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The simplest, most classic savory gluten free Irish soda bread, made with flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and just a touch of cold butter.
Table of Contents
- Why this recipe works
- Only the simplest ingredients in this savory Irish soda bread
- Tips for making a great savory gluten free Irish soda bread
- Ingredients and substitutions for savory gf Irish soda bread
- How to make savory gluten free Irish soda bread, step by step
- Savory Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread Recipe
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Hi! I’m about to try this and wonder if I can bake it in a Dutch oven…. Thanks!
Hi, Karen, I imagine you could, but I wouldn’t do it with the lid on. I’d use it just as I instruct for a cast iron skillet.
This was gobbled up by everyone in our house not just the person who is GF. Awesome recipe! Question has anyone tried to freeze a loaf and would you recommend?
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Denise. Yes, you can definitely freeze it! I like to slice it before freezing it so you can defrost a slice at a time. Just let it defrost at room temperature, give it 15 seconds in the microwave and/or toast it from frozen.
This is the recipe that has prompted me to keep buttermilk in the fridge! It’s so easy and so good. I like to slice it all after it cools, and then then warm slices in the oven as needed to eat with butter and jam. It’s great with soup, too, or just by itself anytime. The one of my three kids who DOESN’T have celiac keeps asking for it, and it’s become a weekly item in our house. I could probably make it in my sleep…
This is such an underappreciated recipe, Christine (the sweet recipe gets all the love!)! So glad you guys love it. It’s really an all purpose yeast free bread. That’s how I should have sold it in!
What did I do wrong?
I am hoping you can help.
I made the recipe exactly except I baked it in a ceramic deep dish 10” pie
plate.
It looked really nice but it was raw inside.
If it was raw inside, Karen, it was underbaked inside. Ceramic bakes similarly to glass, meaning that it is slower to heat than metal, but retains high heat for much longer. They are both more likely to bake or even burn outside before the center has had a chance to bake all the way through. You could try lowering the oven temperature by 25°F after the first 10 minutes and baking for longer, but you’re best off baking in metal for quick heating that is less likely to burn before baking to the center.
I made this for the first time for an all-things-Irish luncheon. It turned out so good! One of my friends cannot have dairy and is allergic to coconut, so it took some label-reading in Publix to find the right substitutes. Almond milk (I mistakenly got sweetened, but it worked anyway) and Kite Hill plain yogurt subbed for buttermilk and Country Crock Plant-based sticks subbed for butter.
The bread was a hit! My friend took home the few pieces that were leftover as well as the recipe. Since she’s also gluten-free, I recommended she check out GFOAS. I’ve never had one of Nicole’s recipes fail unless I got sloppy in weighing or tried my own substitutions.
Thanks, Nicole, for your dedication to helping us have good GF food!
I’m so glad you were able to find a way to make a buttermilk substitute that suited everyone’s needs (one of the great strengths of that buttermilk formula, which I see so many people have used in this recipe, and that makes me so happy!), and that you loved the bread. Thank you for sharing the blog as the source of this and other gluten free recipes, Jo, and for the kind words about my recipes in general. Your trust in me means so much, and your support as well! You are so very welcome.
Can you use a loaf pan for this recipe?
Thank you.
Hi, Jane, I’ve never tried that, but you’re really better off baking it in a square 9-inch baking pan than a loaf pan. The amount of batter is at least 2 or 3 cups too much for a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan, and the higher sides of a loaf pan may make it hard to bake the bread all the way to the center without burning the outside.
This is such a useful amount of GF recipes.
I have 2 young granddaughters who are Coelics & I like to bake as much as I can for them.
Thank you so much
You’re very welcome, Sheila!
LOVED this bread! I only had half the Better Batter flour on hand, so added the remainder with Artisan Better Batter flour and fortunately turned out fantastic. I ate 1/4 of the loaf myself in one setting – LOL! I used a large round ceramic low side bowl as I did not have an iron skillet and it worked well. So excited to have GF bread turn out as advertised – thank you Nicole!
So glad it worked out with the other flour blend, Nancy. I generally recommend against it, but I’m glad it was able to pinch hit for you here! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I also had some issues due to using a different brand of gf flour – the dough was a batter! But I just added some extra flour at the end and folded it in, and overall I’m thrilled with the result. This is the easiest loaf of bread ever and it’s hard to believe it’s gluten-free. Thank you so much Nicole!
Have you tried adding cheese to this recipe?
Hi, Mary Helen, no I haven’t tried adding cheese to this recipe. It’s a bit sweet, so I don’t recommend that. If you’d like, you can try adding about 3 ounces of packaged shredded cheese (it has less moisture) to my savory gluten free Irish soda bread recipe.