Elana's Pantry

New York Times Bestselling author Elana Amsterdam founded Elana’s Pantry, the go-to website for easy, healthy, grain-free, Paleo recipes, in 2006

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

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As a Jew, Irish Soda Bread would not be something that comes naturally to me.  However, over the years, I’ve received many requests for a dairy-free Irish Soda Bread.  Well, here you have my healthy Irish Soda Bread recipe, made with gluten-free, high-protein almond flour!

Given that I’m not Irish, I had to do some research to figure out what Irish Soda Bread is.  Here’s what Wikipedia had to say about it:

“Soda bread are a variety of quick bread traditionally used in a variety of cuisines in which bread soda (otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate or baking soda) is used as a raising agent rather than the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk. Other ingredients can be added such as raisins, egg or various forms of nuts.”

As you can see, Irish Soda Bread typically contains buttermilk.  It is the acid in the buttermilk that reacts with the baking soda to create a chemical reaction which makes this bread rise.  In order to make a dairy-free Irish Soda Bread, I used apple cider vinegar in this recipe for the acid in place of the buttermilk.

Print Recipe
Irish Soda Bread
Serves:8
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and raisins
  2. In a small bowl combine eggs, honey, and apple cider vinegar
  3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
  4. Place dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
  5. Form into a large, flat circle 8 inches across and 1 ½ inches tall
  6. Using a serrated knife, score top of dough a half inch deep, in shape of a cross
  7. Sprinkle top of bread with caraway seeds
  8. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, then turn off oven and leave bread in for 10 minutes
  9. Cool for 1 hour
  10. Serve

To store this gluten-free bread, wrap in a paper towel, seal in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

I hope you all enjoy this classic St. Patrick’s Day Soda Bread. When we want to feel very Irish, I serve this yummy bread along with my Green Eggs recipe. My naturally sweetened Peppermint Patties are another healthy St. Patrick’s Day recipe that you’ll love!

Here are some of my other easy paleo bread recipes:

Comments

  1. I originally come from Ireland and I grew up with soda bread. I wish I could reach out and
    give you a big hug. I have an autoimmune disease and have to go gluten free. I just found
    your site today and decided to try your recipe. I have to confess I thought it was going to
    be a big mistake before I put it in the oven. It looked a bit too gooey. Well the aroma in my
    kitchen was wonderful. The bread came out just a ten star. It was baked to perfection and
    delicious. Above all else it was so simple to make..

    I can’t wait to try more of your recipies..

    Reply

  3. Holy cow! I just made this and it is a dream come true!! My husband didn’t even know that it was grain free! He said it tastes every bit as good as traditional and restaurant soda bread. I used ground cardamom instead of caraway seeds because I didn’t have them, but tasted so amazing! I’m so happy to have found this gem!!

    Reply

    • Lindsey, thanks! I’m so glad to hear this bread is a dream come true and that your husband said it tastes every bit as good as traditional soda bread :-)

      Reply

  5. Elana,

    Awesome recipe! I just wanted to let you know we are posting this as our recipe of the month on our website. Thank you again and keep up the great work!!

    Reply

  6. hello Elana,
    I’ve made this bread twice, first time bottom was very dark, so second time I left out the dark honey, thinking perhaps that was it. Second time not dark or “over done” on bottom.
    NEITHER TIME DID THE BREAD RISE. I used all the ingredients you suggested, every THING, organic almond flour from LUCYS KITCHEN I have thermometer in oven, put cross on top, still doesn’t seem to rise? I am trying to perfect this recipe for a St. Patrick’s day party in two weeks… please advise me… Thanks, it tastes wonderful but doesn’t look good enough to share yet! I live at 6,900′ but you live at altitude too.
    warmly, Carol

    Reply

    • Thanks for your comment Carol! I make this bread quite often and it turns out perfectly EVERY time. Have you checked your baking soda and apple cider vinegar for freshness? I’m happy to help you troubleshoot this!

      Reply

      • Thank you for your reply, Yes I did all that the first time, dates says still fresh? I even googled Apple Cider Vinegar, I found it has a very long shelf life. Should I replace any way? This next time I will try weighing the flour? I’m madly attempting a fail proof loaf for party next week. St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon! However this loaf is getting expensive with my trial and error. Carol

        Reply

          • I do use large organic eggs, not jumbo?
            I had cut honey 2 nd attempt at this bread, due to dark color of bread and bread with almond flour, tastes so sweet. I am paleo with no sweeteners usually. However, no change in outcome with or without honey, didn’t rise either time…?
            darn…I wish we could solve this as Friday is the bog day!
            I’ll buy brand new box of baking soda and new bottle of vinger just in case and weigh flour that’s all I can think of now!
            Any other ideas Elana?
            Thank you, Carol

          • Carol, this recipe definitely won’t work without the honey, and also will not turn out well with jumbo eggs as the recipe calls for large eggs. I’d be happy to look over the brand of each ingredient you’re using if you’d like to list them, to see if that’s the issue. I want this recipe to work for you since so many people say it’s perfect :-)

          • Well I tried #3 yesterday, first & third had same result. 2nd was different as I omitted the honey that one time.
            Just to clarify I do use large eggs, thermometer in oven, this time I weighed the flour out, bought fresh baking soda and apple cider vinegar even though the others were not out dated, added the honey in again. I felt the recipe was sweet which is why I omitted the honey second time around. Also dark color to the bread as local honey was very dark. All three loaves were about 1.5 inches high after baking, seemed over done on bottom? They don’t look like your picture does at all, I took my own pic if I have a way to send it to you? I am “modified paleo, under an ND’s care” which means no sweeteners added, or minimal, often I find recipes now too sweet, almond flour itself is sweet.
            Elana here are my ingredients as you asked for them:
            Lucy’s organic almond flour
            Celtic sea salt – Selina Naturally brand
            Baking Soda 2 different brands
            organic large eggs
            Local honey
            Braggs org. Apple Cider Vinegar
            I omitted the raisins and caraway seeds.
            parchment paper is same brand you use.
            Hope this helps solve my mystery?
            (Using organic flour is getting expensive as I can’t share the bread just yet.
            I shop exclusively at Natural Grocers stores which is where I buy ingredients except for the flour which I ordered on line.)
            Thank you and happy St. Patrick’s day!

          • Hi Carol, I’m so glad to hear that the reason the bread was too dark was because you did not use the recommended honey. You may also wish to use the raisins and caraway seeds to get the desired results. My loaf is around 1.5 inches tall too, so it sounds like once you use the recommended honey you’ll have this all solved :-)

  7. I was really looking forward to this bread. I have made it twice and both times it has not risen. At first I thought it was because the baking soda was out of date, so I got new baking soda and tried again. But it still looks like a cookie. Any idea what might be the trouble? Thanks.

    Reply

  8. The bread is absolutely scrumptious.
    That said, i stuck (almost) exactly to the recipe, except for using walnuts instead of raisins (from my own tree – same amount). I even used the caraway seed although I wasn’t sure how it would taste in combination with the 2 Tbsp honey; however, it turned out great. Even my husband liked it (he’s very picky regarding gluten-free breads).
    My bread didn’t rise as much as in the photo, but by reading the comments just now I learned that it’s because I don’t have the right brand of almond-flour. According to Elaine, they all rise differently. Judging by the taste, though, it’s not a problem.!!
    One reader made it with almond meal and said it still tasted awesome.
    Btw. it came out with a beautiful crust. So I wrapped it in a tea towel overnight instead of putting it in a plastic bag, and it was still crusty with a soft inside this morning.

    Reply

  9. Elena, I love your recipes and posts. My grandmother was Irish and she always pointed out that soda bread is savory. If the same recipe has raisins and sugar in it it is spotted dog.. Not soda bread. I’ve made this without these two things… It’s heavy but very close to actual soda bread.

    Reply

  12. Thank you thank you thank you for your wonderful recipes. For your irish Soda Bread recipe, I would prefer to omit the honey. Does more liquid need to be added to make up for this loss?

    Reply

    • Muriel, You’re welcome! I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know what works :-)

      Reply

  13. Hi Elana – I am born and raised in Ireland and was raised on Irish Soda Bread. Now prefer to be gluten free so just bought some almond flour and will make this asap. I couldn’t find a way to just save the recipe…or even email it to myself…could you possibly add these capabilities? Am on a mini iPad in a small village in the south of France so my printing options are not convenient! I don’t expect it to do much rising as soda bread isn’t a big riser. I make a quinoa gluten free Irish Brown Bread – it’s dense but quite delicious! Thanks for all your great recipes which I keep getting through Yummly!

    Reply

    • Do you use Pinterest? It is a great app that allows you to ‘pin’ pictures and recipes to ‘boards’ that are always available to access. You should definitely check it out and start pinning! Warning: it is addictive :)

      Reply

  14. Made this yesterday and it was scrumptious! Used almond meal instead of almond flour and dried cranberry instead of raisins since it was what I had in my pantry and it turned out well. Will be making this for our Easter get together. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  15. made this recipe last night with only one drop of honey. It came out great ! Missed the Irish soda bread my Italian mom raised me on and since my allergies permit me from that, this is the next best thing

    Reply

  16. I made this bread so i would have something to bring to my St. Patrick’s party and I would say it was rather tasteless. I felt like it was missing something. I was a little disappointed that it didn’t taste like an Irish soda bread?

    Reply

  17. I have been making soda bread for over 20 years now, but this year I needed to turn to a gluten free recipe for a friend. I was excited to find this recipe and the wonderful reviews. I followed the recipe to the T, except for the brand name of the almond flour and it really doesn’t look anything like the picture, it certainly didn’t rise. I’m still going to give it to my friend and I’m hopeful based on the reviews she will still like it.

    Reply

    • Hi Jen, the key to making this recipe successfully is using one of the brands of almond flour that I have tested and found to work. Unfortunately there are a number of brands that yield flat breads that don’t rise. For more information on the disparity between brands of almond flour and how to make my recipes work well, please see this post:

      https://elanaspantry.com/ingredients/almond-flour/

      I hope you enjoy this recipe next time!
      Elana

      Reply

      • Hi Elana
        Thank you for your reply, after reading more on your website about flour, I saw you said Almond meal will never work for your recipes. The bag I bought said Almond Meal/Flour. As a first timer using Almond Flour what did I know… Nothing. Maybe you could put in parentheses not Almond meal so that first timers like myself know. Off to the store to buy just Almond Flour. ??

        Reply

  18. I live in Ireland, and as much as I love soda bread, I can guarantee you nobody puts caraway seeds in it, it’s not traditional. :) You can put a bit of butter or ghee, it helps to soften the dough. Is the vinegar instead of the buttermilk? I’ll try this recipe (without the seeds) and will report back. x

    Reply

      • Hi

        This bread is fantastic. I used the egg wash and it came out just like yours. It tastes a bit like cake though and I was wondering if it might be good if I omitted the honey and put some sun dried tomatoes or something that might make it taste more like bread than cake.

        Anne

        Reply

    • According to Epicurious.com, caroway seeds are not that untraditional.

      “Epicurious: When did variations on the basic soda bread recipe begin to develop?

      “Rory O’Connell: You can’t really put dates on them. But say, for example, having seeds in soda bread—a lot of people would completely raise their eyebrows at the idea of there being seeds in soda bread. However, the reality is that in Donegal and Leitrim there was a tradition of putting caraway seeds in bread. The likelihood is that the tradition was taken by immigrants to America.”

      http://www.epicurious.com/archive/holidays/stpatricks/sodabread

      Reply

      • I’ve had both sets of grandparents immigrate to the USA from the West of Ireland: Donegal, Mayo, Kinsale area. Both of them put Caraway seeds in their soda bread. Also, I recall my mother making it with sour milk over buttermilk, and if no sour milk, she would sour it with vinegar. I never knew why until reading your note. I’m planning to give this recipe a shot today…can’t wait. I’m also thrilled I can have my Irish Soda bread (we have historically made it with gold and dark raisins and drizzled honey on the top then a little sugar on top of the honey, as our historic recipe is quite dry…meant to be served with a slab of soft butter and tea). Happy St. Patrick’s Day all.

        Reply

  19. This was sooo delicious! I mixed some caraway seeds inside as well as sprinkled some on top because that’s how my fiancé and I like it. Sometimes Paleo baked recipes have an odd flavor, whether it’s bread or cake, but this was spot on and we couldn’t even tell the difference. We absolutely loved this! Perfect recipe! I can’t wait to make it on St. Paddy’s day and have my family taste it! :)

    Reply

  20. Love this recipe! Have made it so many times as written, and it came out fantastic each time. Since having to go egg-free and low sugar recently, I now modify this recipe and leave off the caraway seeds, raisins, and substitute the eggs for 1/2 cup of natural applesauce, and sometimes I sub the 2 TB of honey for water and add a couple drops of vanilla stevia. I LOVE making waffles with these modifications, very yummy and I can enjoy waffles with the family again! The waffles are browned and hold their shape well, not 100% like wheat waffles but I enjoy them. I then take any extra dough I may not be using to make the waffles and use my cookie scoop and bake 15 minutes or so to make little crispy rounded “biscuits” that I eat with Soy-free margarine or my plain natural apple butter as a snack the next day. Yum! Thank you Elana!

    Reply

    • Hi Kim- do you make the waffles with the egg free version? They don’t stick? I have been desperately seeking an egg-free paleo waffle so I’d love your clarification on the modification.

      Reply

  21. Hello,
    Thanks for all of the fantastic recipies. I’m now 21, been gluten and dairy intolerant since I was 16. Now I’m limiting my grains and sugar intake to deal with candida fungus and hyper/hypoglycemia with mood swings. So great fun to have a bread recipe. It is on the counter cooling as I type. Just 2 questions. I followed the recipie exactly, but if I make it 8 inches across I can’t seem to get it 1 and a half inches tall. Also, it appears fine, except for the fact that it didn’t brown on top like yours. Wonder what went wrong. Any suggestions appreciated. So excited to try it, I wish it would cool faster.
    Thanks again

    Reply

    • Hi Harry,

      What type of almond flour did you use, i.e. was it blanched almond flour, not almond meal, and also what brand? For the desired results use the ingredients and brands that are in green text in the ingredients portion of the recipe. Also, I think the egg wash could be a good idea :-)

      Elana

      Reply

  24. Hi, thanks for this recipe as I was just feeling sad I would’t be having it this year! I am asking about the “blanched” almond flour. Is this different than regular and could I blanch it myself? How important is the “blanching?” Thanks so much!

    Reply

  25. Used this exact recipe, exactly as written, except in a regular (large, 6 to a pan) donut pan. This was suggested over on Elena’s bagel recipe page for something that has the density closer to that of a bagel. It worked great! And I didn’t even have to boil it. (Although, I still might try that sometime after baking it for 10 minutes to give the bagels structure.)

    Reply

  27. Just made this and it’s good! I sliced it up and froze the slices. It’s a bit on the sweet side so I defrosted a couple of slices, buttered each side and fried it in a pan a bit and it’s (kinda sorta) like French Toast! Threw a little fruit on top and added a teeny tiny bit of syrup and my French Toast cravings were satisfied! :-D

    Reply

  28. I have made this recipe twice, leaving out the caraway and using cranberries instead of raisins. It is delicious! I love this recipe!

    Reply

  29. Made this today and it turned out great! One exception would be reduce baking time to 15mins as the full 20mins made the bottoms a bit burnt. Made 6 individual scone sized pieces. Will be a definite repeat.

    Reply

  30. I recently found this recipe, made it and my husband loves it! He just said to make more and more! Thanks!

    Reply

  31. I just made this! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!! I’m a bread n butter for breakfast type of girl and this is the most incredible paleo bread that is ready to eat within an hour, easy easy easy to make and fills the house with the MOST AMAZING smell!!! My dad swore the house smelled like bread and coukdnt believe it was gluten and yeast free!
    I’m in love! Crusty outside and moist inside!
    I ate it with butter and blueberry preserves and tea and am Happy happy happy!!!

    Reply

  32. I love this recipe. I have made it twice and it tastes great, however, I cannot get it to rise, at all. It comes out flat and dense. Still tastes good.

    The second time I sifted the dry ingredients with no difference. Does anyone have any suggestions?

    Reply

    • I had the same problem. I was hoping there’d be a solution as I’m supposed to bring it to my son’s school, but oh well. I wonder if it’s still ok?

      Reply

      • Hi Brittany, thanks for your comment. The key to my recipes is the brands used when baking. Best results come from using the brands that are shown when clicking on the green text in the ingredients portion of the recipe. Hopefully you enjoy this Irish Soda Bread in the future and thanks for sharing your concerns! And in case you’re interested in more information on almond flour, here’s a helpful link:

        https://elanaspantry.com/ingredients/almond-flour/

        Elana

        Reply

  33. Loved this! Made it a day late instead of on St Paddy’s. However next time I’m not going to leave it in the oven for the extra 10 mins I don’t think. It looked ok before I turned the oven off and ended up slightly dry after. But it tastes great! thank you!

    Reply

  35. I love this recipe. I’ve made this several times and even friends and family who are not Paleo/grain free think its great as well. Just made it again tonight for St Patricks Day to accompany our corned beef. Yum. Thanks Elana

    Reply

  36. Thanks for this recipe. I was thinking I would have to go without. This bread definitely does the trick. I went a little shy of the 1/4t of salt but would not in the future – use the full 1/4t. Slainte!

    Reply

  38. Thank you Elana for sharing so many wonderful recipes! I just made this soda bread. I followed recipe exactly, used Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour and weighed the flour to be sure to get the correct amount (I used 11 oz), my eggs were size large. I have a thermometer in my oven so I know the temperature is correct. At the end of the cooking time the crust and bottom of the bread were quite brown but the center of the bread was still mushy and moist. Any suggestions? Wishing I followed other suggestions that recommended making two smaller loaves, I will try that next time but wondering what went wrong this time?

    Reply

    • Did you make a deep X in the top of the bread? That’s the purpose of doing that, to ensure the center of the bread cooks thoroughly.

      Reply

  39. I made this yesterday, along with a cup 4 cup version of soda bread using buttermilk, just for kicks. my 8 year old preferred yours! but i was bummed that it did not rise. at all. flat as a pancake. can apple cider vinegar get “too old”? did i do something wrong?

    Reply

  40. Thank you for the recipe! I made it with some alterations and I loved how it came out! I posted my own version (with a link back to your original recipe) on my blog. I just wanted to give you credit where credit was due!

    Reply

  41. Thanks! I was hoping to find an Irish soda bread recipe. I’ll probably still add our typical additions: 1/2c Irish whiskey & 1/2 c.orange marmalade (and raisins)

    Reply

  43. Hi,
    I made this with flaxseed mixture as an egg substitute and it came out pretty good! I made sure to wait until the bread was completely cooled so the ingredients settled and it tasted great with dairy-free butter.

    Thanks for posting this recipe!

    Reply

  44. Thanks so much for the soda bread recipe. Been looking for this for a year now and am very happy I found you.

    Reply

  46. Thank you so much for coming up with this recipe! I have to avoid baker’s yeast, eggs and dairy as well as gluten, and this recipe works well with powdered egg replacer. I FINALLY have a yeast-free bread that I really like. Thanks Elana!

    Reply

  47. I just had to make a comment. I almost don’t want to bec. there are so many here, but …

    I’ve only been off wheat for less than 4 wks in an attempt to see if I’m allergic to it. A lot of the recipes I’ve tried were seriously lacking & hugely disappointing. I just made this soda bread & I didn’t even have the correct flour. I used a combo of Bob’s Red Mill & Trader Joe’s & the bread turned out wonderful. I really love it & it satisfies my love of bread. I’m going to try your other bread recipes now.

    Thank you!

    Reply

  48. Would this make a good grain-free challah? I want to find a challah substitute with almond or coconut flour. I’ve made Elana’s breads before and they are delicious, but not braid-able. Any ideas?

    Reply

  49. Thanks for this recipe! It’s not quite what I was looking for, but best I can find… will try with changes: Stevia in place of honey (fructose not good), definitely no raisins (not traditional and unhealthy), I am gong to try replace vinegar with lemon juice too – although not sure how that’ll work (meant to avoid it too).

    Reply

  50. Elana, we are a half-G/F family and so making everyone’s palet happy with breads and desserts is a must!

    Looking for a good “no corn” cornbread (as my littlest is grain-sensitive to all but rice– no millet either). I love all you do with almond flour! Can you point the way?

    Thanks for making all our lives more wonderful!

    Reply

  52. Hello, I am writing to let you know that your Irish Soda Bread has saved me. I’ve been suffering through the anti-candida diet, with success on getting rid of candida, but feeling completely deprived of grains. I miss eating chewy things the most and this bread has saved me! I cut the number of raisins in half, so that there is a little of the flavor, but not too much sugar, and I used one tsp honey and a few drops of Stevia instead of the agave. It is delicious, and reminds me of the wonderful home-made Irish Soda bread that I had while visiting Dublin. Thank you!

    Reply

  53. No offense but as an Irish person there would never…EVER be raisins in a soda bread. Raisins were not available when this recipe was invented. just saying ;-)

    Reply

    • raisins are dried grapes and have been around for thousands of years! And btw, the Romans introduced both wine and wheat to people living north of the Alps about 2000 years ago. So, logically, both dried grapes and wheat would have arrived in Ireland at about the same time.. Of course there was no baking soda, so the recipe could only be about 150 years old

      Reply

  55. This was so easy and a HUGE hit at our annual St Paddy’s party. We had a ‘taste off’ between this recipe and a loaf from a local bakery (traditional- not GF) and your recipe won! I will make this year after year! Thank you!!!

    Reply

  56. This was really good. I was worried because mine was a little dark when I took it out, but it was really good. I put out butter to spread on it, but the kids loved it plain. I did not miss wheat flour a bit.

    Reply

  57. I don’t Usually comment on the recipes I use online, but this recipe blew my mind b/c it tastes sooo incredibly close to the wheat and dairy version!! I substituted chopped dried cherries due to my sulfite/raisin allergy and it looked like” raisins” in the bread with perfect sweetness. I also added caraway seeds to the batter AND on top as garnish. delicious! Crispy exterior and tender soft inside….yum-O!!!! Thank u for creating a gfree, dairy- free rock star recipe. This allergic girl is very happy!!!

    Reply

  59. Thanks for this recipe. FYI I had to increase the baking time by a total of 20 minutes or so. I do have a quite reliable, convection oven but at the cooking time you recommended the dough was still gummy. But good taste and texture once it cooked through

    Reply

  60. I also have absolutely no Irish connections whatsoever but was looking around for something yummy & GF to sink my teeth into – this looks yummy & I can’t wait to try it! It looks like it’d be another yummy breakfast bread :)

    Reply

  61. Help! What am I doing wrong? The dough stays pretty wet, following above instructions. Then when I form into a round circle, it does not rise. It stays the exact same height as when I put into the oven.

    What am I doing wrong? I could smell the reaction to the apple cider and baking soda ( just bought both so they are very fresher), smelled like bread ” happening”.

    Please let know what you think could be the issue. Is it because I live at sea level? Hmmm

    Looking forward to your feedback

    Reply

  62. Chère Elena, merci! Est-ce qu’un jour vos livres de recettes pourraient être traduites en français? J’ai commandé votre livre mais je ne lis pas l’anglais. Je vais devoir trouver quelqu’un pour m’aider pour traduire les recettes mais je voulais absolument l’avoir. Merci Rachel

    Reply

  63. Hi Elana!

    First of all, I make this bread all the time; it is a blessing in our GF house.

    I also made a happy little accident with this bread. I was sleep-deprived and accidentally added a tbsp. of vanilla to the dough, and the result was a delicious sweet bread that would be a great substitute for coffee cake.

    I think the next time I make it I will add some cinnamon crumble to the top and voila!

    Thanks again for a stunning recipe!

    Reply

  64. Thank you for ALL you do. Your recipes are so easy to follow, quickly assembled and delicious. This soda bread is so very tasty, I am always amazed after I try a new recipe here, it is a million times better than any gluten free item purchased at the health food store.

    Reply

    • Adriana, I’m so glad to hear that my recipes are a million times better than any gluten-free items that you purchase!!!

      Reply

  66. Hi Elana, thanks so much for providing this recipe….I have been GF for about 2 months now and am feeling much better. I REALLY miss bread and have tried a bunch of bread recipes from other sites and a couple of cookbooks, yuck! I am vegan as well, so don’t use eggs and I have a hard time with sugar. I suppose that’s why a lot of the bread didn’t rise or was really gooey. When I read your recipe, I knew I had to try it. I used egg replacer and don’t have a scale to weigh the flour, so when the batter was too sticky, I just added another 1/4 c. I think I flattened it out too much, to about 1in. and it didn’t look smooth like yours. I don’t care for caraway, so added a heaping tsp. cinnamon to the batter and sprinkled more on top. Baby, was it good!!!!! My poor husband has been the “beneficiary” of all my experiments and he eats them whether they are gooey or not:-(, but this one is MINE!!! I bought your cookbook immediately and look forward to more goodies. Thanks again and again and again!

    Reply

  67. Thank you for what you do, and for posting so many FREE recipes. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 4 months ago, and recently with Rheumatoid arthritis, research has now showed me what the doctor’s haven’t that they are both auto immune disorders. If I want to keep from getting worse, and have any hope of getting my present symptoms under control I need to do some major diet modifications: basically grain free, sugar free and dairy free (at least for a while). I was actually getting quite scared, not finding ANY recipes that had foods that I would be able to eat. Then I found YOU. My nervous stomach has subsided and my anxiety has calmed down, and seeing how you are handling this, as just a part of the way you live your life gives me hope that I too can change and start over on a new healthy path. Thanks again for what you do. Robin

    Reply

  68. This turned out great! I used Honeyville Unblanched almond flour and maple syrup instead of the agave. I only had about 2 T of raisins left, but that seemed plenty (they were tiny raisins, almost more like currants so they were well distributed). It’s really tasty with a big smear of butter on it!

    Reply

  69. Thank you! My whole family loved this :) We made one with chocolate chips and one with dried cranberries, substituted honey for agave and they were perfect.

    Reply

  70. I’ve made the soda bread twice and both times it did not rise at all.
    It tastes very good but it doesn’t rise at all. Am I doing something wrong?

    Reply

  71. This is more of a question. When you measure your “flours” do you scoop the cup into the flour or spoon the flour into the cup? I learned to bake in the 50’s and it made a difference how the bread/muffin turned out.

    Reply

  74. Just had a piece of this–finally cool enough to eat–and it was awesome! I love soda bread, (but it’s a pain to make, I never get it right and I don’t live near any british bakeries anymore…) Soda bread is very dense and heavy and sometimes kinda dry (which is why they fry it, cut-side down, in bacon grease for morning fry-ups). I liked that it was more moist than typical soda is. I prefer raisins over currants, anyways, and I did omit the caraway seeds because I’m not a fan of them and I don’t own any… And I changed the agave to honey. It didn’t rise quite as nice as yours–I think my almond meal/flour was a little more coarsely ground, but that didn’t make any difference to the taste. Truly excellent recipe. I’m going to try wrapping the cool peices in saran for storage, too (but in fridge as it’ll go mouldy in a couple of days without preservatives in it.)

    Reply

  75. Thanks for the recipe Elana! It’s in the oven as I type. I’m paleo so I replaced the agave with honey. I hope it turns out right! I’ve missed Irish soda bread. Before my family went paleo I used to make Irish soda bread out of millet and sorghum flours. We haven’t had any soda bread for over 2 yrs. Glad we can again! Thanks.

    Reply

  76. hello! this blog has been so helpful to me in my quest to find gluten free recipes for my friend raychel. she was just diagnosed after years of eating bread with an intolerance for gluten. it may have been brought on by some other illness though because she is now also allergic to lactose and something in red meat. i thought it would be nice to give her a nice christmas present of fresh bread since she hasn’t been able to have much bread lately. The only problem i had with the recipes was that i wondered if the agave nectar and apple cider vinegar were necessary for the bread to cook right or if they were just for flavor. I don’t have enough almond flour to experiment so i thought i would ask. thank you so much!
    -any reply could be sent to my blog (there is an ask button that also functions to receive other types of messages)

    Reply

    • Cameron, the honey and apple cider vinegar are not so much for flavor as for ensuring a good consistency to the dough and the rise of the bread :-)

      Reply

  77. Wow, this was a total surprise! We’re Irish/Scottish and I’ve been on Paleo for 3 months or so and have missed breads. This looked like a soda bread, felt like a soda bread but didn’t taste like any soda bread I’ve ever tasted. This is a good thing! The caraway is superb and sweet/savoury with the agave/celtic salt made every mouthful feel like so many diffent flavours all combined into 1 bite. Delicious indeed but had to limit myself to 1/2 loaf and hide the remainder!
    Thank you so much.

    Reply

  78. I made this for the first time tonight and will likely make it again. I love recipes that shut the oven off and let cook at the end. So energy efficient. A perfect recipe. I changed nothing and loved the heavy bread and even texture.

    TIP – why not soak your raisins in warm water a few minutes (or simmer them briefly) until they PLUMP! Makes them syrupy and soft in the bread.

    Now that I think about it – why didn’t I soak the raisins in coconut rum!!??

    Thanks Elana for satisfying my Irish side . . . but about my Italian side . . . have you ever attempted a gnocchi recipe? Pumpkin gnocchi? ;-}

    Reply

  80. I just made this after coming off a 12 day cleanse ( no food) I am going to have it with my homemade Veg soup & I am so happy. It’s cooling now & looks beautiful! Thank you so much for making my dietary restrictions so tasty:) Bethanie

    Reply

  81. Elena,

    With the irish soda bread (whole) which rack would you recommend baking it? I am using the second from the bottom and I think this is too close to the heat source….

    Reply

    • Natalie,

      I use the middle rack of my oven, however every oven is different. You may wish to purchase an oven thermometer to stick inside your oven to make sure that it’s properly calibrated.

      Elana

      Reply

  82. I just made the irish soda bread (again) but I made the dough into 6 ‘buns’. I should have taken them out earlier than the 30 mins because they were over done and burned on the bottom. Next time, I will make only 5 ‘buns’ (6 were too small) with this recipe and really monitor baking time. I think because I divided the dough I should have baked the buns for only 15-20 mins.

    Reply

    • Natalie, yes exactly. Smaller items have a greater surface area to filling ratio and require less baking time than a large item :-)

      Reply

  83. I have just started baking with almond flour. I made this recipe last night but omitted the raisins. Results: the bread did not rise as much I thought it would BUT it did puff out a bit. I let it cool and cut it into 5 triangular slices. I then took one of these slices and cut it in half on the side like a bun. I put some cheddar into it and it was DEVINE….I wrapped the other slices with saran wrap and put it in the cupboard. Today I took out another triangular slice and cut it in half on the side. I put goat cheese in this sandwich. IT was so good. This bread holds up well. It is even better a day later, as long as it is wrapped up. It did not crumble and was more moist today than yesterday. Next time I think I will make individual ‘buns’. I will keep this recipe!

    Reply

  84. I read all the comments regarding this bread, and decided to try it with a little more liquid. I added 1/2 cup of coconut milk (with some lemon juice to sour it) and used a little less almond meal. It worked brilliantly. It looked and tasted moist and cakey and I was really happy with how it worked out. Was so glad I read through the comments first to see alternatives.

    Reply

    • i know this thread is old, but do you happen to remember how much almond flour you ended up using once reduced?

      Reply

  85. Hi Stacey,

    Happy to help you trouble shoot this recipe :-)

    Since you are using Honeyville almond flour, my guess is that your dough could be turning out wet due to a measuring issue.

    If you can, weigh out your almond flour so that it is about 4 ounces per each cup. I think this will rectify all of the issues you are experiencing with this recipe –wet dough, that is not scorable and results in bumpy, not smooth loaf.

    Please keep me posted on your results!

    Thanks,
    Elana

    Reply

    • Thanks, Elana, I will try that. I also just thought of something else…I have been keeping my flour in the frig. Maybe that’s why it is wet?

      Reply

      • Stacey,

        I don’t think that would make much difference, I keep my almond flour stored in the fridge and/or freezer and I have not found this type of storage to impact the texture/wetness of the almond flour.

        Elana

        Reply

    • I tried your suggestion with the measuring and perfecto! I got a smooth loaf! Thank you! I love how the apple cider vinegar gives the bread a wonderful ‘yeasty’ taste.
      -Stacey

      Reply

    • thank you so much Elana for the ounce conversion. I find it MUCH easier to measure flour on my scale than in measuring cups!

      Reply

  86. Elana,

    I just made this bread with Honeyville Blanched Almond flour and all the ingredients that you listed. But, my loaf looks all bumpy and yours looks smooth. Also, I found it impossible to score it with a serrated knife because the dough was so sticky and soft. I mixed the wet ingredients into the dry, by hand. Was I suppossed to use a mixer? Maybe that’s why my loaf is not smooth? Also, how should this bread be stored and how long will it keep.

    Thank you for your delicious, easy to make recipes!
    Stacey

    Reply

  87. Elena, Thanks so much for this recipe! I really enjoyed it and haven’t had much luck baking gluten free until I found your site. :) My bread didn’t rise much either, and stuck to the bottom of the pan (I thought it should probably be greased, but I followed your recipe to the letter). Still yummy. Thanks! Kirsten

    Reply

    • Dear Kirsten,

      Thanks for your comment, I would be happy to help you trouble shoot this recipe.

      First, what type of flour did you use? Second, if you were using almond flour, was it blanched? What brand? As that can make a difference as well in the outcome of my recipes :-)

      Elana

      Reply

  88. I could not form a 8 inch circle that was 1.5 inches tall. I would have needed to double the recipe to do that. It made a very loaf, but like all of your recipes, it tasted amazing!

    Reply

  89. The only bad thing I can say about this bread, is that my gluten-eating husband loves it! He always shuns my gf creations, and that’s fine because the ingredients are expensive, and he ate practically this whole bread. That is the Gluten-Eaters GF Stamp of Approval!

    Reply

  90. I made this bread tonight (on St. Patty’s Day) and it tastes great! I love the contrast of the apple cider vinegar against the sweet of the raisins. I am also a crunchy crust kinda girl and this fits the bill!

    BUT, my bread did not fully cook. I followed the instructions to the letter but the entire center of my bread was still like raw dough while the outside was so brown it was on the verge of burning. I cut out the center and ate the edges but I did waste a lot.

    When I make this again, I think I will make two smaller loaves that will have a chance to cook through. I have resorted to using my cupcake tin for most breads as I have found that the smaller cupcake size allows gluten free items to cook more evenly. Every loaf of gluten free banana bread I have ever made have been raw in the middle – but that hasn’t happened once to the cupcake size. So I am applying that same cooking theory to the Irish Soda Bread – smaller is better.

    As always, thanks Elana for always coming up with new ideas and reinventions of classic favorites!

    Reply

    • Hi Damselfly,

      Thanks for your comment, I would be happy to help you trouble shoot this recipe.

      First, what type of flour did you use? Second, if you were using almond flour, was it blanched? What brand? As that can make a difference as well in the outcome of my recipes :-)

      Elana

      Reply

      • HA! HA! I just saw your response to my post today (a year later) when I went to look at Irish Soda bread recipes for St. Patty’s Day today!

        To answer your question, I always use Honeyville blanched almond flour in my recipes.

        I have made this recipe since as two smaller loaves and it worked fine. Unfortunately for me, I decided to try a different recipe this year and I didn’t like how it turned out! Boo hoo. I am switching back to your recipe next time!!

        Thanks for everything you do!

        Reply

  91. Faith & beggorah to ye……The bread is a success…i cheated and used greek yogurt for liquid and erythritol for sweetener. I wanted to use currants, too, as my Irish in laws would….but alas…I cut up raisins and used less.. Didn’t want the extra carbs..But Wonderful recipe…Thanks!!!

    Reply

  92. why do you have rye bread on your gluten free site when it is full of gluten. be ok if labeled wheat free

    Reply

  93. I found the loaf to be rather dry, but tasty for sure. Next time I will add a bit more liquid and perhaps some orange zest. I didn’t read the comments before making it and used the called for raisins. Next time currents. I am hoping my oven temp isn’t off and that is what caused the dryness.

    Reply

    • Herbalchef, this bread is too dry when almond meal is used instead of the almond flour listed in the recipe :-)

      Reply

  94. Thank you Elana! I looked and looked last year for an Irish Soda Bread recipe that was grain free, and came up empty handed. This one was perfect. We have made three this week! (School celebrations, etc.) Subbed Honey for the agave to make it SCD legal. super yummy.

    Reply

  95. Hi Elana, Have you tried multiplying this recipe? I’d like to make four loaves. Do you suggest I do each one separately, or will it work to quadruple the recipe and have enough dough to divide into four? Thank you.

    Reply

    • Victoria, I would recommend making 4 separate loaves, I don’t think this recipe will work if you quadruple it :-)

      Reply

  97. You MADE my St. Patricks Day!!! Just today I was at the store buying my corned beef, and wondered what I was going to do for my Irish Soda bread this year… and was lamenting that it wouldn’t be the same with out it… NOW I can have it in a gluten free version!!! YAY!!!

    Reply

  98. I cannot have vinegar or buttermilk. any suggestions on a substitute? can I add lemon juice to almond milk? and if so, how much almond milk and how much lemon juice?

    Reply

  101. Great recipe! Turned out a little brown after 20 min in oven so took out early. I also added currants instead of raisins (traditionally Irish). :)

    Reply

  104. I made the bread for breakfast. Delish!! I used half almond flour and half almond pulp left over from my almond milk. I just added 15 minutes to the cooking time to accommodate the extra moisture in the pulp. Thanks!!

    Reply

  107. “Form dough into a large, flat circle that is 8 inches across and 1 ½ inches tall

    Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in shape of a cross”

    I don’t understand this part of the recipe – how can you cut an inch and a half into a dough that is only an inch and a half tall? Maybe I’m reading this incorrectly.

    I just tried to make this and the dough did not rise at all – the outer crust is very dark – it looks nothing like your loaf…I wonder what went wrong? I checked the date on my baking soda and it says it’s good until 2013…I’m so bummed – I’ve had a lot of success with almond flour until this.

    Reply

    • Jessica, I think your problem of having an unrisen soda bread might be lack of liquid ingredients not your baking soda. The liqid ingredients called for in this recipe are not really enough for the amount of almond flour called for. There is also a lack of fat in any form in the ingredient list. A form of fat is needed for a good soda bread.

      As much as I love some the recipes here, and in the book, some of them do not work as well as others. I’m learning to avoid the ones I feel will not be successful, by studying the ingredients list. If I feel the ratio will be off, I move on to another so as not to waste expensive ingredients.

      2 eggs,+ 2 tablespoons vinegar + 2 tablespoons agave, is not a lot of “liquid” for the 2 3/4 cups almond flour called for in this recipe. There is no mention on size of egg needed in the recipe, and that could well be another problem depending on what size egg the home cook may have on hand. If a medium egg is used and a large egg is needed, the ratio will be off.
      An example of a typical soda bread recipe. Ingredients needed for the bread. Flour, levening, salt, sugar, fat, egg, liquid. A ratio of 3/4 cup buttermilk (liquid) to 2 1/4 cups flour (dry ingredient) is needed for a decent dough along with the levening salt, sugar, egg and fat.

      If the fat is omitted, the mixed dough will be drier. If the size of egg used is not as needed, the dough will also be a bit drier. Egg/s and fat add extra moisture to a soda bread dough as well as any other dough or batter. I realize there is some natural fat in almond flour, but still, it would not be enough to compensate for an omitted fat like butter or organic butter substitute etc.

      If you decide to make this recipe again and find your mixed dough on the dry side, (it should look and feel somewhat sticky) You might want to try adding a bit of fat in the form of butter or organic butter substitute. As well, you might want to add a bit of lemon juice soured; rice milk, or soy milk, or if you must, coconut milk. Use these liquid suggestions only if you are restricted from using buttermilk or do not consume dairy. Do be sure to add these ingredients in small increments until the desired dough is reached.
      Best of luck!

      Reply

      • I’ve made this recipe twice already and it’s come out perfectly using the ingredients listed…

        I think Jessica’s problem was a typo in the instructions list (which has since been corrected)

        Reply

      • Almond flour is made from almonds, which are mostly only fat. There is certainly enough fat here for a buttery taste.

        Reply

      • I just made this recipe, and it came out much like yours, dark crusted and flat. I followed the recipe exactly, other than using dried cherried instead of raisins, and sesame seeds instead of caraway. The baking soda is good through 2014.

        It’s tasty, just didn’t rise well.

        Reply

  110. I had to laugh because even though I’m not Jewish Irish Soda Bread doesn’t come natural to me…and really, I’ve been unable to eat wheat and white sugar for so long that there are so many things I’ve never eaten until I do exactly what you do and figure out how to make them myself.

    I just posted an Irish Soda Bread recipe, too, and I **love** the flavor. I used currants & caraway in my recipe the flavor combo just knocked my socks off. :)

    Now that you have another recipe I can eat, I’ll have to make yours and compare the two.

    Hugs, Elana.

    Amy

    Reply

  111. I just found your site and love all the recipes! I am just beginning to cook and bake with almond flour and I’m so delighted with how things turn out! I look forward to reading your book as well.

    Robin

    Reply

  113. I’ve always wondered what Irish Soda bread was and how one would make it healthy & gluten free, so thanks for filling me in!

    I finally got a copy of your recipe book – I’m going to try making the chicken pot pie and I am terribly excited!

    Reply

  114. Oh, yum! My redheaded gluten & dairy intolerant boyfriend is going to be very excited when this comes out of the oven. He can’t do eggs either, so I’ll be testing a flax or chia meal egg replacement for this loaf.

    Reply

  115. I’ve made Irish soda bread before, and used either apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, mixed with coconut milk. If you let it sit for about 10 minutes the acid from the vinegar curdles the milk, so it’s kind of like creating your own homemade vegan buttermilk. I’ve found this works really well also.

    Reply

    • since I cannot have apple cider vinegar (and should not have any type of vinegar) I would like to try your suggestion to use lemon juice mixed with coconut milk. Since Elana’s recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, how much coconut milk and how much lemon juice should I use?

      Reply

  117. i love irish soda bread (with currants!) and was feeling blue the other day when i thought about not having it anymore. this is the answer i was looking for…..thanks, elana!

    Reply

  119. Thank you for this and so many other delicious recipes – they don’t taste like sad copies of the grain based originals but are lovely in their own right, enjoyed by everyone who tastes them.
    I made the soda bread just now, rice vinegar and live yoghurt instead of apple cider vinegar and a hint of maple syrup – it’s gorgeous.

    Reply

  120. I am going to make this today! I’ll be adding caraway seeds…Irish soda bread just isn’t complete for me without them.

    Reply

  121. Thank you Elana!

    My first experience eating Soda bread was at Downey’s restaurant in Santa Barbara. It was so very yummy. I am looking forward to trying your recipe.

    Reply

  123. You are just AMAZING, and every time I open the wbsite I find new craetion and new hope for me to stay on track. I cant thank you enough for sharing all your recipes. THANK YOU

    Reply

  125. Wow, thank you – just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
    Very much appreciated as I was aching for the taste!
    My Mom’s Dad’s side of the family is McDonough from
    Ireland so nice to have a converted traditional treat.

    Reply

  126. Oh yes! As a Latina its not common to love irish food/drink either ha. This year will be my first st pats without Guiness, at least now I won’t have to go without soda bread, can’t wait! Where there is a will (almond flour) there is a way.

    Reply

  127. I’ll never forget my first taste of Irish Soda Bread (pre-diagnosis). I was doing consulting work at an Irish newspaper in NYC, and an Irish gentleman made some and brought it to the office. It was unbelievably good, and he was nice enough to share the recipe. I made some last year using a GF pancake mix and it tasted pretty good, after not having any for more than 10 years!

    I won’t have time to make any this St. Patrick’s Day, but I hope to come back to this recipe when my schedule is not so crazy.

    Thanks Elana, for taking the time to create this recipe. I hope you enjoyed it — warmed, with a bit of butter.

    Reply

  129. Woo hoo! I just saw a regular gluteny soda bread over at Simply Recipes and thought making it GF would be a good experiment for this half-Irish girl. So glad you did all the hard work for me ; ) I’m curing my first ever corned beef too, so I’m excited to do a real traditional Irish spread this year. Thanks Elana!

    Reply

  133. oh this looks delicious and I have all the ingredients at home – a perfect way to use up my last teeny bit of agave before I move!

    Reply

  136. Looks great just need to try replacing the egg with flaxmeal or some other alternative. I have purchased your Gluten Free Almond Flour cookbook so should be able to find some alternatives.

    Reply

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