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For those of you who’ve heard the diagnosis: gluten allergy and, in a state of shock, wondered if you would ever eat a slice of bread again. . .
For those of you who have painstakingly doled out the absolutely outrageously, inconceivable sum of money for a pathetically little loaf of gluten-free bread . . .
And for those of you who have bit into a slice of that bread, sucked in the sawdust, and fell to your knees wailing, “this is gluten-free bread?!”
It’s to you I dedicate this recipe.
After trying for nearly a year, I finally found a recipe that tastes as close to homemade wheat bread as any I’ve tried yet. I can’t take the credit for it though, that would go to Mark E., some tweaking from Aprovechar, and a smidgen more tweaking to fit our family’s taste buds. This makes one loaf although I usually double it because we go through it so fast.
And now, without further ado. . .
Wonderful Gluten-Free Bread (casein-free, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free)
1 1/2 c. + 2 T. warm water
1. Grease one 8×4 loaf pan. Heat oven to 200 degrees F and then turn the oven off.
2. Combine GF Flour Mix, xanthan gum, celtic sea salt, sugar, and dry yeast in a medium sized bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
Just starting to mix.
3. Combine the coconut oil and warm water together and then combine with the dry ingredients. Mix on high for 2 minutes. This should resemble a thicker cake batter.
Two minutes nearly up.
This recipe is so versatile. I’ve mixed three loaves in my Bosch mixer with the kneading attachment with no problem.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap (optional but helps top appear smoother), and set in warmed oven to rise. Shut the oven door.
5. The bread will take about 20 min. to rise to just below the top of the pan. Take the bread out carefully and set aside. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
8. Test the bread with a toothpick. After you’ve removed the bread from the oven, immediately rub the top with a stick of butter. Let the loaf cool about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. And no matter what, do not lick the top of the loaf!
9. Let cool completely before cutting. I can never resist cutting just a small corner, but it cuts much, much easier if you let it cool first.
10. These also work great as pull-apart dinner rolls. If you let the dough sit a bit longer after you’ve mixed it, it will thicken to the point that you can scoop the dough in a muffin-sized scoop and drop it in rows of three. I leave a bit of room in between them, maybe a 1/2 to 1 inch or so.
I use a 9×13 cake pan that has been greased well. I let them rise about the same time – enough to get just to the top of the pan. I cover them with tin foil for the first ten minutes just like I do the bread and I bake them the same amount of time and at the same temperature.
I often bake a loaf of bread and a pan of dinner rolls in the same oven, right next to each other. We’ve also used this bread when making french toast. Deeeeelicious!
P.S. So. . .have you tried it yet? Tell us what you think.
Don’t know where to purchase some of these ingredients? Visit our Whole Food Sources page.
{ 57 comments… read them below or add one }
Paula,
I’ve been using the original recipe you gave me and we love it. I’m going to try the “tweaks”. I think I’m going to love them
Carla
Carla,
Tweaking is something I just can’t not do
Glad you like it – let me know how it goes!
Hi Paula, so I made this but hadn’t found millet so I substituted rice flour for it. But, I just found the millet and haven’t used the bread flour mix yet. I’d really like to try the millet in it, any suggestions for adding millet flour to the mix I already made? Thanks(again!) Kelly
Kelly,
If you’ve already made the Bread Flour Mix with rice flour in place of the millet, I’d say go ahead and use it that way. The next time you make the mix you can use millet and that will give you a chance to decide which one you like the best.
You could possibly use 2 1/2 c. of the Bread Flour Mix and add 1/2 c. of millet to the recipe to equal the 3 cups needed. This will alter your starch ratio, but not enough to make a huge difference. You will still have the rice flour in the mix, but you can get a taste for the millet too.
If the loaf doesn’t turn out how you like it, you can always use it for croutons or bread crumbs.
Have fun experimenting!
woohoo! Let me say it again! “woohoo!” We have a bread winner! I tried it with the 2 1/2 cups of the mix I had and the 1/2 cup millet. 1st loaf is out and sliced for lunch…delicious. 2nd loaf is rising. This is hands down our favorite so far and I love that it doesn’t require eggs! =0) Kellyc
Kelly,
I’m sooo happy it worked for you! I don’t think the happy dance is done by anyone as much as the gluten free who have finally found a bread recipe that tastes GOOD! I happy danced a LOT over this one!
It is nice that it doesn’t require eggs. That, I think, is one of the hardest things to replace and still get decent results. You can’t even tell a loaf of this bread doesn’t have any.
I’ve doubled the recipe before without a problem. That way I can make the mess just once, use the oven less, and have frozen bread on hand as well.
Woohoo! Glad it worked!
I have been making a cookbook binder that is completely gfcf. Forgot to mention earlier that my son said, and I quote, “This bread is super good Mom. You need to put this in the cookbook.” =0) Done!
I quadrupled the recipe in my Bosh and the bread is baking in my oven as I type. I can't wait to try it. It looks really good. I'm curious how you turn it into pull apart dinner rolls? The picture looks yummy. The dough seems too runny to form into balls. Do you form it into balls after it rises?
Thanks,
Laura
Laura,
A quadrupled batch! Wow, I'm going to have to try that!
Thanks for asking about the pull-apart dinner rolls. I've modified my post to explain it, but in case you miss it, here's the secret:
I use a muffin scoop.
The dough should be a tad thicker than cake batter. I scoop it up in a muffin sized scoop and just drop the dough in rows of three. I leave a bit of room in between them, maybe a 1/2 to 1 inch or so.
I use a 9×13 cake pan that has been greased well. I let them rise about the same time – enough to get just to the top of the pan. I cover them with tin foil for the first ten minutes just like I do the bread and I bake them the same amount of time and at the same temperature.
I often bake a loaf of bread and a pan of dinner rolls in the same oven, right next to each other.
I hope this helps!
Paula,
Thanks for the directions. I'm going to try it. The bread is great. My husband was rebelling against the bread I was making. He is now a happy camper again. I like to bake enough bread to last a week. Quadrupling it worked great. I put two loaves in the freezer. There seemed to be more room in my bowl, so I may try to do 5 or 6 loaves next time.
Laura
Hi,
I tryed this today but had to use butter cause I have not coconut oil. It turned out a tad 'wet' & Ii even cooked it longer:-( I'm still going to eat it, it tastes GOOD!! I'm just going to have to toast it:-)
I have a Gluten Free, Corn Free friend coming to stay, and I gave this a go last night. I made the following substitutions:
~ I used Butter for the Coconut Oil
~ I used 2 tsp whole Chia seeds, in 2.5 tsp boiling water to replace the Xanthan Gum
~ I used 3/4c Arrowroot + 1/4c Tapioca Starch + 1/12th tsp Guar Gum to replace the Cornstarch
~ I coulnd't figure out where the second measure of water (2 Tbsp) was supposed to go, so I left it out.
The bread doesn't look like yours – it didn't rise anywhere near that much, and is maybe a little heavier, but not toooo bad.
I'm not GF myself, so have no idea how good or bad GF bread gets…but I would like to eat this stuff myself, I *liked* the taste and texture. I have frozen the loaf, and will see how it goes on defrost!
Thank you so much for your help with this recipe – explaining your flour mixes and everything. This site has been a real help, and despite the fact that *everyone* says not to try make GF bread, as your first experiment…I think it went surprisingly well! So thank you!
Lover of Beauty,
Hats off to you for tackling gluten free bread right off the bat.
I've never cooked with chia seeds myself so I'm not sure if that made the difference between our loaves or not. The butter vs. coconut oil shouldn't change it much as they are both fats.
The 2 T. of water should be combined with the 1 1/2 c. of water to make just a bit more than 1 1/2 c. Gluten free cooking is picky that way – just a Tablespoon or two can make a lot of difference.
I'm so glad you tried it. You deserve a hug for going the extra mile for your friend!
So glad you found a great alternative! Wouldn’t want to miss out on some yummy bread that seems to go great with everything
.
I’m so excited to try this! I’ve been looking for a recipe like this! My little girl can’t have gluten, dairy or egg!
Hope it proves to be a winner at your house! Thanks for stopping by!
Yum – this looks so good! I found your site from the Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways blog hop – I love your site! Can’t wait to try this bread! I don’t normally use GF Flour Blends because I can’t eat grains, but I will have to try a few things and see if I can get your recipe to work! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back later tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts!
pretty sure you need the sugar for the yeast.. but who know..
Good call Jen – I re-worded the recipe to make it clearer.
I don’t eat much bread anymore but I would like to try this in the fall when it is not so hot here in Texas! Thanks for sharing . . .
Have you tried this recipe in a bread machine??
No Jane, I haven’t. Several years ago my bread machine ‘walked’ off the counter (had it too close to the edge!) and fell. I replaced it with a Bosch before Travis found out about his allergy so I’ve never used a bread machine for my gluten-free recipes.
If you feel adventurous enough to try it I hope you come back and tell us how it worked.
I have a stupid question, I do not have a bosch (honestly don’t know what that is) so I would be mixing this dough with my stand mixer, should I use the dough hook, or the paddle? And also, is it as simple as “mixing on high for 2 minutes” no kneading? or anything?
Thanks so much, I just learned my little guy has several allergies.
Anna,
No question is a stupid question! How else do we learn?
Bosch is the brand of my mixer. I bought it to do large loaves of ‘regular’ wheat bread and then shortly thereafter found out about our allergies. I still use it to make this gluten-free bread because it has a nice large bowl and I often make more than one loaf at a time.
Gluten-free bread dough is completely different than wheat bread dough. You can use paddles, regular beaters, or the dough hook. And yes, it is as simple as “mixing on high for two minutes” (hard to believe, I know!) There is no kneading and no punching down. It’s like thick cake batter that you pour into your bread loaf pan, wait for it to rise, and bake it. That’s it.
Hope this helps – and that you have success making it. Let me know if you have any questions in the process!
Thank you so much Paula, I’m excited to try this!
We LOVED this bread the first time I made it. My husband hasn’t been happy with any other gf bread I’ve tried since we went gluten free a year and a half ago. He said this bread was the best bread ever! This time I’m trying replacing about a third of the starch ratio for oat flour, along with the sorghum and millet. I’d love the starch ratio to be a little lower. I’m hoping it tastes just as excellent.
I’m glad your husband enjoys it – I remember how glad Travis was to finally eat bread again. He’s come to the point now that he rarely eats any bread at all so I haven’t made this recipe in over a year – that and the too much starch issue.
I’d love to hear how it turns out with the oat flour though.
Thanks! The flavor was still excellent, but it didn’t rise quite as much as it did the first time around. My loaf pans are a little smaller, so I may have adjusted the proportions too low. I think it would still be worth trying to lower the starch ratio and maybe just let it rise a little longer.
Have you ever used Jules GF flour? I just wondered if that would work instead of all the combos. I may give it a try.
I’ve never tried Jules GF flour – but my guess is that any premixed GF combo would work.
Let us know what you think of it if you try it.
Well, I just took it out of the oven and it was beautifully risen and I was so proud. However, after I let it set the 5 mins. then took it out of the pan and placed on a wire rack. Both sides were sunk in and it looked awful. I am sure it is a big mess of doughy bread the way it looks. I will use your mix next time. )-:
Everyone has said just use that flour in place of whatever the recipe calls for and their stuff has been great. I made a loaf of cinnamon bread and it was good, but it did not have yeast and it was her recipe.
Hmm – sorry it didn’t turn out! Maybe try it with my mix and see how it turns out – it might be something else all together.
I made your wonderful bread and had picture perfect results ! My taste buds were pleasantly surprised. Currently I am looking for a cinnamon roll recipe made with yeast GF and dairy and egg free. Do you have any?
Hopeful,
Susan
From China Village, Maine
Hi Susan,
I’m so glad the recipe turned out! I don’t have a cinnamon roll recipe, but something tells me you could drop a little of this bread dough into a muffin tin and swirl in a nice mixture of cinnamon and sugar in each one – then maybe drizzle on some powdered sugar and butter frosting as they were cooling. What do ya think?
Hi Paula,
I have tried soooo many recipes, and all of them come out gummy in the middle. This loaf turned out so beautiful, and light, I was excited until I cut into it. What am I doing wrong? I have tried 2 different yeasts, oven and bread maker.
Thanks for your help.
I’m sorry you’re bread is turning out gummy – that was one of my biggest complaints in trying to find a good bread recipe too. Do you let the loaf cool completely before you cut into it? Did you change anything in the recipe?
Hi Paula,
The only thing I did different in this recipe, was didn’t add all the water. There are some that ask for an egg, and I use an egg replacer, but other than that, I haven’t got the courage to change anything yet!
Are you sure your oven temp is accurate? That’s the only thing I can think of.
I would hope so!! It is 3 months old. I will grab a oven thermometer today when I go to town and see what that comes in at, if there is a difference I will try another loaf tomorrow morning and let you know it goes!!!
Thanks Mary-Ann
So, It a bought an oven thermometer, and my oven is only out about 10degrees. I tried another loaf this morning, and it still came out a tad bit gummy, not as bad as it has been, still edible. This is still the closest I have come to making a GF bread!!!
It might depend on how high you are above sea level – not sure how much difference that would make though. If I were in your shoes, I’d bake it a bit longer and make sure it’s completely cooled before you cut into it. I’ve also heard that if you spray your knife with oil it will cut through better.
Interesting! OK, I will definetly try that! It smells sooooo good, that Im not going to give up! Im soo close
Have you tried milling your own flours? I tried but it seems as if it is missing something?
Yes, all the flours I use in this recipe (except for the starches) I mill at home. The GF Flour Mix I use is millet flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, and arrowroot powder. If you click on the ingredient in the recipe it will take you to the directions to make the mix.
Dear Paula,
Just wondering what temp to set my oven if I were to bake 2 loaves of this bread recipe?
I keep the same setting. I’ve baked up to three loaves at a time.
Say, I’m eager to give this recipe a go, but I don’t have any rapadura sugar. Could I substitute another sweetener? If so which of these would be best: Coconut Palm Sugar, stevia/cane, honey, or plain ole regular white sugar?
Thanks in advance. May you be blessed this day!
Hi T.J. – I think either coconut palm sugar or cane sugar would work well. I’d say regular white sugar – but if you can avoid it (for health reasons) it would be better.
Oh my goodness, I almost forgot to ask a very important question! In your GF flour mix do you pack the flours in the measuring cup when measuring?
Thanks again! ;o)
I don’t pack the flours. I’m not an ‘exact’ measuring kind of cook so I just scoop it and dump it in the bowl. LOL I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
So excited to try this. My newborn is MSPI, and since I am nursing her I cannot eat dairy, eggs, or soy. Her symptoms are not completely gone, so we are removing wheat as well. I kept searching for a good plain (re: not banana or pumpkin bread) bread recipe with little luck. Cannot wait to whip up a loaf!
I hope it works for you Rachel – I’d love to hear what you think of it!
Could you please make this recipe printer friendly so I do not have to print out all the extra advertisments and comments. I am not computer savy enough to know how to just print the recipe and not the rest of the stuff. It is a waste of printer ink and paper to print out all this unnecessary stuff.
thanks
Hey Donna,
One of my coming plans is to implement a recipe printer program. It might take a bit, but I’m working my way there.
In the meantime, try just printing this:
Wonderful Gluten-Free Bread (casein-free, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free)
3 c. GF Flour Mix
2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 T. celtic sea salt
3 T. rapadura sugar (I’ve cut the amount in half and no one noticed – I doubt you’d even need it except for the yeast.)
1/2 T. dry yeast
2 t. coconut oil
1 1/2 c. + 2 T. warm water
Directions:
1. Grease one 8×4 loaf pan. Heat oven to 200 degrees F and then turn the oven off.
2. Combine GF Flour Mix, xanthan gum, celtic sea salt, sugar, and dry yeast in a medium sized bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
3. Combine the coconut oil and warm water together and then combine with the dry ingredients. Mix on high for 2 minutes. This should resemble a thicker cake batter.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap (optional but helps top appear smoother), and set in warmed oven to rise. Shut the oven door.
5. The bread will take about 20 min. to rise to just below the top of the pan. Take the bread out carefully and set aside. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
6. When the bread has risen just to the top of the pan, bake it for 10 min. (Mine rose just a tad too much.)
7. Place a tin foil ‘tent’ over the bread (resist all temptation to poke it!) and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes.
8. Test the bread with a toothpick. After you’ve removed the bread from the oven, immediately rub the top with a stick of butter. Let the loaf cool about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. And no matter what, do not lick the top of the loaf!
9. Let cool completely before cutting. I can never resist cutting just a small corner, but it cuts much, much easier if you let it cool first.
10. These also work great as pull-apart dinner rolls. If you let the dough sit a bit longer after you’ve mixed it, it will thicken to the point that you can scoop the dough in a muffin-sized scoop and drop it in rows of three. I leave a bit of room in between them, maybe a 1/2 to 1 inch or so.
I use a 9×13 cake pan that has been greased well. I let them rise about the same time – enough to get just to the top of the pan. I cover them with tin foil for the first ten minutes just like I do the bread and I bake them the same amount of time and at the same temperature.
Hi there, this is my first attempt at baking GF bread for my DD (I regularly bake ww bread in a breadmaker). I feel like this is a silly question but by “dry yeast”, do you mean traditional “active dry yeast” or “instant dry yeast”? I use breadmaker yeast for my bread machine. I’m a newbie!
Thank you for the recipe! I went out and bought all the flours and I’m excited to bake this beauty!
Jan,
I’m so behind on replying to comments – I’m sorry!
Yes, in this recipe I refer to active dry yeast. I’ve never tried this in a bread machine so I’d be interested in hearing how it turns out!
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