For St. Paddy’s Day this year, I give you a vegan, gluten-free Irish Soda Bread. It is incredibly easy to make, so much so that even a kid could do it. And it tastes exactly like the real thing, with a very authentic crust and crumb. I have had to go through a bit of an upheaval in my eating habits recently because I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid. I had been feeling the symptoms for years, perhaps more than a decade, with the tiredness, fatigue, unexplained weight gain and much more. But hypothyroidism is rarely detected early or in time by most doctors, and my case was no different. To make a long story short, I have been researching how I could change my diet to help alleviate the symptoms or even, if possible, reverse the problem. Because both soy and wheat are well known enemies of a sluggish thyroid, I have been trying to cook more foods that are gluten- and soy-free. Not exactly easy when you are vegan, but not impossible either. I have always made – and shared on this blog – lots of gluten-free (and soy-free) recipes, including desserts. But you’ll perhaps see more of them now in this space. Gluten and soy will not be out altogether, both from my kitchen or this blog, because Jay does enjoy eating breads (especially sourdough breads), vegan meat substitutes and tofu, as does Desi, and so do many of you. With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, I wanted to adapt my Irish Soda Bread recipe to a gluten-free version. I love soda bread – who doesn’t? With it’s dense and soft, almost melt-in-the-mouth texture, this is a bread you can really make year-round, as you should. It takes barely half an hour to get the bread into the oven, and after 50 minutes of baking you have the most delicious loaf to serve and enjoy. Check to get new recipe updates by email.
For this bread, I used King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour. It already has xanthan gum added, so you don’t need to add any more. To help the bread bind and to get that perfect texture, I also use aquafaba and a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch. You can leave out the cornstarch if you don’t want to add it, but your flour would end up shaggier and your bread may not have that authentic look. It’ll still be delicious.
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