For quite some time I have been meaning to make a bread that did not require a bread maker. This one came out blog-worthy and delicious: A soft and light sandwich bread that is not at all dry or crumbly.
The reason that this would make a good sandwich bread is because, as shown in the below picture, it slices very thin. However, in order to get nice, clean thin slices, cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Bread made on a different day than bread in other pics.
Sandwich Bread
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Gluten free sandwich bread that slices thin and tastes great.
Author: Linnaea
Recipe type: Baked Good
Cuisine: Bread
Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups rice flour (white or brown works)
- 1 cup gluten-free cornstarch (yes, cornSTARCH, not flour). You can also replace the cornstarch with potato starch or tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons yeast
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 2 eggs, warmed
- ½ cup milk, warmed
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 /3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Grease one bread pan well with butter. Preheat the oven on WARM. If you don't have a WARM setting, heat the oven to lowest setting and 10 minutes before you put the bread in, turn it off and open the door.
- Position rack in the center of the oven.
- Mix all the dry ingredients buy ambien online overnight together in a large bowl. Beat with your electric mixer until blended.
- Stir all the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat with electric mixer for 1 minute. Allow mix to sit for 1 minute. Look at the moisture level of the mix--you're looking for something resembling a muffin batter. If it's too thick, add more warm water, if too thin, add more flour (but do just little bits at a time!)
- Beat for one minute, then allow to set for another minute. Repeat the process 2 more times. After this, beat for one minute and allow to set for 5 minutes. Beat again, then pour the dough into the prepared pan.
- Set the bread in the oven on WARM (or as prepared). After it has been in the oven for five minutes on warm, turn it off completely and allow to set for 40 more minutes to rise.
- Once dough has risen completely, turn the oven to 350 degrees F, cover lightly with a foil tent to prevent overbrowning (some commenters said that they had trouble with the bread getting burnt on the top) and cook for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil tent and cook about 15 minutes more, until browned on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes before cutting.
Thanks to commenters Teresa and Pat, as well as many others, for their great feedback! Changes to the recipe have been made accordingly.
My daughter and I made this tonight. It is really good, but it cooked really fast– half an hour and it was dark brown on the outside. Any idea why it cooked that much faster for me? Thanks for the recipe though– I never thought I would be able to make my own soft, delicious bread!
Are you at high altitude? Water evaporates faster at high altitudes than it does at low altitudes, and so the moisture in the bread would evaporate more quickly.
Another reason could be the size of your bread pan. Did you make two breads in two smaller pans or one bread in a large bread pan?
Also, the bread browns on the outside pretty fast, though it takes a while to cook on the inside (however, I’ve never had the bread turn black, just a dark brown). Was it completely done in the center? If it wasn’t done in the center, try lowering the oven temperature so it doesn’t brown so fast on the outside.
How can I make this in a bread machine?
I’ve never tried this in a bread machine, because my bread maker gave up on life before I got the chance. I think it would work just fine, though: Just pour the wet ingredients into the bread pan, then add the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula. When I had my bread machine, I always just used the BASIC or REGULAR setting.
If you’d rather not try this in a bread maker (since I can’t guarentee that it’ll work), you could also use this recipe: http://www.imglutenfree.com/gluten-free-bread-maker-bread/. It’s one of my very favorite bread recipes and it is made especially for the bread maker. I’ve probably made it at least 100 times, and every time it has come out great.
Did you mean cornSTARCH or corn FLOUR? I only ever heard of cornstarch for thickening gluten-free gravies and broths.
Definitely cornstarch. It actually works really well as a flour (though the “starchiness” still needs to be balanced by the “grittiness” of something like rice flour). In this recipe I have also substituted it with potato starch (not potato flour) and tapioca starch, which work equally well.
Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing your bread recipe with all of us. I’m very pleased with the outcome. It is dense enough that I was able to spread almond butter on it (from the refrigerator) and it did not crumble or fall apart. This is a hearty bread that will make wonderful sandwiches. It will also be one to make in the winter months to serve with soups. Getting bread to rise has been a challenge for me with other recipes from time to time. I tried the “oven warming” step and waited 40 minutes. However, it did not rise at all. I then turned my oven on the lowest setting of 170 degrees and within 40 minutes, it rose to the top of the bread pan. I may wait an extra 10 minutes next time to see if it rises even more. Also, I put a foil tent on the bread after it baked for about 15 minutes. It was browning too quickly and would have been ruined had I not done so. Next time, I’ll try to put the tent on as soon as it starts baking. I plan to bake this and see how it holds up in the freezer. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you again for sharing!
I’m glad you enjoyed the bread, Teresa! I like the foil tent idea…It does brown pretty quickly.
I have tried several gluten free bread recipes and am still looking for the “perfect” one. This looks promising! What size bread pan did you use – or did I just overlook it? Thanks and looking forward to trying this out.
Hey Amy, sorry I took so long responding! The bread pan I typically use is 9″ long, 5″ wide, and about 4″ high.
What type of yeast do you use? Thanks!
I use regular active dry yeast (not the rapid rise/instant/quick kind or the wet kind). As far as brands go, I just use whatever is available at the local grocery store. Right now I’m using fleischmanns. One note: Recently I made a bread with some old yeast and the bread did not rise at all (VERY disappointing). So check the expiration date on the yeast package.
Hello Linnea! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I made it for my sister who is Gluten Free and she
loved it! I just cut back on the yeast and sugar!
Thank you so much!
I’m so glad your sister liked it, Amelia!
Hi Linnaea! I want to try out this recipe, but wanted to confirm the amount of yeast. 2 tbsp. for that much flour seems like a lot of yeast. Did you mean 2 teaspoons? Also, are the sugar and the 1/4 of warm water for proofing the yeast? Thank you for this recipe and this website!
Yes to the first question–2 tbsp. is the correct measurement. I’ve found that it helps to use just a little more yeast in gluten free bread baking. Note, though, that you wouldn’t want to let the bread rise to long or it will develop a “beer” flavor.
To the second question, no. I tried to make this recipe extra easy so instead of proofing the yeast, you add it and the sugar directly to the dry ingredients and add the water directly to the wet ingredients.
Anyway, I hope this helps!
Thank you, Linnaea! I’m new to baking in general and just went gluten-free about a month ago, so there’s a bug learning curve here. Your recipes sound simple enough and the food looks delicious. If I get this recipe to work, the cinnamon pull-apart bread is next!
I went ahead and tried the recipe before you had a chance to reply. I only used 1 tbsp of instant yeast instead of 2 and didn’t add as much sugar. The dough didn’t rise as much and the bread came out a bit dense (I’m trying to post a pic here but there’s no option for uploads). I’ll give it another shot with the two tbsp and the full amount of sugar and see. Is the sugar to help in the rising?
The sugar “feeds” the yeast and makes it grow, so, yes, if you didn’t use as much sugar the bread wouldn’t rise as much. I hope it turns out better for you next time. 🙂
I’m pretty new at baking gluten free… well baking in general to be honest. I made this bread tonight and it didn’t rise above the pan so I’m wondering if I missed something? Also I couldn’t really ‘pour’ the batter in the pan I had to use a spatula to get it into the pan… again, did I miss something?
It sounds like the batter might have been too dry. A few possible reasons: You might have added too much flour or not enough water, oil, or milk. If your eggs were unusually small that could have also affected the moisture level. Another possibility is that you didn’t add the ingredients in the right order, which can affect the dough consistency.
Of course, I didn’t actually see your dough so I don’t know how moist/dry it actually is. It could have been just the right consistency but area you rose it in wasn’t warm enough (around 98 degrees is ideal but you don’t have to be exact about it) or it didn’t rise long enough.
Anyway, besides those ideas I’m not really sure. Gluten-free bread baking is mostly about trial and error. Just the other day I made a batch of yeast doughnuts that came out subpar, and I’m still not quite sure what went wrong. 🙂
Hi, there! I’m making this recipe right now. Should the consistency be like raw sugar cookie dough? if not, should I add more liquid???
I’m so sorry I didn’t see your comment until now, Jennifer! Hopefully the bread turned out for you.
As for the consistency, it should be quite a bit thinner than sugar cookie dough. More like a muffin batter.
I made this bread in my bread maker and it was great. My only issue is that the bread fell after it rose leaving a big dip in the middle. This seems to be an issue with all of my breads so far. I did not use the 2 tbsp as suggested as that felt like sooo much yeast! I am about to try it again using cassava flour which is similar to tapioca flour except that it includes the entire root not just the starch. Will let you know how it goes.
One reason the bread might have fallen is that the bread maker started kneading it again after the bread was fully risen (gluten-free breads need only one rise). Maybe switch to a different bread maker cycle? I’ve never heard of cassava flour. Is it sturdier than tapioca starch?
Rianne, when making this bread, did you only replace the tapioca starch with the cassava or you replaced the rice flour too and only used cassava flour in this recipe? Did you use the xantham gum too? It sounded like you were saying that it didn’t need it either. Thanks!
Hi,
Cassava flour is sturdier than tapioca flour which is just the starch from the cassava root. Actually it does not need gums either to hold together. I have made you banana chocolate chip muffins with it and it came out with a fluffy whole wheat kind of feel. I remade those same muffins without banana and added half the flour requirement as sorghum and it came out feeling a lot like regular white flour. I made this bread recipe with the cassava flour in the bread maker but again a terrible almost no rise this time but the bread was good, sliced well.
Also I use either the gluten free or basic setting on my Oster bread maker.
Great recipe. A new recruit to the IBS program as of last week; reasonably certain I am having a fructose malabsorption problem. Being a life long bread/pasta baker and avid outdoors person, this has been an unwelcome visitor in my life. After the past two weeks with no bread, I finally decided to buck the depression and I stumbled on this site. Nice work!!
My base flour was brown rice:buckwheat:millet:tapioca (1 cup each): arrow root powder (1 cup); 1/3 cup mashed potato flakes. I used the 2 1/2 cups of this mixture in lieu of your recommendation. I used the tent recommendation from above. My mixer was being a pain today so I hand beat it with a wooden spoon allowing it it to rest for a few minutes between vigorous stirring for a few minutes. You are really good!
This was my very first time doing this!!! It came out perfectly!
Thanks for your help. I’ve already sent this to a few friends – this will be a permanent bookmark for me.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Eric!
My husband was recently diagnosed and really misses bread.. The first time I made this bread it did not rise and I didn’t want to give up. The next time I tried putting the yeast in warm water (110 degrees0 and added to mix that was not good either..
Not yet to give up.. LOL – SO being the baker I am I did the following;
Made sure all the ingredients were warm – including the eggs (which I put in a bowl of warm water to cool them down) and the milk was a nice 110 degrees.
The first time the dough was REALLY thick and your recipe stated to pour into the pan. So I had added a little at a time more warm water and I guess I could have added warm milk. That made it a lot better and not really thick.
I put it in the warm oven and covered it with a towel to keep it warm, and left the pan covered for the 40 minutes or so to rise.
Next your recipe stated to turn the oven to 350 degrees, but at this point you don’t state if I should take the pan out of the oven while it warms up. I left in while the oven warmed and the bread came out great.
It did not take an hour to bake, it took about 30 to 35 minutes and it was WONDERFUL !!! It tastes and smells like homemade and I put butter all over the top of the warm bread..
Thank you sooo much from my husband and I.. Now when we travel I can bake and take it with us..
Glad it worked out in the end, Pat! I’m so sorry you had to go through all those attempts at it, but thanks for your persistence! I think it’s probably a good idea to warm the ingredients ahead of time (I’ll make a note of it in the recipe), as well as your other changes.
Thanks for your feedback!
Linnaea
Hello Linnaea,
I just have been diagnosticated gluten intolerant. I have a bakery in Santander, Spain, and I am desperated looking for new gluten free recepies.
Today I made this bread and I feel in love with it. It has nothing to do with all the other stuff I have tried.
Thank you very much!!! I feel so motivated to continue doing what I love to do and that other people can also enjoy wonderful goodies.
From now on You have a faithfull follower in the other side of the Atlantic ocean.
God Bless you!!!
Thanks for commenting, Ana! It’s great that the bread worked for you. If I ever go to Spain I am going to find your bakery. 🙂
Can I use an all purpose gluten free flour such as Bob’s Red Mill? Can I use arrowroot starch in place of corn starch? In addition to wheat, I am not able to have rice or corn so I would need to have substitutions. Thanks!
As for the all purpose gluten-free flour, yes. Most blends would probably work (though Bob’s Red Mill isn’t the best because the bean flour gives off a bad taste). Just replace both the starch and the rice flour with the blend.
As for arrowroot starch, I’ve never tried it before so I wouldn’t know. You can replace the corn starch with either potato starch or tapioca starch, however.
Hi, I would love to try this recipe but do you have a grain free recipe?
Hi Elsa,
I don’t have a grain free sandwich bread recipe. However, you might be able to find one here: http://www.cookedwell.com/find-the-perfect-recipe/
Thank you for the tips on getting bread to rise. I made pizza bases with this and it worked well. I have bread rising as I write. I too cut back on the sugar and used some sesame oil for flavour. i was used to putting the yeast in the warm water, so I put the sugar/water/yeast together then later added and mixed the eggs and oil. i kept the large bowl with the dry ingredients a little warm, just in case that made any difference. Thanks again.
So glad the bread worked for you, Kay! I recently tried this one again as well, and I have to agree with you that there was a bit too much sugar (maybe I have less of a sweet tooth than I used to)! I’ll change the recipe. 🙂
Hi Linnaea,
I’ve just baked your sandwich bread for my son who is gluten intolerant and he found it delicious! I found it great as well. I tried two other recipes and they didn’t taste like bread at all. Thank you so much. Would like to let you know that I used half the amount of sugar and also used the wet kind of yeast. Thanks again.
Gerry
Hi Gerry,
That’s awesome that you and your son liked the bread! I’ll be changing the sugar quantity in the recipe.
I am baking my sandwich bread now. Thank you so much for this recipe. I have yet to make a great sandwich bread, so I am hopeful – I have a question. I have read before that rising bread dough should never be allowed to rise above the top lip of the bread pan. Do you know if this is the case with your recipe? Within 15 minutes of rising, my dough had already hit the top of the pan, so I just started the backing cycle right then and there. I should mention that I did Not use rice flour (rice and my bod’ don’t mix. I get all over body pain). I substituted with Oat flour and Buckwheat flour, totaling gram for gram with your measurement for rice flour. I bake by weight, so I converted your measurements from cups to grams. I had to add quite a bit more water in the end, probably due to different flour absorbancy, but this may or may not have also added more volume to the batter. My guess would be that I used about 1 cup of water rather than the 1/4 cup called for in the recipe. I will let you know how it turned out in the end with the different flours and all, but was just curious about how far to let the dough rise. I don’t do a ton of yeast baking, so I’m not that schooled on the subject. Thanks again for sharing your G-free knowledge and recipes 🙂
My bread texture came out AMAZING! This is quite literally the best bread recipe yet. My only issue was that the center fell a bit (and this Buckwheat flour Rookie didn’t realize it’s flavor would be so strong. I will ease up on it next time). I have baked enough to know that when the center sinks it is often due to the batter being too wet…. This was Not the case this time. I felt my batter was barely wet enough to be considered like “muffin batter”. Could it be that into dough rose too high before baking so it had nothing to grab onto while baking? My bread ends did spill over to the top lip of the pan.
The other thing I noticed, is that I forgot to add the salt. Salt typically holds back yeast rising, so maybe this was my problem from it rising too fast and high pre-bake? I just don’t know and am very curious because I want to get this right. I Super Love the texture of this bread recipe as it’s literally the best I’ve tried in all my Celliac years.
Thank you for any insight you may be able to provide 🙂
That’s awesome that it (mostly) worked, Michelle! I would’ve thought it was the moisture too, but apparently not. One possibility is that it actually rose too long. If it reaches the highest point and then is just left to sit, it seems like sometimes the bread falls down a little bit. The buckwheat flour could have weighted it down, too, since it’s just a bit heavier than rice flour.
You’re right that it could also be the salt…The yeast might have been overfed without the salt to temper the growth.
Those are the only reasons I can think of. Let me know if you figure it out!
I usually let my bread rise above the top (not sure if this is what you’re supposed to do–I just sort of play things by ear)…Sometimes it actually overflows, which is why I always have a cookie sheet below the rising bread. I rise my breads for around 45 minutes or until it looks like they’ve stopped rising. If you rise much longer than 45 minutes, the yeast will develop a slightly “beery” flavor…Not good.
Baking by weight is a good idea! I’ve heard that it really improves results and keep meaning to try it. Does it seem to help for you?
I have another question for you if you don’t mind 🙂
What type of yeast are you using for your bread recipes. It just says “yeast”. I just used active dry yeast. Is this correct?
Hi Michelle. Yes, I use active dry yeast. Sorry I didn’t make that clear in the recipe. I’ll fix it right away!
Okay so, I’m stumped.
I tried again, with 3/4 of the flour portion being fine grain Oat flour and the last 1/4 being half toasted Quinoa flour and half being Buckwheat flour (because, as I mentioned prior, I cannot have Rice flour). Oat flour usually requires more liquid as it absorbs more than rice, so I understood the added water to your recipe to make it like “muffin batter”. It again equaled 1-1/2 cups of total liquid (Cashew milk + water) as it did before – It sank slightly… again. The texture is BEAUTIFUL however and just cannot be topped from anything else I have ever attempted or eaten…. For reals.
The thing that was different this time from last was that I used mostly Oat flour, with the remaining flour portion being part Buckwheat and part toasted Quinoa. Not a whole lot different than before. Also tho’, I attempted to use instant yeast rather than the active yeast I used before since it was unclear what type of “yeast” your recipe was calling for. I even attempted the bread pan alteration that has been toted by a respected cooking/baking company, of wrapping & stapling foil (for Gluten-free bread baking) around the pan to extend it’s height by at least an inch. Nothing turned out different than the last in the area of rising however. The middle still sank. This confirms to me that I’ve got something incorrect, likely with the thickness of the batter (it was still thick & barely pour-able & had to be smoothed on top), or maybe the Xanthan Gum or yeast? I’m frustrated because I am just so close! The closest I’ve ever been… sincerely. Maybe it’s the beating/resting? I AM a wee bit confused by the instructions. is it 4 beats and rests of 1 minutes a piece with another beat and then 5 minute rest and one more 1 minute beat before “pouring” into the pan? That’s what it sort of reads, but you state elsewhere that it’s just 4 beats. I’m sort of confused.
Baking is so chemistry… and I hated chemistry during my schooling years. I love math, but my love stops there. Lol. I do Respect the reality of chemistry in baking however and recognize that I better get-it or nothing will work. I just need a little help I guess 🙂
I think I should also mention (for chemistry sake) that I did the usual of making sure my overall liquid was at about 115° to allow the yeast to activate properly. Your recipe only says to “warm” certain liquids. Is this the issue maybe? and at what temperature is “warm”? This is important for us Baking-Chemists 😉
Michelle, are you adding starches in the recipe or did you replace those with oat/quinoa/buckwheat as well? Starches tend to lighten things up a little bit, so I usually try to include them on a 1 to 2 ratio. If you can’t eat cornstarch, potato starch, or tapioca starch, arrowroot starch will probably work.
I don’t know for sure what your consistency looks like, so I can’t be sure whether or not there’s too much liquid. I’ve added a picture below of the thickness I usually aim for in bread dough.
As for the beating, it’s four beats with one minute of resting, then one beat with five minutes of resting, and then a final beating before putting it into the pan. The number of beats, however, shouldn’t affect rise too much. I’ve tried varying the number of rise-and-beats and didn’t notice much difference (so long as there are several rise-and-beats, one of which should be around five minutes).
Anyway, sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. Hopefully this helps!
I made this using tapioca yeast and 2 tsp gluten instead of xanthan for binder. I also used half and half in place of the milk. I am trying to adapt recipes to meet a low carb Keto diet, not gluten free. The dough was extremely dry and stiff and I had to add quite a bit of extra water.
I did not keep track of the amount as I started using Tbsps and eventually, just started adding and adding. Finally ended with a dough I could work with, but divided into two loaves as the dough filled one almost to the top and I didn’t want the yeast to make it overflow the pan.
They did rise a little, but not much. I have a bread slicer, so I got 20 slices out of each loaf. The bread had a consistency more like corn bread and would perhaps be better as muffins. The taste was ok; much better with coconut butter or butter. But……it is bread! The most missed item for Ketoers!
If you have any suggestions on the substitutions I made, I would appreciate hearing them. I’m thinking that I did not need to add the gluten at all. Also, do you have the nutritional values for this bread? I looked all over the page and did not see them.
Thanks.
I’m sorry, but this bread did not deliver what it promised. It was tasty, yes, when it was fresh and hot, but once cool, it became dry VERY quickly, gritty, brittle, and with a bland flavour. There are much better GF bread recipes out there.
I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t live up to your expectations, Lica! I know how disappointing it can be to have a bread not turn out the way you hope. 🙁 I’m not sure if this was the problem or not, since I didn’t see the bread, but generally if I leave my gluten-free breads out on the counter they dry out quite quickly. A good way to store it is to put the whole bread (once cooled) into an airtight food and bread bag. It’s best stored uncut.
Anyway, I’m not sure if storage was the issue at all, since, as I said, I didn’t see the bread. I hope your breads turn out delicious and soft in the future! Again, sorry this recipe didn’t measure up.
LOOKS YUMMY! What other flours can I substitute for rice flour as I am allergic to rice flour?
Hi Fedhah,
Yes, you can substitute oat flour or sorghum flour (or a combination of the two) in this recipe and in most of my other recipes!
Would almond or coconut flour work in this recipe instead of a flour that is made from grains?
Hi Irene,
Since both coconut flour and almond flour work very differently than grain flours, I can’t say without doubt that either of them would work as an exact substitute in this recipe. Coconut flour absorbs a lot more moisture than grain flours so that would upset the moisture balance. Almond flour, on the other hand, is too wet and doesn’t dry out as well during baking. That said, there are lots of other recipes on the internet for grain free sandwich breads. This one is one of my favorites. It uses arrowroot powder and almond flour with flaxseed acting as a binder. Note: arrowroot powder isn’t a grain and is generally accepted as paleo by the paleo community.
I have a great potato based sourdough starter my aunt gave me.
When I make the bread the dry ingredients are 6 cups of flour, half a cup of sugar and 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients are one packet of yeast in 1 1/4 cups of water, One cup of the starter and 1/2 c oil
This makes two beautiful loaves of bread but I want a gluten-free substitute can you help please ?
Hi Nova, unfortunately I don’t have a sourdough bread recipe yet…mine is still in the works. However, I really like Amy Green’s recipe for bread (http://amygreen.me/sandwich-bread-with-sourdough-starter/) and starter (http://amygreen.me/sourdough-starter/). I definitely recommend you check out her blog!
I thought this would work out for me. I followed the direction and ended up with a loaf of glue.
Really sorry to hear that, Sarah! It’s always very disappointing when a recipe doesn’t work like it should. Unfortunately without seeing the bread I can’t tell what might have gone wrong. 🙁
Is it possible to use egg substitute and still get good results. We can not have eggs, gluten or dairy
Hi Jackie, I wouldn’t recommend using an egg substitute, sorry! The eggs are important in holding the bread together.
Thank you very much for the recipe! I made my bread with Cassava flour that I milled from the fresh root and the results were really good. The texture and sponginess were excellent. The taste was much better than other breads I had made with Cassava. It raised well because my yeast was new.