With demand for gluten-free baked goods soaring and St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I decided to try my hand at a gluten-free version of Irish soda bread. To begin, I turned to my favorite recipe, which comes from my good friend Maureen Luchejko (who happens to be one of the best recipe developers and food stylists around). I simply swapped the wheat flour for King Arthur GF flour mix in Maureen’s recipe, and the result was a tender, flavorful loaf that is a little more rustic in appearance than the original, but makes a deeply satisfying treat to enjoy with meals or at any time of the day. Just don’t forget the soft Irish butter. Erin go bragh!
Makes one 9-inch round loaf, serving 8
Ingredients
- 4 cups (560 grams) King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour, plus more for dusting
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 large (100 grams) eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (362 grams) buttermilk
- 1 cup (140 grams) golden raisins
- 4 teaspoons caraway seeds
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9-inch pie dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scatter the butter cubes on top and pulse at 5 second intervals until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a medium bowl. (Alternatively, you can whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl and, using a pastry blender or two dinner knives, cut in the cold butter pieces until coarse crumbs form.)
- Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until well blended. Whisk in the buttermilk until blended. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture to it. Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients just until half blended. Stir in the raisins and caraway seeds until a soft, cohesive dough forms. Do not over-knead the dough.
- With floured hands, shape the dough into a round and place it in the prepared pie plate. Place about 2 tablespoons flour into a mesh sieve and sprinkle the flour over the top of the dough. With a small, sharp knife, cut a deep cross into the dough, extending it all the way to the edge. (This will give it a traditional look.)
- Bake the bread until it is golden and a toothpick inserted in its center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove from the pie dish and cool the bread on a wire rack. Serve warm or toasted with lashings of Irish butter.
Recommended Equipment
Gorilla Grip Pastry Dough Blender and Butter Cutter
