Gluten Free Soda Bread – a guest recipe by Natasha Corrett

(1 LOAF)

360ml almond or other plant milk
1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp coconut palm sugar or syrup
225g gluten-free plain flour, plus extra for sprinkling
225g teff four
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp xanthan gum
½ tsp Himalayan pink salt

“Really this is the easiest bread in the world to make and so quick. It takes 10 minutes to assemble and is ready in 1 hour. No yeast, no gluten, no wheat, this is a perfect one to make, slice up and then freeze so you always have nutritious bread at home. If you can’t get teff, use ground almonds instead, or just gluten-free four alone. The texture will not be the same, but the result is still delicious.”

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.

Flick some water into a heavy-duty casserole dish (about 21cm in diameter) and sprinkle in some gluten-free four so that the sides and base of the pan are lightly coated. This will help to

prevent the bread from sticking. Place the pan in the oven to heat up while you prepare the bread. By baking the bread in a pan like this, you will be sure to get a really delicious, crunchy crust.

Combine the almond (or other plant-based milk) with the apple cider vinegar in a jug. This is how you make a dairy-free ‘buttermilk’. Leave to sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Make a well in the centre and then pour in the almond milk mixture. Use your hands to stir the mixture together until it forms a nice dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for a minute or two. You want the dough to be as smooth as possible so that the bread does not crack when baked. Shape the dough into a circle roughly the same diameter as the pan.

Place the dough in the hot pan and sprinkle the top with a little extra gluten-free flour. Bake in the oven with the lid on for 55–60 minutes. The bread is ready if it sounds hollow inside when you tap it. Leave it to cool on a wire rack.