Soft homemade gluten-free bread is easier to make than you think! Simple and delicious, you'll love it in a sandwich or with some butter and jam. Most importantly, you'll be amazed that this bread is gluten-free!
Believe it or not, I still have trouble convincing some people that gluten-free bread can actually be good.
Crazy, right?
I've been doing gluten-free baking for a long time...
...and if you know me, you know I won't actually post a recipe unless it ticks all the boxes.
For bread, it's got to be SOFT...
...and delicious...
...and good enough and close enough to "real bread" that you don't realize it's gluten-free.
Bonus points if it's also easy to make!
Well, this bread recipe ticks all the boxes and is just another example of how good gluten-free bread can actually be!
The Dry Ingredients
I like to keep the ingredients fairly simple, and this bread recipe is no exception. The dry ingredients are made up of rice flour, tapioca starch, sorghum flour (which can be substituted with buckwheat or oat flour), xanthan gum, and salt. That's it! The rice flour provides the bulk, the tapioca starch provides the moisture, and the sorghum flour gives the wheat-like smell and taste. The xanthan gum acts as the "glue", if you will, giving the bread that chew that we want from bread.
I prefer not to use pre-made gluten-free flour blends as they often contain other ingredients that I do not want, so I like to create my recipes from scratch with the core ingredients. However, be rest assured that the gluten-free flours I use are commonly found and affordable, so anyone can make these recipes.
Now on to the other dry ingredient...yeast.
Contrary to common thinking, you do not have to proof yeast before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. If you are confident that the yeast is active (or if you want to live life on the edge!), you can simply add it dry to the rest of the dry ingredients. I have done this and the bread has always worked out without any issue. Keep in mind that I also store my yeast in the fridge to facilitate it staying active longer.
If you aren't sure if your yeast is active, or if you just want to make sure it is before you combine it with all the other ingredients, there is nothing wrong with proofing it first. For proofing the yeast for this recipe, I simply take ¼ cup of the required amount of warm water, mix it with the 2 tablespoons of honey, and add the yeast.
Creating the Batter
Yes, I said batter.
One major difference from regular wheat bread is that gluten-free bread dough is more like a batter and doesn't require any kneading. It is as simple as mixing all the wet and dry ingredients together with a mixer, pouring the batter into a pan and letting it rise once before baking. In that respect, making a gluten-free bread is much simpler than wheat bread!
The wet ingredients are also very straightforward, being composed of eggs, honey (which you may have already used for proofing your yeast), warm water, oil, and apple cider vinegar.
The dry, the wet, and the yeast mixture (if proofing ahead of time) all get combined into a mixing bowl. Whether you are using a stand or hand mixer, it only takes about a minute for the bread batter to come together.
The Rise
Scoop the bread dough batter into a parchment-lined loaf pan and now you just have to let it rise. (See Recipe Notes below regarding pan sizes.) If my kitchen is already warm (like during the summer months), I will simply leave it on the counter. Otherwise, during the colder months, I will often put the bread pan in the oven with just the oven light on and that creates a perfect warm environment for the bread to rise.
Once the bread is no more than ¼" above the edge of the pan, it is ready to bake. I know it may be tempting to let it rise just a *little* bit more until it reaches, what you think, is the perfect height. However, take it from someone who has done just that...don't. 🙂
The bread batter continues to rise a bit once it goes into the oven and that can result in your bread having a "ledge" or, even worse, the batter may spill over the edge of the pan. So err on the side of being conservative.
Bread Magic
After the bread dough has risen, it's time to bake and let the heat do its magic. Before you know it, the wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread will be wafting through your home! In 45 minutes, you'll have a beautiful loaf of bread..that looks and smells like "real" bread!
I know it will be difficult, but it's best to let the bread cool completely before slicing. Your patience will be rewarded when you make those first slices, see the beautiful airy bubbles, and take your first bite!
And of course, no gluten-free bread recipe of mine is complete without a shot of the "bend" test! It's softness you can see!
Did I mention this soft homemade gluten-free bread makes awesome sandwiches?? Get your favorite fillings, like my Easy Homemade Sandwich Deli Meat, and pack them between two slices…there's something incredibly satisfying about making fresh sandwiches with your very own homemade bread!
As I mentioned above, I have been baking gluten-free for a long time. So it would only make sense that I have a few gluten-free bread recipes!
They're all slightly different, and each delicious in their own way. It's definitely worth trying any, or all of them to see which one you like best! If you're like my family, we actually love all of them, and I find having the different recipes a nice way to have some variety.
So back to this recipe, just as the name says, it's soft. It has a tender crumb, good structure, lots of air bubbles, just the right amount of moisture, and it is just plain GOOD. It is also very easy to make...what's not to love?
~ Lisa.
Soft Homemade Gluten-Free Bread
Ingredients
(Volume measurements in Recipe Notes below, but weight measurements are highly recommended)
Proofing the Yeast (see Recipe Notes below):
- ¼ cup warm water (about 100F/37C)
- 2 tbs honey
- 4.5 grams active yeast
Dry Ingredients:
- 260 g rice flour (white or brown is fine)
- 80 g tapioca starch (same as tapioca flour)
- 60 g sorghum flour (can substitute with buckwheat or oat flour)
- 4.5 grams xanthan gum
- 2 grams salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
- 1 ¼ cup water (about 100F/37C)
- ¼ cup light olive oil (or any neutral flavored oil)
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine ¼ cup warm water with 2 tbs honey and stir well. Mix in the yeast and let sit for 10 minutes to proof.
- Combine all dry ingredients in large mixing bowl and whisk together well.
- Add yeast mixture, 1 ¼ cups warm water, ¼ cup oil, eggs, and apple cider vinegar to the dry ingredients.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat mixture for 1-2 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl halfway. Dough will be like batter.
- Scoop bread batter into parchment lined loaf pan and tap pan on the counter a couple of times to help the dough fill the corners.
- Place bread dough in a warm location to rise for approximately 1 hour, checking after 45 minutes. The center of the loaf should be no more than ¼" above the edge of the loaf pan. (See note below.)
- Preheat oven 350 deg F (180 C).
- Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes, until internal temperature taken with an instant-read thermometer registers at least 200F/93C.
- Let bread rest in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Volume Measurements for Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ½ teaspoons active yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
- 2 ¼ cups + 2 tbs brown rice flour
- ¾ cup + 2 tbs + 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
- ½ cup + 1 tbs + 1 teaspoon sorghum flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 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 more water or tapioca starch or brown rice flour to achieve the correct dough consistency.
- Can this be made in a bread maker?
- Yes! Be sure to check the manual for your bread maker as it may come equipped with a gluten-free setting. The most important thing is that the dough only go through ONE proof/rise before baking.
- This recipe works in different sized loaf pans: 5 x 9, Pullman tall style pans, 4 x 11.5 long pans.
- Depending on your environment, the dough may take longer than an hour to rise. In this case, simply monitor how high the dough has risen in the pan, making sure that the center of the loaf does not rise more than ¼" above the edge of the pan.
- For the tall Pullman style pans, let the bread proof until doubled in size. Because the Pullman pans have much taller sides than standard loaf pans, do not let it rise above the edge of the pan.
- Depending on your environment, the dough may take longer than an hour to rise.
- It is not necessary to proof the yeast. You can also simply add the dry active yeast to the dry ingredients and whisk together and simply add the 1 ½ cups warm water and the honey to the bowl with the rest of the wet ingredients. I have done it both ways without any issue.
- Millet, buckwheat or oat flour can be used in place of sorghum flour.
- I have used sparkling mineral water in place of regular water, but have found that both yield similar results. You can use whatever you prefer!
- It is important to not let the bread rise too much before baking it. It is best to bake it when the rise looks just less than the "perfect" height, otherwise the dough may end up spilling over the edge.
- Keeps well in a sealed bag or container on the counter for a couple of days, in the refrigerator for a few days (if it lasts that long!). If you refrigerate the bread, the slices taste better toasted.
- Freeze slices of the bread in a resealable freezer bag. Remove only the number of slices you will be eating. Toast in the toaster, or wrap a slightly damp paper towel around the slice(s) of bread and microwave for 10-20 seconds to soften.
- Nutritional info is approximate and based on a serving of one slice, assuming you can get about 12 slices from a loaf.
Nutrition
**Recipe notes were updated March 14th, 2023 regarding proofing the bread dough, bread pan sizes, and volume measurements for dry ingredients.
Badiya
Hi Lisa! Is there anyway I can use Red Mills 1:1 GF flour for this?
Lisa
Hi Badiya! Thanks for the question. I haven't tried using a premade GF flour mix but it's definitely worth trying out. I don't know how the bread will turn out compared to using my flour blend, but I'm sure it would still be good. If Bob's Red Mill GF already contains xanthan gum, be sure to omit the xanthan gum I have in my recipe. Let me know how it goes!
Amanda
I made this yesterday for my daughter using Bobs GF All-Purpose Baking Flour and added the xanthum that this recipe calls for and it worked so well! I’ve worked with three different gf bread recipes over the years and this is the lightest and best tasting one yet!
Lisa
Thanks, Amanda! I'm so glad that you like the recipe, and it's great to know that it worked with the GF all-purpose flour!
Angela
Can you provide a version for an 8.4x4.5 tall gf bread pan. Some of us don’t have a longer loaf pan. Thanks so much!
Lisa
Hi Angela! You can follow the recipe exactly the same with the different pan. I have had readers use the tall size loaf pan for this bread recipe and my other GF bread recipes and they've all turned out perfectly without any adjustments made. That being said, I also bought one of those loaf pans recently and will make the bread soon and include notes on it in the recipe. Thanks for the message!
Lori
This is a great recipe! It was indeed a breeze to assemble and bake and tastes delicious. Many thanks!
Lisa
Thanks so much, Lori!
Lois
Can I use a bread machine?
Lisa
I have had readers use a bread machine with success. Just make sure to use the GF setting, or make sure that the bread only goes through one rise/proof before baking (not two).
Terrie
I just wrote earlier about not having the correct size pan…..well that is the least of my problem. The active yeast I used was quite old, so I proofed it as directed and it foamed up just a little. Never having used yeast before I just went ahead and used it. I had new rapid rise yeast but I didn’t know how to convert it into 1 1/2 teaspoons. After an hour in a slightly warm oven the rise is about two inches more than it was originally. I’m going to bake it now and if I doesn’t turn out , I’ll make croutons and make the bread again with new active yeast. As you all can tell I’m a rookie at making bread. I might just have to stick with my cakes and pies that never fail me. HA!
Lisa
Hi again, Terrie! If you have rapid rise yeast, and it has not expired yet, I would simply use the same amount as per the recipe, but add it directly to the dry ingredients. Then just make sure you add the 1/4 cup of warm water and honey with the other wet ingredients before mixing. Anyway, I hope this first loaf still worked out...don't give up! 🙂
Terrie
I have all the ingredients weighed and measured, and just realized that I don’t have a long loaf pan..I’m going to try it with a regular size loaf pan and hope for the best..i’ll watch carefully to make sure the rise isn’t too high and bake it immediately. If I have a pan problem I’ll be sure to let you know. I can’t wait for a super soft sandwich bread !!
Lisa
Very excited for you, Terrie! I hope it all works out and, yes, please check back in! Thanks for giving my recipe a go!
Susan H
How did the bread turn out? Did the regular loaf pan work?
Claire Mc
Thanks for this great recipe! Your notes were very helpful.
I subbed oat flour which was fine. I wondered about using less honey... have you ever tried that?
Cheers, Claire
Lisa
Hi Claire! I have not tried reducing the honey, but I cannot see that being a problem. I would probably try reducing it by half first and see how the bread turns out. Thanks for trying the recipe, and for sharing that the oat flour worked!
Beth
I haven’t tried this recipe, but I made the other sandwich bread on this site, and skipped the sweetener entirely. It didn’t rise as high as the photos, but still tasted amazing!!
Joanna
Love the recipe! Easy to follow and the ability to change loaf amounts without doing the math myself was great, ha! I added 4 tsp of baking powder (for 2 loaves) to help with the rising and it rose so much while baking some of the sides fell off and made burnt bread sticks in my oven. But I wanted to see how much I could get it to rise so I was pleasantly surprised. Will definitely be my go to recipe for GF bread!
Lisa
Thanks so much, Joanna! You wanted to see how much rise you could get and I guess 4 teaspoons of baking powder in addition to the yeast was more than enough! 🙂 I'm so glad you like the bread recipe!
Bob Hauck
Hi Lisa. I tried this recipe today but had to make a couple of adjustments, and so it didn't rise nearly as much as I expected. It looks great, but I'm disappointed by the lack of rising. Here's the issue: I bake for my wife, who's GF but she also has a number of other food allergies/intolerances, including to egg whites, of all things. So I used 3 egg yolks in the recipe, but no whites. I know this cuts back on the leavening quite a bit, so the loaf is quite a bit more dense. Also, I had tapioca flour rather than tapioca starch on hand, and it is quite a bit more coarse than tapioca starch, so that may have made a difference as well. Any thoughts or ideas you have to share would be much appreciated.
Lisa
Hi Bob. Thanks for your questions and for trying the recipe. Aside from an easy suggestion to check to see if your yeast is active, I'm not exactly sure what to suggest in terms of helping with the rise in the bread if you have adjusted the recipe and omitted the egg whites. Also, I know of tapioca flour and starch to be the same thing, so I can't see that being a big factor (unless you are using a kind I'm just not aware of). The only way I can think of trying to approach this, if it were me, is scientifically and methodically and to actually make the recipe as it is written (or a half recipe to test) to see how it turns out compared to the one your originally made with your modifications. I know that would mean that your wife can't eat it, but it might help to determine if the egg whites are actually causing the problem, or if it's (as I previously mentioned) weak yeast. I hope that helps.
Steff
Have you looked into substituting flaxseed mixed with water for the egg? I've seen it done many times in recipes with success. Look around online and I'm sure there is more info that might be helpful. And what a sweet way to show you care by cooking for your wife.
Lyn Heathcock
10/3/21
The best gluten free recipe I've tried so far & the best gluten free bread I've tasted since having to go g.f. and it's been 3 yes.
Thanks so much
Lyn Heathcock
Lisa
Wow, Lyn...thank you so much for your review! I'm so happy you gave my recipe a try and that you liked it!
Fatima Karim
Xanthan gum is not available here, what can be used as a substitute? TIA
Lisa
Hey Fatima! I have read that psyllium husk or chia eggs are possible substitutions for xanthan gum, but I have never tried them myself, so I'm not sure how they would work.
Jo
Delicious, best gluten free bread. All others I have made are like bricks and taste disgusting, this is lovely, light, airy and spongey, reminds me of a crumpet. Whole family loved it, will definitely be keeping this recipe.
Lisa
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, Jo, and I'm so glad you liked it! I also love the crumpet comparison!
Audrey
Best GF bread recipe so far! I substituted Fava bean flour for the Tapioca starch since tapioca starch doesn't always digest well. I let it rise for an hour outside covered in the porch for an hour and it was perfect texture and taste. I did weigh the flours and gum per the recipe. Used white rice flour.
Lisa
Hi Audrey! That's interesting about the fava bean flour...I had no idea that it could be used as a substitute for tapioca starch! I appreciate you sharing that useful tip! Thanks so much for trying the recipe and for your comments. I'm so glad you liked it. 🙂
Barb
Have you tried substituting flaxseed for the eggs? 3 Tablespoons of water with 1 Tablespoon of flaxseed for each egg. Adhering to as much as I can to a Whole Plant Based Food eating.
Lisa
Thanks for the question, Barb. I have not tried doing the flax egg substitute for this bread recipe, but I have read how it is supposed to be a good substitution for eggs. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!