Irish Spice Bread Recipe

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This Irish spice bread is sure to become a fast favorite!

This was a special treat for me. It’s an amazing bread that is typically made with candied citron (lemon peel) but I opted for the real stuff and I was not disappointed.

A loaf of this Clean Eating Irish Spice Bread sits on a cutting board with a knife laying next to it. A single slice has been cut off and lays in front of the loaf.

If you make the wheat version (pictured below), this will have the dryness of regular bread. If you make the gluten-free version, it takes on more of the consistency of cake or a true sweet bread. It has much more moisture. Either way, the flavor, and texture is fabulous.

The wheat version would be excellent served with a bit of soft, organic/pastured butter while the grain-free version is just amazing on its own. No toppings are required. The gluten-free version is also a bit sweeter than the wheat version, even with the same amount of sweetener.

Trip Update

So we are still in Cobh and loving every second of it! We recently went to the Fota Island Zoo. Don’t worry, the little guy that curled up here at the top is just trying to take a nap. In fact, we sat there watching him for the longest time because he kept nearly falling over as he drifted off.

A photo collage of Fota Zoo in Ireland shows a few animals living at the zoo.

We also went to the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry, Co. Cork, Ireland. It’s an amazing place!

A photo collage of different areas of the grounds at the Ballymaloe Cooking School as well as a few images of the meal we had there.

More Healthy Sweet Bread Recipes

Irish Spice Bread Recipe Card

Copyright Information For The Gracious Pantry

This recipe was adapted from a Food.com recipe

Clean Eating Irish Spice Bread Recipe

Irish Spice Bread

This delicious sweet bread is sure to become a favorite!
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Breads, Dessert
Cuisine: Irish
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 1 standard loaf
Calories: 3415kcal
Author: Tiffany McCauley

Ingredients

  • 2 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour (affiliate link)
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. ground ginger
  • ¾ cup sucanat (affiliate link)
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 2 large lemons (zest only)
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. ground cloves
  • 4 oz. butter (melted over low heat and cooled enough to not be hot, but still liquid)
  • ½ cup honey
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup milk

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, blend together the flour, baking soda, ginger, sucanat, raisins, lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves. Stir well.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, mix the butter, honey, egg and milk.
  • Pour the liquid mixture into the flour and stir until you have a thick batter.
  • Pour the batter into oiled loaf pans. DO NOT fill the loaf pans more than half full. They will rise over and spill out.
  • Place the bread pans on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 325 for 50-60 minutes or until you can stick a knife in the middle and pull it out clean.
  • Note that you may have to cover this loosely with foil to keep the top from burning as it gets closer to the end of the baking time.
  • Remove from oven, allow to cool and turn over onto a flat surface.
  • Slice and serve.

Notes

Please note that the nutrition data below is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible. Data is for entire loaf. Divide by number of slices you cut from it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1entire loaf | Calories: 3415kcal | Carbohydrates: 609g | Protein: 50g | Fat: 106g | Saturated Fat: 62g | Cholesterol: 435mg | Sodium: 3642mg | Potassium: 2342mg | Fiber: 38g | Sugar: 378g | Vitamin A: 3205IU | Vitamin C: 6.5mg | Calcium: 370mg | Iron: 15.4mg

5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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12 Comments

  1. Karen Walker says:

    Beautiful Pics, and Happy Mothers Day !!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Karen – Thank you! Same to you. 🙂

  2. I love Irish Soda Bread. Never heard of Irish Spice Bread. Can’t wait to try it! Thank your for including both versions. Pinned 🙂

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Colleen – Thanks! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂

  3. Hi, I started following your port a few months ago. This bread recipe sound YUMMY. The coconut oil I have a question about. Is it high in Sat. fat? I try to stay away from it. Thanks for the yummy healthy recipes. Keep UP the good work.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Pamela – Yes, coconut oil is high in saturated fats. But you may want to do some research on coconut oil specifically.

  4. thank you for including a GF/DF version!! So helpful for me!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Kerri – My pleasure! Enjoy!

  5. Oh my…Hi Im from the Bahamas. My mom and I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE your site. Its helps us eat healthy in a place where “the bigger you are the better”. We did your dumplings last week with one of our favorites :”Crab and doug”…it was amazinggggg so light. Tonight we are trying your spice bread…..thank you so much!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Lannyh – Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy the bread! 🙂

  6. Claudette Blais says:

    how do i make this spice bread grain free? you mention it but i don’t see the grain free recipe. thanks.