Gluten-Free Cheese and Herb Irish Soda Bread – a super quick and easy rustic bread perfect for any time of year. No baking experience is necessary, as this mix and bake recipe is yeast-free and doesn’t require you to wait for the dough to rise.
Truth: the first time I baked bread, it was without a speck of yeast.
I just find yeast-free breads to be so easy to prepare, and such a joy to consume!
Gazing lovingly at a crunchy-on-the-outside and soft-on-the-inside rustic bread without yeast in less than an hour sounds farcical, but haste, it’s true!
All this can be yours with just two simple words: baking soda.
Irish soda bread is my all-time favorite bread to bake because of its simplicity and delicious result.
It happens to take way less time than yeasty bread because you aren’t waiting for the yeast to activate, nor the dough to rise. Plus, it’s free form.
You simply mix all the ingredients up in a mixing bowl, drop the dough on a baking sheet, and bake! Rustic crusty bread at its finest!
No need to allow the dough to rise, and no loaf pan.
This gluten-free Irish soda bread recipe can be made with various flours to suit your fancy (and your flour inventory).
I used Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, which is a combination of various flours – mostly rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour. Use any tried and true gluten-free flour blend you like!
You can replace the GF flour with equal parts all-purpose (or a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat).
Traditional Irish soda bread contains raisins or sultans. If you’d like to add them to the bread, feel free to do so! Follow my tutorial on How to Make Irish Soda Bread for the traditional version.
There are a myriad of possibilities with this bread. I’ve made sun-dried tomato/basil as well as roasted garlic Irish soda bread using the same recipe below and have yet to be disappointed.
What happens when Irish Soda Bread meats herbs and cheese? Nothing but fancy, fancy things.
Irish soda bread, meet soup…soup, Irish Soda Bread. Do we need to leave you two alone? I thought so.
Serve this delicious Cheese & Herb Irish Soda Bread alongside Easy Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potatoes, Keto Cottage Pie, or Crock Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage for an amazing St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your all your support!
Cheese & Herb Irish Soda Bread
Amazingly flavorful herby cheesy Irish Soda Bread is the easiest bread to make!
Ingredients
- 4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour, see note*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon rubbed sage
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- Cracked pepper
- 1 cup grated gruyere cheese, or parmesan or asiago
- 2 1/4 cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients except for the buttermilk and whisk to combine.
- Form a well in the flour
- Pour in the buttermilk
- Using a spoon, stir the buttermilk into the flour, making small circles first then working your way outward to incorporate all the flour.
- If the dough seems too wet, add a little additional flour.
- Form the dough into a ball in your hands and turn it out onto a floured surface. The dough will be sticky, but shouldn't be so sticky that you can't knead it. Knead the dough a few times then form it into a disc about 2” thick. You can sprinkle some flour on the disc. Place the dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
- Using a serrated knife, gently cut an X into the dough, about ½” to 1” deep.
- Bake the bread 20 minutes and then lower oven heat to 400 degrees and bake 27 to 30 minutes or until the bread is golden-brown and sounds hallow when tapped.
- If you have a meat thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the bread to check the internal temperature. Bread is fully cooked once it has reached an internal temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
Notes
*Bob’s Red Mill's gluten-free 1-to-1 flour works great! You can also replace the Gluten-free flour with equal parts all-purpose flour or a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1 of 12Amount Per Serving Calories 199Unsaturated Fat 0gCarbohydrates 44gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 4g
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Colleen
Saturday 18th of March 2023
Are you sure about the amount of buttermilk? I made this recipe as written and I had soup not a sticky dough. Even after adding 2 more cups of flour it was no where near forming a ball. I know I added the right amount of flour. If thinking of making this start with one cup buttermilk and add more as needed. Too bad. I really wanted it to go with my corned beef dinner.
Julia
Sunday 19th of March 2023
Hi Colleen! What brand of gluten-free flour are you using? There can be variation in the absorbency between different brands although it's usually very minimal, so I'm not sure what could have happened here. I can re-test the recipe soon, although I know many (including myself) have made it with success multiple times.
Sherry Coons
Friday 17th of March 2023
Is there another option for buttermilk if you are dairy free as well? Would lemon and dairy free yogurt work or maybe coconut milk?
Julia
Sunday 19th of March 2023
Hi Sherry! I wasn't positive about a replacement, so I googled it and here are a few options: https://www.purewow.com/food/vegan-buttermilk-substitute Hope this helps!
Valerie Rucinski
Wednesday 22nd of December 2021
Made this today for a Christmas potluck and shaped/scored it like a candycane. I used bread flour, asiago, fresh basil, and a few dried herbs. Had about 1/3 cup leftover buttermilk, may have been the different type of flour. It baked up beautifully! Thank you for sharing the recipe, this will become a new base for me :)
Julia
Friday 24th of December 2021
Ooooh, I love the idea of scoring it! Sounds amazing! Thanks so much for the sweet feedback, and I hope you enjoy the holidays! xoxo
Marin Lee
Monday 22nd of April 2019
How about using sour cream rather than buttermilk. Would I still need to use cider vinegar?
Julia
Tuesday 23rd of April 2019
Hi Marin,
I have never tested the recipe using sour cream, so I can't be sure whether or not it would turn out. I'm assuming it would work, although you may need to add a small amount of additional liquid to thin out the sour cream so that the dough comes together easily. Let me know how it turns out!
Annie in Alaska
Sunday 17th of March 2019
Delicious! I made this for my family with Dublin Coddle for St Patrick’s Day. The teenagers fought over the last piece ? I used have Parmesan and half sharp cheddar, and since I had no oregano in the cupboard, decided to try rosemary. Very good. Usually I use Bob’s RedMill 1:1 gluten free flour, but found the Namaste all in one GF to work too.