This foolproof Vegan and Gluten Free Sandwich Bread rises a mile high and has a tender, delicious crumb. Also, tips for successful gluten-free bread making.
I've been experimenting more with gluten-free baking, and today I wanted to share a foolproof recipe for a wheat free and therefore gluten free sandwich bread. Vegan, of course.
I bake a lot and I love baking breads most of all. But I had rarely baked a gluten free bread, unless you count some Indian flatbreads like bhakris and missi rotis, made with flours like millet and sorghum and corn. So when I rolled up my sleeves and set out to bake a gluten free bread, I did a lot of reading and incorporated a lot of the advice in my recipe. Here's what I learned:
- Start with an open mind, especially if you're a seasoned baker, because all of your long-held notions about baking bread will be challenged. Gluten free breads present a fundamental conundrum: gluten is the substance that gives breads structure and helps them rise (it's why you knead bread dough so much-- to develop those gluten strands that will stretch and make your bread grow big and light and airy in the oven). So then how do you get a bread that lacks any gluten at all to rise? Relax, because there is an answer: xanthan gum. This thickener adds viscosity and elasticity to a gluten free bread dough, allowing it to rise in a hot oven, much as a wheat bread would. Xanthan gum can easily be found at stores like Whole Foods or online.
- Take time to mix your ingredients thoroughly, even if there is no gluten to develop. You will find lots of websites that say you don't need to knead your dough, but trust me, mixing it for a decent period of time ensures that you get your dough to just the right consistency.That's because gluten-free flours tend to be rather thirsty and you want to give them time to absorb all the liquid they can.
- Your gluten-free dough will look different: more like muffin batter than the average wheat bread dough. Don't be tempted to add more flour. The wet dough will help create an airier bread. Also-- big bonus!-- your gluten free bread needs just one, not two, rises, saving you time.
- Your baked gluten free bread will also look different. Because of the wet batter, the finished bread will have a rather shaggy look to it, not unlike a banana bread, cracks and all. But who cares when it looks great sliced and tastes even better.
- Your gluten free bread will taste different, because gluten free flours tend to have a more robust, earthier flavor than wheat does. One of the ways to combat this is to use lighter flours like rice flour and oat flour in combination with some of the stronger-tasting ones, like millet or sorghum.
So now that you are privy to some secrets of successful gluten free baking, let's fire up that oven and get started. This gluten free sandwich bread uses millet flour, rice flour, and oat flour (be sure to buy one that says gluten free, because some oat flours can be contaminated with gluten while processing) and tastes, I think, as close to a wheat bread as can be. It also toasts really well.
Enjoy, all!
More gluten-free recipes:
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Boule
- Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread
- Vegan Gluten-Free Naan
- Savory Cucumber Pancakes
Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread Recipe
Vegan Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups millet flour
- 1 ½ cups oat flour (make sure you buy one that's labeled gluten-free)
- ½ cup rice flour
- ½ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup flax meal
- 2 tablespoon egg replacer (can substitute corn starch)
- 2 tablespoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 2 ¼ teaspoon of active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (can substitute sugar)
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add the yeast and maple syrup to the water and let stand until the yeast starts to bloom, about 5-10 minutes.
- Whisk the milk with the vinegar and set aside for five minutes.
- Mix the various flours together with the baking soda, flax meal, egg replacer, and xanthan gum. Whisk everything thoroughly to ensure it's all mixed together.
- Add the almond milk to the yeast-water mixture along with the flours and salt.
- Mix using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer or by hand. Drizzle in the oil as you mix. Continue to mix for about 8 minutes or until everything's well-incorporated and you have a fairly smooth-looking, batter-like dough.
- Oil a standard 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Pour the dough into the pan and, using a spatula, even out the top as best as you can.
- Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until the dough has domed around the top of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the bread for 55 minutes. Insert a thermometer in the middle at the end of baking-- it should register at least 200 degrees.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let it stand on a rack until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Remove from the loaf pan and continue cooling the bread on the rack.
- Enjoy!
Chris Lekander
Super amazing awesome bread. I made the recipe and it just came out of the oven. It is delicious! I made a couple of substitutions. Since I did not have millet flour on hand, I used Sorghum flour. I also replaced the xanthan gum with a 1/2 cup mixture of flax meal, chia meal, and psyllium powder. It is a little crumblier than a bread with gum, but so tasty!
Vaishali Honawar
Chris, your bread sounds delicious. Happy you liked the recipe!
desiree
Hello, I really want to try this recipe but we have a flax allergy. What can I replace the flax with? Thanks!
Vaishali
I can't say for sure because I haven't tried it with a flax substitute, but hemp seeds-- ground into a meal-- might work.
Nidhi patwardhan
Hi, what is an egg replacer ? Can I use 1 egg in its place ?
Anonymous
Flax is considered an egg replacer in baking because of its gelatinous properties. perhaps chia seed would be a good sub too because the gelatinous propertites in them are similar to flaxseeds
Sarah
I am so excited about this! I love all of your wheat-based breads and make them for my husband all of the time, but now I have a bread from your site that I can make for me 🙂
Gayathri Ramanan
this recipe is new to me..have to try this sometime..bread loaf looks fabulous.
Chitz
Never knew we cud bake gluten free wheat bread.. And it looks much like the normal wheat bread 🙂
Manasi
What a gorgeous loaf, Vaishali!
I have seen gluten free bread in the stores and they look so very unappetizing 🙁
I hold one tentatively and it feels rock solid in my hand, that is when I replace it and shake my head and wonder why I should pay $ for a rock!
looking at your loaf, I can see that, made in the right way, it can be perfect. I hope one day, I can make a loaf as gorgeous as that!
Andrea
This looks like a very successful and beautiful loaf. I especially appreciate the relatively small amount of starch in the recipe. I see so many recipes where starch makes up at least 1/3 of the flour mix. I have one question, though. Does the recipe need 2 tablespoons of xanthan gum? That seems like a lot.
Vaishali
Hi Andrea, yes, it does need 2 tbsp. You might try cutting it down, but I don't think it would rise as well.
Priya Suresh
Thats an incredible loaf, beautiful slice.
jacqui
When do you add the 2Tbsp oil? Is that just to coat the pan?
Mel
What an impressive effort, it looks amazing! Gluten free baking scares me a little but your post makes it sound relatively easy.
Nivedhanams Sowmya
I always look at Xanthan Gum in shops but never dared to buy it... now you gave me a beautiful reason to buy it... thanks for this delicious bread!!Sowmya
Vaishali
Added.
divya
Awesome.. super bread..
Malli Das
I've yet to try baking anything gluten-free. It's inspiring that your bread looks soft and very pliable with those large air pockets. Looks delicious!
Anonymous
How much yeast.
Richa
Oh wow! that is one amazing sandwich bread.. with the height and the air. I hear you about glutenfree baking:)
Sara Romans
Many are intolerant of xanthan gum, causes painful bloating and gas. Im going to try your recipe using ground chia seeds in place of the xanthan gum. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for your effort to make gluten free & vegan eating easier!
Saira
Please do share how it turns out!