As a Jew, Irish Soda Bread would not be something that comes naturally to me.  However, over the years, I’ve received numerous requests for a gluten free, dairy free, gum free, high protein Irish Soda Bread.  Well, here you have it.

Given that all things Irish are not my native habitat, I had to do some research to actually figure out what Irish Soda Bread is.  Here’s what Wikipedia had to say about it:

“Soda bread are a variety of quick bread traditionally used in a variety of cuisines in which bread soda (otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate or baking soda) is used as a raising agent rather than the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk. Other ingredients can be added such as raisins, egg or various forms of nuts.”

I also looked to Elise from Simply Recipes for inspiration. She’s my online version of the Joy of Cooking, as she has recipes for just about every dish you can think of and gives interesting and informative tips along with those recipes.

As you can see, Irish Soda Bread typically contains buttermilk.  It is the acid in the buttermilk that reacts with the baking soda to create a chemical reaction which makes this bread rise.  In order to make a dairy free Irish Soda Bread, I used apple cider vinegar in this recipe for the acid, rather than buttermilk.

Irish Soda Bread
2 ¾ cups blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ cup raisins
2 eggs
2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
pinch of caraway seeds

1. In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and raisins
2. In a smaller bowl combine eggs, agave and apple cider vinegar
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Place dough on a piece of parchment paper and form dough into a large, flat circle that is 8 inches across and 1 ½ inches tall
5. Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and (thanks Jessica!) a half an inch deep in shape of a cross
6. Sprinkle top of bread with caraway seeds
7. Transfer dough and parchment to a baking sheet
8. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes, then turn off oven and leave bread in for 10 more minutes
9. Cool bread for ½ hour then slice and serve with butter and jam

I hope you all enjoy this classic St. Patrick’s Day soda bread.  Stay tuned for Green Eggs, and don’t forget about the Peppermint Patties from last year.

Here are some more yummy gluten-free quick bread recipes you may enjoy:
-Cinnamon Raisin Bread from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
-Amaranth Soda Bread by Book of Yum
-Mock Cornbread Recipe from Ginger Lemon Girl