Breads & Savouries

Gluten Free Soda Bread

Gluten Free Soda Bread
Serves
Prep in
20 minutes
Cooks in
55 minutes

There is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread. Before I was forcibly removed from the world of bakeries, patisseries & general glutenous products I absolutely adored making bread.

Every Saturday morning I would get up, prepare my dough & leave it to prove whilst I pottered around doing the life admin that a Saturday morning usually entails. I experimented with flavours, baking styles, flatbreads, sourdough, rolls…you name it, I did it.

So when this became ‘unavailable’ to me I pretty much shunned the bread world entirely as I wasn’t going to swap my lovely, crusty loaves for shop-bought, ready sliced ones. Now this is probably because I am a bread snob but in my defence the stuff on offer back then was pretty shoddy!

I have experimented with gluten free baking in the past, my Chickpea Focaccia being another winner.

The issue when you remove gluten is that you decrease the elasticity of the dough & so it can become quite dense. By using a mix of flours in this recipe you maximise the taste of the finished loaf whilst preventing this. The Xanthum gum jumps in to replace the binding nature of the gluten (you can easily find it in Free From sections in large supermarkets or online) & the bicarbonate/baking powder combination maximises the rise.

And the final fab thing? Because it’s soda bread you simply chuck everything in a bowl, mix it for a couple of minutes & ignore it in the oven for just under an hour! No proving, knocking back or waiting all day for the smell of fresh, crusty bread to fill your kitchen 😀

Key Facts

  • Makes 1 Loaf
  • Gluten Free
  • Vegan
  • Super Simple

Ingredients

  • 225g teff flour
  • 112g buckwheat flour
  • 112g brown rice flour
  • 360ml almond milk (or plant milk of choice)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp coconut palm sugar
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp xanthan gum
  • 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Preparation

01

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

02

Take a large stock pot or saucepan, drizzle in a little water & sprinkle with brown rice flour so it sticks to the sides. Place in the oven to heat whilst you prep your dough.

03

In a jug, mix the almond milk & apple cider vinegar & leave to one side to thicken (this is your dairy free buttermilk).

04

Measure the rest of the dry ingredients into a large bowl & whisk to combine.

05

Make a well in the middle & pour in the almond milk buttermilk. Use a spatula to bring together then tip out onto a lightly floured surface & knead for a minute or so until smooth. Shape into a round.

06

Carefully remove your hot pan from the oven & place your ball of dough in the centre, sprinkle with a little extra brown rice flour & pop back in the oven.

07

Bake for 45-55 minutes, it’s ready when you tap it & it sounds hollow.

08

Leave to cool on a rack for 5 minutes (if you can resist!) then tuck in & enjoy. Soda bread doesn’t keep well so is best eaten on the day it’s made or toasted the day or 2 after.

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About me

Phoebe Liebling (BSc, DipNT) is a highly respected clinician & award winning product & recipe developer based in Harley Street.

Phoebe Liebling