I love Irish soda bread’s dense, hearty texture. I’d never tried to make bread of any kind before but March is turning into a month of many firsts (see post about 1st pie).

There are tons of GF friendly soda bread recipes out there. I went with the one from MNN.com because it’s clearly written and included ingredients already in the pantry. Additionally the author provide a suggested flour mix: 2 cups brown rice, 2/3 cup potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca flour. The recipe was followed closely except for 3 changes: I only had 1 ½ cups of brown rice so I added a ½ cup of sorghum (jowar) flour. To make it vegan, a flax egg was substituted. Lastly, almond milk was substituted for buttermilk.

Soda bread ingredients combined.

Like any baking recipe, wet and dry ingredients are placed into two separate bowls, mixed separately and then together. Initially the dough didn’t appear moist enough but after light kneading it cooperated. Just like the pie the other day, cracks needed to be repaired before quickly moving it into the pot/pan. In my case I used a Le Creuset casserole pan. The oven was preheated to 350 F. Once it reached the temperature the bread cooked for 45 minutes.

with a little butter on top

The final product looked like soda bread though with many cracks in the top. I’m not sure if it’s because the mixture was too dry, the flour alteration, egg substitute or if it cooked too long. Regardless, the flavor was fantastic. The texture is just as dense and hearty as its regular flour based cousin. Any suggestions for avoiding the cracks? Happy St. Paddy’s Day. What are you having for dinner today?

Soda Bread: Sliced and Tasty