Gluten-free breads require gluten-free recipes. Even flours like Bob’s Red Mill’s One-to-One flour is not really one-to-one. There are differences with how the flours behave.
Soda bread is an especially good example. There’s a texture and flavor that you absolutely want to have. I used to make Irish Soda Bread when I was in middle school–which is when I found my Nan’s McCormick International Recipes box. When I was diagnosed with celiac/NCGS in 2010 (because it was either Celiac or it wasn’t, at that time; I’d already been gluten-free, so I didn’t have any of the markers, but I felt so much better and not ill constantly that they just said, “Sure. Stay gluten-free. Probably Celiac.”), I found that I really missed Irish Soda Bread–especially at St. Patrick’s Day; it just goes so well with Corned Beef and Cabbage or a good, hearty Irish Stew.
As my personal faith and practice started to incorporate some paganism, I noted that Irish Soda Bread is often used at Lughnasadh and Imbolc–which makes sense as both Sabbats are based in the Celtic religions. I decided to try a gluten-free soda bread recipe from Eating Well; their recipes tend to be solid and tasty.
Cameraman Ken does not like Irish Soda Bread, generally speaking. He absolutely loved this bread. I found it to be a bit more liquid than I would have liked; however, the flavor and texture was perfect–exactly what soda bread should be!
You can also make soft cheese from regular, full-fat yogurt (with some herbs and such) that is a good spread for your soda bread as part of a way to celebrate the beginning of Spring. Imbolc translates to “out of the belly” and many of the recipes and the like, therefore, feature milk. Irish Soda Bread uses Buttermilk (which I did not make myself this year); in fact, my Imbolc video from last year features that particular cheese and making your own butter (we’ve stopped that, for now).
This year’s Imbolc will, hopefully, be a quiet time full of house cleaning and meditative contemplation. There’s a lot to process from the Winter season, let alone a majority of 2020. Ostara is my next big Sabbat and I’m very excited about it. It’s also where I get to test a mead that I made, especially for my Patreons (Persephone Mead). We’ll see how it tastes. I’m hoping the pomegranate evens out the sweetness of the honey.
Have a great week and be sure to check back on Thursday for more Imbolc videos!
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