This gluten free bread is soft in texture, easy to make, and tastes delicious! It's great for sandwiches, toast, or simply buttered with a hearty stew or chili.
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This is another recipe that I've been working on for a long time. I couldn't tell you how many test batches I've made! I know, that's what I said about developing the Almond Teff Pancake recipe! But it's true! It's difficult to do "bready-type" things well without the gluten when wheat is what we're used to!
I was looking for three things for this bread:
- Taste
- Texture
- Tab
1. Taste
Naturally, I want my bread to taste good! Yes, gluten free bread can taste good! For this particular bread, I was looking for a neutral flavour. It needs to work well with and not overpower whatever I choose to put on it. I also wanted to avoid the "gluten free taste" that I associate with many baked gluten free products. It's a certain aftertaste that's left in the mouth after a few bites of some gluten free baked goods. Do you know what I mean?
This bread has a neutral flavour without the "off" taste!
2. Texture
The texture I wanted to achieve is soft but not crumbly. I find that this bread holds together nicely in my hand.
3. Tab
The tab is the cost. For this particular bread, my goal was a reasonably priced loaf that tastes great. I've avoided the most expensive flours in my pantry while maintaining nutritional value. The flours here are some of the most reasonably priced gluten free flours you'll find.
For more tips on baking with yeast, read these Gluten Free Yeast Bread Tips.
Gluten Free Bread Ingredients
- Sorghum Flour - I think we need to pay more attention to sorghum. It's an ancient grain originally from the dry African plains. Also grown in Asia and Central and North America now, sorghum is the fifth most popular cereal crop in the world. An excellent gluten free alternative to wheat, sorghum has a neutral, sometimes sweet flavour and light colour. The Guardian has called sorghum the 'new wonder grain,' as it's said to be high in protein, fibre, and antioxidants.
- Brown Rice Flour - Like sorghum flour, brown rice flour is also high in protein and fibre, helping to provide structure to gluten free bread.
- Xanthan Gum - replace the gluten to help the bread hold together.
How do you make gluten free bread from scratch?
Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ones in another.
If you have a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, simply pour in the wet mixture while the machine is running. After a minute or two on medium-low speed, everything will mix together smoothly.
If you are mixing your batter by hand, whisk the wet ingredients thoroughly before adding them to the dry mixture.
Spread the batter into a prepared loaf pan.
Cover the pan with an oiled piece of plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
Remove the plastic and bake your loaf in a preheated oven. Allow it to cool on a rack before slicing.
Pan
This batter fits nicely into a standard 8 ½-inch X 4 ½-inch metal loaf pan. Gluten free bread doesn't rise far above the top of the pan without falling over, because it doesn't have gluten to hold it together. For the nice tall loaf in some of the photos, I used a pan that is 7 ½-inches X 3 ½-inches X 2 ¼-inches tall with leftovers for a smaller loaf or a couple of buns.
Gluten Free Bread Recipe FAQ's and Tips
Bread needs a flour that is high enough in protein to provide structure and stability. Sorghum flour and brown rice flour are good for this. Many think that sorghum flour is most like wheat flour in taste and texture. As usual for gluten free baking, a combination of flours works best.
Besides yeast, gluten free flour needs something else to make it rise. Gluten provides structure to wheat bread which holds it together. When gluten is missing, we add xanthan gum or guar gum to help our flour blends hold together, so the bread will be strong enough to rise up in the pan.
Other Sorghum Recipes
More Gluten Free Breads
I hope you enjoy this nice soft sandwich bread. If you'd like to try a crusty loaf that's fun to make, check out this Simple Crusty Artisanal Gluten Free Bread. And here's a gluten free bread recipe that's free from all grains as well as nuts and dairy. Garlic Bread Sticks are fun and well-liked! And, we're loving Gluten Free Hamburger Buns and Brioche Bread!
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Recipe
Soft Sorghum Sandwich Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic sorghum flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar
- 1 tablespoon xanthan gum
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Grease a metal loaf pan or line it with parchment paper. (See note about pan size.)
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix well. A stand mixer works great for this. If you don't have a stand mixer (The batter is probably too thick for a hand mixer.), whisk the wet ingredients together and then mix them well into the dry ingredients. Batter will be very moist.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan. Allow to rise in a warm place for an hour.
- Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 40 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reads 190°F (88°C) when inserted into the centre.
Video
Notes
- Water temperature is important when you're baking with yeast. If it's too hot or too cold, it will destroy the effectiveness of the yeast. The water should just be comfortably warm to touch, about 115°F (46°C).
- This bread is incredibly easy to make with a stand mixer, as you can see from the video. Gluten free bread doesn't need the kneading that develops the gluten in the usual wheat breads. You just need to make sure your ingredients are very well combined.
Elaine says
Wow! Thanks for all your hard work testing this recipe. I'm going to try this soon, maybe this weekend!
Cathy says
I hope you like it!
Denise from Urb'n'Spice says
I can relate to testing gluten-free bread, Cathy. It is tricky, isn't it? It appears that you have nailed it and I am looking forward to trying your recipe. I have a little grandson who is gluten-free so I am always on the lookout for recipes such as yours. Thanks so much for sharing.
Cathy says
I hope your grandson enjoys the bread.:)
Leslie says
This looks so much like regular bread! I'm impressed with the air pockets and the softness. It's just begging to be made into a nut butter and jam sandwich!
Cathy says
Thanks, Leslie! I agree!
Yvonne says
I have never experimented much with sorghum. Thank you for this very educational post explaining all the ins and out of gluten free baking.
Cathy says
No problem!
Yang says
Looks amazing! Even though I am not celiac, I want to make this bread after reading all your considerations. What a great way to eat sorghum too - it's a grain that is grown and traditional in my home country, but with modern diet taking over the society, even back home sorghum is hard to find now.
Cathy says
I'm using Bob's Red Mill 'Sweet' White Sorghum Flour. I wonder if it's like you sorghum from back home.
Jean says
Love the texture on top of the final product! This looks fantastic.
Cathy says
Thank you, Jean! I'm thankful to have it!
Tessa Simpson says
Sorghum is on of my favorites too!! This bread looks awesome!
Cathy says
Thanks, Tessa! I'm very glad to have discovered sorghum.
Raia Todd says
Oh my goodness, that is GORGEOUS! Gluten-free bread can be such a pain in the rear to make, but this sounds totally do-able.
Cathy says
Thank you, Raia! This one really is easy to make.
Joni Gomes says
WOW! This looks too good to be gluten free! Definitely cannot find this at any grocery store!
Cathy says
Thank you so much, Joni!
linda spiker says
Wow! What a beautiful loaf!
Cathy says
Thank you, Linda!
Christina Shoemaker says
You're right, I do need to pay more attention to sorghum! The texture of this bread looks absolutely perfect, Cathy!!
Cathy says
Thanks, Christina! Yes, sorghum is great!
Monique says
This looks like such a soft gluten free bread, which is by no means an easy thing to do! I don't often see sorghum flour in the shops near me, but I'm going to keep an eye out for it as it looks great to make with!
Cathy says
I hope you're able to find sorghum flour somewhere. I think you'll like it.
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen says
It's so hard to make gluten free bread that isn't crumbly! This looks so soft and fluffy! Will definitely be giving this a go!
Cathy says
I've found the same issue with crumbly GF bread. I'm happy to hear you'll be trying my recipe!
Megan Stevens says
What a great combination of grains. I love sorghum too! This looks great!
Cathy says
Thank you, Megan!