When my son Kell was diagnosed with celiac disease several years ago, I was completely overwhelmed by the idea of gluten-free baking. It was just too complicated! But he had to avoid all forms of gluten–even trace amounts from cross-contamination–or he faced severe intestine damage.
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Eventually, I was forced to face those fears because he missed bread and a “normal” diet. As a mom, I have learned the hard way that sometimes you have to make changes to your plans very quickly. Celiac disease and finding the best gluten alternatives to create my own bread recipe was never in the plan. But you adjust.
I am not fond of the gluten-free (GF) bread options that are available in the stores. Many of the pre-mixed, pre-packaged, and pre-made GF bread products that we tried just did not taste good. I wanted to find a solution to give him a sense of normalcy. But also, the list of ingredients is often written in small print and can contain surprisingly high amounts of sugar.
I decided to try writing my own gluten-free yeast bread recipe. But, what ingredients are ideal when making a gluten-free bread recipe at home? There are now so many options for gluten-free flour on the market, but that does not mean every gluten-free flour is ideal for bread. Did you know that tapioca starch doesn’t hold up to heat as well as corn starch? From xanthan gum to xylitol, what is the best sweetener to use?
I researched and tested available alternative flour options to clarify the ingredients that are best for a healthy gluten-free bread recipe. I wanted my loaf of gluten-free bread to hold together, taste great and not dry out or feel gummy. I found a gluten-free flour blend is better than choosing just one, and I decided not to include almond flour or flaxseed flour because of taste and texture reasons.
After spending time looking into my options, I worked on my recipe hard to put together the best GF bread recipe available. My son sure appreciated it, and now I want to share it with you!
Homemade Gluten-Free Bread Recipe
Gluten-free bread never tasted so good! Pay close attention to the packaging of every ingredient to verify it is marked gluten-free for truly gluten-free recipes.
Makes: 1 Loaf
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Bread Ingredients
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- 1 1/3 cups of brown rice flour
- 1 1/3 cups of corn starch
- 1 1/3 cups of tapioca flour
- 1 Tbsp of potato flour ((If you can’t find potato flour in the store, you can make your own by blending a handful of potato flakes in your blender.)
- 2 tsp of salt
- 1 Tbsp of xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup of dry milk
- 1 Tbsp of gluten-free egg replacer
- 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) of gluten-free active dry yeast (not INSTANT dry yeast)
- 2 cups of warm water
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 1/4 cup of butter, softened
- 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
*A couple of notes about eggs:
- Yes, this recipe calls for both eggs and egg replacer. The combination helps create the wonderful springy texture of the finished bread.
- If you can’t eat eggs, you can replace the 3 eggs with: 9 tablespoons of water and 3 tablespoons of ground flax seed, or substitute the correct amount of egg replacement powder (in addition to the tablespoon called for in the recipe).
GF Bread Directions
Prepare two 8-inch bread pans by spraying them with cooking spray.
Add the yeast to the 2 cups of warm water, and stir until mixed. Set this aside to activate while you mix the rest of the ingredients.
Mix GF flours together with a whisk for an even gluten-free flour blend. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and set aside.
Put eggs, butter, vinegar, and honey in the bowl of your mixer. Mix together for about 30 seconds using the paddle attachment. The butter will be chunky, and that’s okay!
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in the mixer. Mix just until blended, and then add the remaining dry ingredients and mix for another 30 seconds, until blended.
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With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the warm water and yeast mixture, then turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for 4 minutes. After the 4 minutes your bread dough should resemble thick cake batter.
Spoon the dough into your greased bread pans. Dip your fingers in water to smooth the top of the dough, if desired. Set aside in a warm place to rise for approximately one hour. While the dough rises, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
When the dough has risen to about an inch above the top of the pans, place the pans in your preheated oven on the middle rack.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the bread’s internal temperature reaches 200 degrees with an instant-read thermometer. (This is very helpful! It’s hard to tell when gluten free bread is done. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, just use your best guess based on your particular oven.)
Remove the bread from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then remove loaves from the pans and place on a rack to cool completely. (As you can see, I brushed the top of mine with butter when they came out of the oven.)
After allowing it to cool COMPLETELY before slicing. (This is important! Don’t rush it and cut into it while it’s still warm or you will flatten it.) And make sure to let your bread knife do the cutting for you! You provide the “sawing” action, but let the knife blade do the work. Don’t press down, just keep “sawing” across the top until you get all the way to the bottom of the loaf.
Tips to Improve Your GF Bread
- Before you start mixing your ingredients, allow them to reach room temperature. Take all cold ingredients the recipe calls for, like eggs and butter, out of the fridge and allow it to sit on the counter until they warm up. Your ingredients need to be room temperature to rise. In a time pinch, you can warm your butter up in the microwave on a low power setting (around 4) for 20 seconds and soak your eggs in warm water to help speed the process.
- Always check your ingredients to ensure they are gluten-free before you start the recipe (Bob’s Red Mill has some great options for GF flour). Pay particular attention to any flour or yeast you select from the store to ensure that you do not have any risk of contamination from ingredients that contain gluten.
- If you are looking for a dairy-free or vegan GF bread recipe, then opt for milk alternatives, like soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, etc. Butter can be replaced with margarine or olive oil. Adjustments may impact the taste or texture of the bread and may not go well the first time. You will want to try a few different alternatives to determine the best substitute for your taste. You will likely need to replace the full amount of water in this recipe with the milk alternative since it will be liquid and not powder.
- Store extra bread in the freezer if you do not plan to eat the entire loaf of bread in one day. For easy gluten-free sandwich bread or french toast: slice the bread and put wax paper between the slices before putting it into a freezer bag and storing it. Remove the number of slices you want for a meal and put it in the microwave for 15 seconds to thaw at a later date. Freezing the bread will help keep it fresh until you are able to eat the entire loaf.
- For corn sensitivities or allergies, you can make a corn-free GF bread by substituting potato starch.
This gluten-free bread recipe is a great option if you have extra time to make an entire loaf from scratch. If you are in a hurry and do not have time to make a whole loaf of bread, then you can make a single serving of GF bread in your microwave.
Jillee’s Best Gluten-Free Bread Recipe Ever
Ingredients
Brown Rice Flour Blend
- 1 1/3 cups brown rice flour
- 1 1/3 cups tapioca flour/starch
- 1 1/3 cups cornstarch
- 1 tbsp potato flour
Gluten Free Bread
- 4 cups Brown Rice Flour Blend see recipe above
- 1 Tbsp xanthan gum
- 1 Tbsp gluten-free egg replacer
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup powdered milk
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup butter room temperature
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar room temperature
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (not INSTANT dry yeast)
- 2 cups warm water
Instructions
- Prepare two 8-inch bread pans by spraying them with cooking spray.
- Add the yeast to the 2 cups of warm water, and stir until mixed. Set this aside to activate while you mix the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix the flour blend, xanthum gum, egg replacer, salt, and powdered milk together in a medium-size bowl and set aside.
- Put eggs, butter, vinegar, and honey in the bowl of your mixer. Mix together for about 30 seconds using the paddle attachment. The butter will be chunky, and that’s okay!
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in the mixer. Mix just until blended, and then add the remaining dry ingredients and mix for another 30 seconds, until blended.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the warm water and yeast mixture, then turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for 4 minutes. After the 4 minutes your bread dough should resemble thick cake batter.
- Spoon the dough into your greased bread pans. Dip your fingers in water to smooth the top of the dough, if desired. Set aside in a warm place to rise for approximately one hour. While the dough rises, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- When the dough has risen to about an inch above the top of the pans, place the pans in your preheated oven on the middle rack.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the bread’s internal temperature reaches 200 degrees with an instant-read thermometer. (This is very helpful! It’s hard to tell when gluten free bread is done. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, just use your best guess based on your particular oven.)
- Remove the bread from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then remove loaves from the pans and place on a rack to cool completely. (As you can see, I brushed the top of mine with butter when they came out of the oven.)
- After allowing it to cool COMPLETELY before slicing. (This is important! Don’t rush it and cut into it while it’s still warm or you will flatten it.) And make sure to let your bread knife do the cutting for you! You provide the “sawing” action, but let the knife blade do the work. Don’t press down, just keep “sawing” across the top until you get all the way to the bottom of the loaf.
Notes
Nutrition
