Paleo Irish Soda Bread

Amazingly maintaining the crusty exterior and tender crumb of the original, this delicious paleo soda bread is both grain free and vegan!

For the printable recipe click here.

Before visiting Ireland my expectations about the food there were pretty low; I had heard it was all boring and bland. Fortunately for my taste buds, this was far from the truth. In reality, Ireland is a totally underrated foodscape with incredible culinary treasures to be tasted.

Although simple, one of the standouts on nearly any Irish table is the iconic soda bread. Typically sweetened and loaded with raisins or currants here in the States, in its home country this yeastless bread is often more on the savory side, made from some combination of wheat, oat, and barley flours, and served with every meal. Whole-grain-heavy loaves are simply called brown bread, and all varieties are heavenly with a generous slather of salted Irish butter.

When we first embarked on a paleo path, I assumed soda bread would be a once-a-year, dietary-offroading-for-St.-Patrick’s-Day kind of treat. I didn’t even think there was much reason to experiment with a paleo version at first--how could it measure up? But this year I just went for it, and leaping leprechauns, I’m glad I did!

This paleo soda bread maintains the hearty, crusty exterior and tender crumb of the original, amazingly excluding all grains and dairy.

Serve naked slices of soda bread alongside a steaming mug of lamb stew, or top with salted ghee, whipped bacon drippings, honey, or jam. If you can handle grass-fed butter, don’t skimp on the salted Kerrygold. Oh. My. Yumminess.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 ¾ cups almond milk

• ¼ cup cider vinegar or lemon juice

• 2 ½ cups almond flour

• 1 ½ cup potato starch

• ⅓ cup coconut flour

• 2 T coconut sugar

• 1 T ground chia

• 1 T flax seed meal

• 2 tsp kosher salt (I used Morton)

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 3 T palm shortening

Here's what you'll do:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the almond milk and cider vinegar or lemon juice and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients (almond flour-coconut sugar). Use a pastry cutter to “cut” in the palm shortening. Alternatively, use two forks to distribute the shortening throughout the dry mixture and till no large clumps remain.

4. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to make a “well” in the dry ingredients, and pour the milk mixture in, stirring to incorporate into a sloppy dough-mound.

5. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, pat into a thick round, and use a sharp knife to cut an X across the top.

6. Place the pan in the oven, immediately turn the temperature down to 425, and cook for 50 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Leftover bread can be kept at room temperature, wrapped in plastic or stored cut-side-down in a sealed bag or container, for about three days. Leftovers are great toasted!

For the printable recipe click here.