy way to do this in a round pan is to trace the outside of the pan with a pencil on the parchment paper. Then you will simply cut out the circle shape and it will fit perfectly inside your pan.
How to Make Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and makes 20 servings. It can be made nut free by substituting the cashew milk with a nut free milk.
You will need:
- Electric mixer
- 2 mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons & cups
- 9 inch pie pan or baking sheet
- Serrated knife
- 1 1/2 cups cashew milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 cups gluten free multi-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspooon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter, cold
- 3/4 cup raisins (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Pour cashew milk and apple cider vinegar into a cup or bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes. This creates your “buttermilk.”
- Meanwhile, add gluten free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
- Combine your egg, “buttermilk” and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix on low for 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly add your flour to the mixing bowl with your wet ingredients and mix on medium for two minutes. The dough will be tough.
- Next, cut your cold butter into cubes about 1/2 inch thick.
- Add cubed butter to mixing bowl and mix on medium for 2 minutes.
- Lightly sprinkle raisins with flour to keep them from sticking to each other.
- Add them to the mixing bowl and fold into the dough with a spatula.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Dough is quite sticky, and chilling the dough makes it easier to knead and transfer to a pan.
- Line a 9 inch round baking pan with parchment paper.
- Knead the dough into a ball with your hands three times.
- Place the dough on top of the parchment paper lined pan and mold so that it fits the shape of the pan.
- Sprinkle flour over the top of the dough.
- Slice an “X” on the top of the dough with a serrated knife.
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Let it cool for 15 minutes before serving. You can also let it cool completely and serve at room temperature.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please RATE THE RECIPE below!
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Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread Printable Recipe
Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cashew milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 cups gluten free multi-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspooon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter cold
- 3/4 cup raisins optional
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
-
Pour cashew milk and apple cider vinegar into a cup or bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes. This creates your "buttermilk."
-
Meanwhile, add gluten free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
-
Combine your egg, "buttermilk" and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix on low for 1-2 minutes.
-
Slowly add your flour to the mixing bowl with your wet ingredients and mix on medium for two minutes. The dough will be tough.
-
Next, cut your cold butter into cubes about 1/2 inch thick.
-
Add cubed butter to mixing bowl and mix on medium for 2 minutes. The dough should be smooth now.
-
Lightly sprinkle raisins with flour to keep them from sticking to each other.
-
Add raisins to the mixing bowl and fold into the dough with a spatula.
-
Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Dough is quite sticky, and chilling the dough makes it easier to knead and transfer to a pan.
-
Line a 9 inch round baking pan with parchment paper.
-
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead the dough into a ball with your hands three times.
-
Place the dough on top of the parchment paper lined pan and mold so that it fits the shape of the pan.
-
Sprinkle flour over the top of the dough (optional).
-
Slice an "X" on the top of the dough with a serrated knife.
-
Bake for 35 minutes until it's cooked through.
-
Let it cool for 15 minutes before serving. You can also let it cool completely and serve at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Notes:
- Bake in a pie pan - You can bake this bread on a baking sheet of any shape and size, but it keeps its shape nicely if you use a pie pan.
- Chill your dough briefly - Gluten free dough can be quite sticky and this Irish soda bread dough is no exception. Place it in the fridge in your mixing bowl for 15 minutes to make kneading and adding it to your pie pan easier.
- Prevent clumps of raisins in your dough - Raisins tend to stick together, so lightly flour them in a bowl before adding them to your batter.
- Prevent the bread from cracking by slicing an X (or cross) on the dough before baking. History shows that the cross on top was meant as a symbol of blessing the food and warding off the devil, but it also helps the bread cook more evenly.
- Line your pan with parchment paper. An easy way to do this in a round pan is to trace the outside of the pan with a pencil on the parchment paper. Then you will simply cut out the circle shape and it will fit perfectly inside your pan.
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