This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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
Why this recipe works
I first developed my original recipe for gluten free Irish soda bread when my gluten free son was in grammar school, so he wouldn't feel left out during those celebrate-every-holiday-with-food years.
The older he gets, of course, the more powerless I've become in that way (all ways?). If I think too hard about that, I'll need a bonus therapy session this week ? so let's move on…
All 3 of my children love even the very idea of Irish soda bread, since it's, well, sort of like a big old biscuit, no matter which way you make it. This version is quite different than the first, though, as it's a savory gluten free Irish soda bread.
I serve it for breakfast, for an after school snack, and as a dinner side. It can even be used for a sandwich, if you can believe that, since it's delightfully soft but chewy inside and crusty inside.
Only the simplest ingredients in this savory Irish soda bread
The most traditional Irish soda bread, as I understand it having admittedly not a drop of Irish ? blood to be sure, is a simple quick bread recipe, made with flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk.
Perhaps because we Americans can't resist, we've added sugar, butter, and made it into more of a sweet treat, like in my original soda bread recipe. This recipe is little more than the most traditional flour, baking soda, salt, buttermilk formula. The two tablespoons of sugar help round out the flavor of the bread, but they're entirely optional.
For a bit of richness and additional moisture, I've added a few tablespoons of unsalted butter. Since it's such a simple recipe, you must use all of the ingredients if you want a beautiful loaf that's crisp on the outside, soft and chewy inside.
For a more highly enriched, sweetened bread with raisins or currants, I recommend my original recipe for gluten free Irish soda bread.
Tips for making a great savory gluten free Irish soda bread
Buttermilk is not just milk with vinegar or lemon
You'll find heaps of information on the Internet from all sorts of reputable websites claiming that buttermilk can be replaced in any recipe that calls for it with a “soured” milk of one kind or another. Please … don't do that?
Souring milk with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice, cream of tartar, or white vinegar will make your milk taste a bit sour, and may even form a few curdles if it's cow's milk. But it will not replicate the thickness and taste of modern, store-bought buttermilk.
Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left over when butter was churned from cream. Modern buttermilk, however, is cultured which results in a more distinct taste and thickness. It's thinner than plain yogurt, but similar in taste.
That's why my favorite substitute for store-bought buttermilk is a mixture of half milk, half plain yogurt (the thinner, European-style of yogurt works best). I do tend to use that mixture interchangeably in recipes with buttermilk, and truly have no issue.
Keep your soda bread ingredients cold
There are only 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in this incredibly simple recipe, but they and the buttermilk must be kept cold. Since there's no yeast in this gf bread recipe, the cold fat helps give the bread lift in the oven.
Let your baked gf bread cool before you slice it
Like any freshly baked bread, it's tempting to slice right into it while it's still hot from the oven. But resist the urge! Let the loaf cool to at least warm room temperature before you slice it, and you don't have to worry that the bottom will compress and become sticky.
Ingredients and substitutions for savory gf Irish soda bread
Dairy free savory Irish soda bread
There is dairy in both the butter and the buttermilk in this recipe. In place of the cold, grated butter, try using Melt brand or Miyoko's Kitchen brand vegan butter (my favorite butter replacements for most purposes).
If you can't find either brand of vegan butter, you can try using Earth Balance buttery sticks, but use 2 tablespoons instead of 3. I also think that Spectrum brand nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening (preferably butter flavor) would work great, but even the whisper of shortening seems to send some into a tailspin. In that case, forget I said anything. ?
In place of buttermilk, try using half plain nondairy yogurt and half nondairy milk. Please scroll up for a more complete discussion of replacing buttermilk in recipes. TL;DR version: do not use milk “soured” with some acid.
Cream of tartar
If you can't find cream of tartar, you can leave this ingredient out but I prefer the results when I add it. It's an acidic agent, which is already present in the buttermilk, but it also helps the bread maintain its rise and white color inside.
How to make savory gluten free Irish soda bread, step by step
Savory Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (420 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (I used Better Batter)
- 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar, (optional)
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, grated and chilled
- 2 ½ cups (20 fluid ounces) buttermilk, chilled
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a 10-inch cast iron skillet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, and optional sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the grated and chilled butter, and toss to coat the butter in flour and evenly distribute it throughout the dry ingredients.
- Add about half of the buttermilk, and carefully mix to combine. We don’t want to make the dough particularly smooth.
- Add the remaining buttermilk, and mix, folding over with a large spoon or spatula until just combined. The dough will be thick and shaggy, but not stiff.
- Transfer the dough to the parchment paper in the skillet (you can remove the paper from the skillet to shape the dough, and then return it to the skillet for baking). Using a combination of wet hands and/or a moistened silicone spatula, gently shape the dough into a disk about 10-inches in diameter.
- Using a sharp, wet knife, score the loaf by slicing a large “X” on the top, each cut about 2 1/2-inches deep and all the way across the loaf. Move the knife quickly through the loaf so it doesn’t drag the dough with it.
- Place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F and bake until lightly golden brown all over and firm to the touch in the center, about another 15 minutes.
- Allow the loaf to rest in the skillet for about 10 minutes before lifting it out by the parchment paper and sliding it off the paper onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice by cross-section and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.