Mini Irish Soda Bread (Gluten-Free, Lectin-Free)

Cooking for St. Patrick’s Day is always fun. When I started to explore the world of gluten-free and lectin-free baking, many years ago, the first quick bread I made was this Irish soda bread.

I was so happy I can have something resembling bread in the morning, with a good chunk of butter. Bonus: it was so easy to make, that it opened my appetite for creating more gluten-free and lectin-free recipes.

For mornings when you want to spread butter on something

This lectin-free soda bread is good warm, out of the oven, with a little bit of butter or even nut butter. Makes a perfect breakfast on special occasions, like St. Patrick’s Day, of course.

It’s also easy to make and doesn’t require very special ingredients. These are usually ingredients that every gluten-free and lectin-free foodie has in their pantry.

Ingredients for a gluten-free and lectin-free Irish soda bread

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup cassava flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot flour OR tapioca flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan gum OR 2 tablespoons psyllium husk flakes
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 teaspoons natural sweetener such as inulin powder, swerve, or monk fruit
• 75 grams cold butter (French or Italian), cubed
• 2 pasture-raised eggs
• 1 cup nondairy buttermilk: 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice + 1 cup hemp/almond milk
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• about 1/2 cup of dry unsweetened cranberries mixed with finely chopped dry figs and / OR dry dates
• caraway seeds

The mix of flour is made of almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot or tapioca flour, and cassava flour. For more binding properties, you can add Xanthan gum or psyllium husk flakes. I assume the latter is more common, and it works perfectly.

The butter has to be French or Italian (I use the President brand), and the eggs have to be pasture-raised. Traditional Irish soda bread is made with buttermilk. Since this is not an option for me, I made a ‘buttermilk’ with hemp milk and lemon juice. The hemp buttermilk works well, but you can use another type of non-dairy milk.

TIP: Making nut milk at home is super easy, especially if you have nut butter on hand. Just blend 1 cup of filtered water with one tablespoon of nut butter and add some vanilla if you want more flavor.

I love to add unsweetened dry cranberries to this bread, but they are not easy to find outside the US. So when I don’t have them, I add dry dates plus dried figs, chopped really small. You can mix the three of them or use only one.

I know once a reader made these lectin-free Irish soda bread using a flax egg replacement. Although I haven’t tried it myself, I think it will work.

How to make this mini Irish soda bread recipe

The below version is one with cranberries and Xanthan Gum, while the above (and the featured picture) are made without cranberries and psyllium husk flakes.

• Heat the oven to 375F and grease a muffin pan (I used avocado oil), or you can use muffin paper liners or silicon muffin cups.
• Make the ‘buttermilk’: add the lemon juice to a measuring cup and add one cup of cold hemp or almond milk on top. Let aside for a few minutes until it curds or thickens slightly.
• In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients well.
• Add the cold butter cut into small cubes, coat the cubes with the flour, and press each cube with your fingers. Add the mix of dry fruits and mix well (with a spoon or your hand) to coat them in flour.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, ‘buttermilk’, and sweetener. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and combine well.
• Make a well in the dry ingredients and start adding the egg-buttermilk mixture and mix with a spatula. When the dough starts getting hard, mix with your hands but not too much. If you feel like the butter is getting too soft, you can put the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes or so.
• Portion the dough into eight equal parts and put each of them in the muffin pan. Gently press with your palm on top of each bread. Cut a cross shape on top of each. Sprinkle some caraway seeds on top.
• Insert the muffin pan in the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden on top. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

If you like this lectin-free Irish Soda bread, you can also try:

• Sorghum bread rolls
• Walnut millet bread
• Everyday Lectin-Free Bread

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Print Recipe

Lectin-Free Mini Irish Soda Breads

(6 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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By Claudia Curici, Health Coach – Serves: 8

Prep Time: 35 minutes – Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes

A perfect St. Patrick's Day healthy treat or for any day you want to spread butter on warm bread.

Ingredients

• DRY INGREDIENTS:
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup cassava flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot flour OR tapioca flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan gum OR 2 tablespoons psyllium husk flakes
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• OTHER INGREDIENTS:
• 75 grams cold butter (French or Italian), cubed
• 2 pasture-raised eggs
• 1 cup nondairy buttermilk: 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice + 1 cup hemp/almond milk
• 5 teaspoons natural sweetener such as inulin powder, swerve, or monk fruit
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• about 1/2 cup of dry unsweetened cranberries mixed with finely chopped dry figs and / OR dry dates
• caraway seeds

Instructions

1

Heat the oven to 375F and grease a muffin pan (I used avocado oil), or you can use muffin paper liners or silicon muffin cups.

2

Make the 'buttermilk': add the lemon juice to a measuring cup and add one cup of cold hemp or almond milk on top. Let aside for a few minutes until it curds or thickens slightly.

3

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients well.

4

Add the cold butter cut into small cubes, coat the cubes with the flour, and press each cube with your fingers. Add the mix of dry fruits and mix well (with a spoon or your hand) to coat them in flour.

5

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, 'buttermilk', and sweetener. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and combine well.

6

Make a well in the dry ingredients and start adding the egg-buttermilk mixture and mix with a spatula. When the dough starts getting hard, mix with your hands but not too much. If you feel like the butter is getting too soft, you can put the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes or so.

7

Portion the dough into eight equal parts and put each of them in the muffin pan. Gently press with your palm on top of each bread. Cut a cross shape on top of each. Sprinkle some caraway seeds on top.

8

Insert the muffin pan in the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until it gets slightly golden on top. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

This bread is best out of the oven, warm with some butter. You can also freeze and warm in the oven before serving. If you store them in the fridge for one night, just pop them in the oven the next day, at 375F, for about 10 minutes.