We deliberated over what recipe to post as a tie-in to St. Patrick’s Day. There were the traditional Shephard’s Pie, Cottage Pie, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Black Pudding (Ew, btw), Irish Stew, and an entire host of potato dishes, and while many of these will eventually make their way into our archives, we wanted to tackle something that would require the kind of adaptation that is the touchstone of this blog. A gluten free Irish Soda Bread was the most logical choice, and so here we are. The adaptation is fairly straightforward, as this bread has a history of being simple to prepare and uses fairly basic ingredients, as were dictated by the era and region from which it hails.
We started with Cook’s Illustrated’s “Classic Irish Soda Bread” recipe—which omits the caraway seeds and raisins that have made their way into American-style versions over the last several decades—and borrowed a couple of suggestions from Smitten Kitchen to round out the finished product. (No pun intended.)
These small changes—reducing the salt and increasing the butter—produced a beautiful finished loaf. Aside from increasing the butter, the technique of melting it first, then pouring it into the cold buttermilk was also used. If this sounds familiar, it’s the same method (also from Cook’s Illustrated) that we used in the Parmesan Black Pepper Biscuits. This causes the butter the reform into shards that get dispersed throughout the finished dough and it creates little steam pockets in the baking bread.
Not only does this step eliminate the need for a pastry cutter, it does absolute wonders for the texture of the bread, which is a marvel when it comes to gluten free baking, particularly where quick breads are concerned.
The dough gets baked in a round cast iron skillet (or any deep, round, oven-safe pan), with a cross cut into the top, in the tradition of the recipe found throughout the southern region of Ireland.
This results in the familiar shape, with a wonderful extra-crispy crust that gives way to a beautiful, light center that is airy almost to the point of being pillowy.
Served with jam and butter (the more the merrier), this is the perfect substitute for biscuits at breakfast, or you could tear off a nice chunk and dive into of bowl of hearty stew. However you choose to partake, be safe and joyous in your holiday celebrations. Sláinte!
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated via Smitten Kitchen.
- 19 ounces (about 3 cups) Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1¾ cups buttermilk divided
- Heat oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the upper-middle position. Whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk and melted butter in small bowl (we just used a large measuring cup) stirring until butter forms small clumps.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the dough just begins to come together. Turn out onto a work surface and pat together to form 6-inch round; dough will be scrappy and uneven.
- Place dough in 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Score deep cross, about 5 inches long and ¾ inch deep, on top of loaf and place in oven. Bake until nicely browned and knife inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
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