Irish Soda Berry Bread - Grain Free

This morning we awoke to another bright and beautiful sunny day here. It's already 60 degrees at noon (which would have been 11:00 yesterday before we moved our clocks forward this morning). They say we will reach 70 degrees today.

Yesterday I decided to make a slightly different version of my "original" Irish Soda Bread. Since I made my original version last March, I have received several messages, posts and emails from folks that don't like raisins and wondering if they can make it without them. Well, the answer to that is yes...it can be made without raisins, if preferred. But, I also decided it could easily be made with other dried fruit in place of the raisins, too. So, I finely diced a few tablespoons of a combination of dried blueberries and dried cranberries which are raisin-like in texture. So, other than making an "Irish Soda Berry Bread" version by adding dried berries, I increased the coconut flour by 1 teaspoon. I sliced and enjoyed it this morning with my breakfast and it was AMAZING!

I made an omelet for Sunday brunch this morning using some diced uncured Italian Fiorucci Abruzzese salami. I diced 4 small slices (the diameter of a regular slice of pepperoni) and browned it in a skillet to render the fat, much the way you would use bacon. I added some diced red bell pepper and sliced green scallions and sauteed a few minutes and then set it aside while I made my omelet. I made a 2-egg omelet. I added some diced BellaVitano Gold Cheese to it that I picked up at Costco (it's a strong, nutty, cheddar-ish flavored cheese I had tried a sample of while shopping there a while back). It was perfect in my little omelet along with the salami, peppers and scallions. I served a few slices of my Irish Soda Berry Bread alongside my omelet. It was so delicious. I snapped a few photos of my omelet and berry soda bread along with the recipe for it. Enjoy!

  

Irish Soda Berry Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons Swerve Sweetener (or other granular sweetener)
2 tablespoons diced chilled butter
1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
3 to 4 tablespoons dried cranberries or blueberries, finely chopped
2 teaspoons coconut flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an ovenproof skillet.

In a medium bowl, add almond flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, sweetener, and whisk until well combined. Using a pastry cutter/dough blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk in xanthum gum. 

In a small bowl, toss chopped berries with coconut flour until lightly dusted (this keeps them from sticking together); stir berries into dry mixture.

In a glass measuring cup, add buttermilk and egg and lightly beat. Make a well in center of dry mixture; pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula just until dough pulls together into a soft ball. Shape dough with hands lightly dampened with water into a rounded loaf and transfer to a lightly greased 10-inch cast iron or oven proof skillet, baking sheet or cake pan. Use a sharp serrated knife to score top of loaf with "X-shaped" 1/2-inch deep slashes. 

Bake until golden brown, about 32-35 minutes. If bread begins browning too quickly, lightly tent with a piece of aluminum foil. If additional browning is desired, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake an additional 5 to 7 minutes longer. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes; carefully transfer bread to a wire rack to cool. Slice and serve with butter or jam at room temperature, or lightly toast sliced bread in a 350 degree F oven for a few minutes.