This gluten-free sandwich bread is soft and delicious.
Not words you’d ever associate with any gluten-free bread, right???
It’s also a prime example of patience and perseverance because it took me a long time to get this right. A very. Long. Time.
My first attempt at making gluten-free bread was mediocre at best, and at first, I was quite excited about it.
But as I looked at it more, I realized it resembled a brick.
And oddly enough, it was heavy like a brick.
And if you ask my family, it was like eating a brick.
Okay maybe not. No one lost their teeth eating that very first attempt at gluten-free bread. 🙂
But were we excited about it? Not particularly. Did we finish the loaf? Uh…no.
And I could have given up.
But I didn’t give up and my family is so glad I didn’t!
It wasn’t easy making that first loaf, having to figure out all the ingredients only to have it come out like something that could be used as a doorstop…or a paperweight.
What I wanted to achieve was gluten-free bread that someone on a gluten-free diet would love. I wanted to create a real, soft, squidgy bread and prove, once and for all, that gluten-free bread doesn’t have to be dense, dry, and crumbly. Just about every gluten-free bread we ever bought was like cardboard…and they wouldn’t brown in the toaster. What is that all about??
There are actually some gluten-free bread mixes out there that produce a decent loaf of bread. However, I didn’t always want to rely on a pre-packaged mix if we wanted bread, and they aren’t very affordable. Once I was able to develop this recipe, I never looked at a bread mix again!
I have made this bread several times and I never tire of watching a mix of basic ingredients transform to a beautiful loaf of bread. And then to have that bread be all soft and squidgy like “real” bread is incredibly satisfying and fulfilling.
Who’d a thought it was possible, right?
I certainly had my doubts, but I’m glad I didn’t let my early failures deter me from getting to this result! And I have to say that my family was incredibly patient as I worked through each attempt, having to eat every single iteration. But it paid off and now my family likes my bread more than the gluten-free bread mix I used to buy! I call that a total success!
If you haven’t tried making your own gluten-free bread yet, or if you haven’t eaten any good gluten-free bread, you have to give this recipe a try! I’ve done all the research and work and you’ll be amazed at how it’s just like “real bread”! 🙂
~ Lisa.
Soft Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
Dry:
- 225 g tapioca starch (see note below)
- 100 g brown rice flour
- 75 g sorghum flour
- 1 tbs xanthan gum
- 1 tbs ground flax seed
- 1 tsp whole flax seed
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbs instant dry yeast
Wet:
- 1 1/4 cup milk warmed to 110 deg F (43C)
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup light olive oil
- 2 tbs honey
Toppings (optional):
- 1 tsp whole flax seed
- 1 tbs sunflower seeds
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and stir together with a whisk; set aside.
- Combine milk, eggs, olive oil, and honey in mixing bowl; mix well.
- Add dry ingredients to the milk and egg mixture and mix for 1-2 minutes. A paddle attachment, dough hooks, or hand mixer beaters will all work with this dough.
- Pour or scoop into a parchment-lined loaf pan. Make level with a spatula.
- Scatter whole flax seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds on the top of the dough.
- Gently press seeds into the dough with wet fingers or the back of a wet spoon.
- Let the dough rise in the loaf pan in a warm draft-free location for about 1 hour (check at 45 minutes). Bread dough should be no higher than 1/2" above the edge of the pan. (see note below)
- Preheat oven to 350 deg F (180 C). The bread dough will be slightly "jiggly".
- Drape a sheet of foil loosely over the pan and bake for 35 minutes. This will prevent the top from overcooking and over-browning.
- Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Bread is done when the internal temperature taken with a thermometer is over 200 deg F (93 C). A temperature reading close to 210 deg F is even better (98 C).
- Remove from oven and let bread rest for 3-5 minutes.
- Using parchment, lift bread out from the pan and set on a rack to cool completely.
- Let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Volume Measurements:
- 2 1/4 cups tapioca starch
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbs brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup sorghum flour
- Please note that gluten-free recipes work best with weight measurements because they are more precise than volume measurements. Gluten-free baking requires more precision and can be less forgiving than baking with regular all-purpose wheat flour.
- These volume measurements were made from spooning each of the flours into the measuring cups/spoons (so they are not packed) and leveling them off.
- The volume measurements are approximate. Make slight adjustments to the recipe as needed, adding a bit of water or a bit more tapioca starch or brown rice flour to achieve the correct dough consistency.
- I had a friend make this bread using water instead of milk and it turned out great! So for those of you who are avoiding dairy, go ahead and use water!
- In case I wasn't too clear in my description, the dough for this bread will not be like your typical wheat-based bread dough which you can actually handle. The dough will be more like a thick batter that you have to scoop into the pan. Do not worry if you see this as it is normal for some gluten-free bread recipes to be like this! Just scoop or pour the dough into the pan, even it out, let it rise, and then bake!
- I let my bread rise in the oven with only the oven light on. I then carefully remove the bread to preheat the oven before baking.
- Store any leftover bread in a sealed bag or container for 2 days on the counter. If keeping for longer, keep bread slices in the fridge or freezer and then reheat in the toaster.
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, share your photo on Facebook or Instagram and tag me @dayinthekitchen!
You might also like:
-
- Soft Homemade Gluten-Free Bread
-
- Soft Gluten-Free Tortilla Flatbread
-
- Gluten-Free Garlic Herb Cheese Rolls
This post was originally published on May 21st, 2017, republished in November 2018 with new photos, instructional photos, slight recipe modifications, and updated recipe notes. This recipe was updated on March 6th, 2019 with volume measurements for the flours and additional recipe notes.
Zee
August 16, 2019 at 1:05 pmI have two questions…
Questions 1: at the end it says 255kcal. Is that 255 calories per slice?
Questions 2: can you substitute the milk with plain almond milk?
Lisa
August 16, 2019 at 2:34 pmThanks for the questions, Zee. The 255 calories are based per serving, and I have approximated that one loaf has 10 servings. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work with almond milk, and it is a variation that I would consider worth trying. Please let me know if you try the substitution!
Nikki Rogers
August 7, 2019 at 7:34 amThis is my new favorite GF bread recipe! I mistakenly put in one tablespoon of whole flax seeds, but it didn’t seem to bother anything and I don’t mind them. I used sugar instead of honey just because it’s less messy to measure. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Lisa
August 7, 2019 at 2:09 pmI’m so glad you liked it, Nikki, and that you mentioned your slight changes to the recipe. I’m so glad it worked out! Thanks for your comments!
Sandra
July 25, 2019 at 2:30 amHi there, thank you for your recipie. I do not eat eggs. Do you think I can substitute the eggs for flax seeds or egg replacement?
Lisa
July 25, 2019 at 4:51 amThanks for your question, Sandra! I have read about people using egg replacement or flax seeds in baking without running into any problems. However, I do not know how it would work with this recipe since I have never tried the substitution. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out.
Sanne
July 23, 2019 at 2:49 pmLove this bread!easy to make and very tasty. Also doesn’t crumble too badly and can actually be cut into slices! Thanks a lot x
Lisa
July 23, 2019 at 11:24 pmThanks, Sanne! I’m so glad that you liked it!
Rai
June 21, 2019 at 5:30 pmThis bread is amazing!! And really easy to make. My partner was recently diagnosed as being gluten intolerant and bread was always going to be the one thing he’d really miss. Tried so many so-called soft bread recipes but they were all pretty bad. Lisa is our hero and this bread is a revelation!!!
Lisa
June 22, 2019 at 7:55 amThis is fantastic to hear and I am so glad you liked the bread! Thanks so much for the comments!
Pauline
May 14, 2019 at 1:56 amHi! I am excited to try this bread recipe as I have been following an AIP diet for a few months and I miss sandwiches! However, I cannot have rice flour – is there a substitute you would recommend?
Lisa
May 14, 2019 at 8:52 amWhile I have not tried substituting the rice flour, I think sorghum or buckwheat would be your best bets. Thanks for the question, and if you try either of those flours, please let me know how it turns out!