How to Make Gluten Free Bread

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: September 22, 2022 Tested

Whether it's due to a medical condition or a desire to improve their eating habits, many people are following gluten-free diets these days. If you've eliminated gluten from your diet, bread is one of the hardest items to find a replacement for. However, you can bake delicious gluten-free bread by coming up with a gluten-free flour blend that will give it the same airy texture as traditional bread.

Ingredients

1 ⅓ cups (162 g) brown rice flour
1 ⅓ cups (162 g) tapioca flour/starch
1 ⅓ cups (175 g) cornstarch
1 tablespoon (10 g) potato flour
1 tablespoon (22 g) xanthan gum
1 tablespoon (15 g) gluten-free egg replacer
2 teaspoons (14 g) salt
½ cup (34 g) powdered milk
3 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup (57 g) butter, softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons (10 ml) cider vinegar
⅓ cup (112 g) honey
1 package (2 tsp/7 g) active dry yeast
2 cups (480 ml) warm water

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing the Flour, Pans, and Yeast

1
Combine the brown rice flour, tapioca flour/starch, cornstarch, and potato flour. To have a gluten-free flour blend ready for your bread, mix the ingredients together before you start making the dough. Set aside.^{[1]
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- If you aren’t able to find potato flour at the store, you can use instant mashed potato flakes. Pulverize them in a blender or food processor several times to give them a light, flour-like texture.
2
Grease 2 bread pans. This recipe provides enough for 2 loaves of bread, so you’ll need 2 pans for baking. It’s important to grease the pans before adding the dough to them or the bread may stick after baking. Take 2 8-inch (20-cm) bread pans, and spray them with a nonstick cooking spray.^{[2]
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- You can grease your bread pans with butter instead of the cooking spray if you want to add a buttery flavor to the crust. Vegetable, coconut, avocado, and canola oils can also be substituted for the spray.
3
Mix the yeast and water. To activate the yeast, pour 2 cups (480 ml) of warm water into a bowl. Add 1 packet (approximately 2 tsp or 7 g) of active dry yeast to the water and stir the two together. Set the bowl aside while you ready the other ingredients.^{[3]
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- Warm water should be between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit (38 to 44 degrees Celsius). You should be able to put your finger in it without discomfort.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Making the Bread Dough

In a medium size bowl, mix together 4 cups (560 g) of the gluten-free flour blend, 1 tablespoon (22 g) xanthan gum, 1 tablespoon (15 g) gluten-free egg replacer, 2 teaspoons (14 g) salt, and ½ cup (34 g) powdered milk until well blended. Set the bowl aside.^{[4]
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2
Mix the eggs, butter, vinegar, and honey to the bowl of a stand mixer. Attach the paddle attachment to your stand mixer, and combine 3 large eggs that are at room temperature, ¼ cup (57 g) of butter that’s been softened to room temperature, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of cider vinegar, and ⅓ cup (112 g) of honey. Turn the mixer to low, and mix the ingredients for approximately 30 seconds.^{[5]
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- You don’t necessarily need a stand mixer to make the gluten-free bread. You can use a handheld mixer or even stir the ingredients together by hand. The dough will turn out the same, but it will just take longer to mix it.
- The mixture will still be slightly chunky when the 30 seconds are up. Just make sure that all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
3
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches and blend. It’s easier to blend the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients if you divide the dry mixture into two batches. Mix in half of the dry ingredients with the mixer set at a low speed until they’re just incorporated. Then add in the second half of the dry ingredients and mix for 30 seconds or until they’re blended in.^{[6]
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- Because there’s no gluten in the dough, you don’t have to worry about overmixing it as you would with traditional bread.^{[7]
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4
Pour the water and yeast mixture into the bowl. After you’ve incorporated the dry ingredients, leave the mixer set at low, and slowly begin to pour the yeast and warm water mixture into the dough. Once you’ve added all of it, turn the speed up to medium-high and mix it for 4 minutes.^{[8]
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- When you’ve finished mixing the dough, it should look like extremely thick cake batter.
5
Transfer the dough to the bread pans. When the dough is completely mixed, pour it into the 2 greased pans. Divide it between the two, and use a spatula to help spread the dough evenly in each pan.^{[9]
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- After the you’ve transferred the dough to the pans, dip your fingers in some water and use them to smooth the top of each loaf.
6
Allow the dough to rise. Place the filled bread pans in a warm location, such as on a window sill, and cover loosely with greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes to an hour, or until it’s just above the edge of the pans.^{[10]
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- If you don’t have plastic wrap on hand, you can loosely lay a towel over the bread pans while they’re rising.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Baking the Bread

1
Preheat the oven and arrange the rack in the right position. While the dough is rising, it’s important to preheat the oven so it will be at the correct temperature when it’s time to bake the bread. Set the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius), and check that the rack is in the center position so air will circulate around the bread in both directions while it’s baking.^{[11]
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- Be sure that you know how your oven indicates that it’s fully preheated. It may beep or light up in a certain spot when it’s ready.
2
Bake the bread for 45 to 55 minutes. Place the two pans of bread into the oven, centering them on the rack. Allow the loaves to bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the tops become a golden brown.^{[12]
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- Sticking a toothpick into a yeast bread won't help you determine doneness, so it’s a good idea to have an instant-read thermometer on hand when you bake it. The bread’s internal temperature should reach 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius) when it’s finished baking.
- When the bread is finished, it will pull away from the sides of the pan and have a firm feel when you touch it.
3
Allow the bread to cool in pans and then on a rack. When the bread is finished baking, remove the pans from the oven. Let the loaves cool in the pans for approximately 10 minutes. When they’re cool enough to handle, remove them from the pans and allow them to cool on a rack for another 45 to 55 minutes or until completely cool.^{[13]
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- For the best storage, slice the bread once it’s completely cool and store the individual pieces in plastic wrap. Keep it in the freezer, and you can take out slices whenever you need them.^{[14]
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4
Add flavor to the bread. Once you master making gluten-free sandwich bread, you can try making different flavored breads, such as oatmeal maple or tropical. Start with the basic recipe and add your favorite flavors to customize the bread to your taste.^{[15]
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- For gluten-free oatmeal maple bread, mix 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of maple syrup into the dough and sprinkle ½ cup (45 g) of gluten-free oats over the dough in the pan before baking.
- To make gluten-free tropical bread, combine the yeast with ½ cup orange juice that's been warmed to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) instead of water and combine with the rest of the dough ingredients just as with the basic recipe. Next, mix in 2 6-ounce cans of crushed pineapple with the juice into the batter before pouring it into the pans.
- Create gluten-free pumpernickel bread by mixing 1 tablespoon (15 g) of cocoa powder,1 tablespoon (15 g) of dried minced onion, 1 teaspoon (5 g) of instant coffee, 1 teaspoon (5 g) of sugar, ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) of caraway seeds, and 3 tablespoons (65 g) of molasses into the dough.^{[16]
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Tips

If you make gluten-free bread regularly, it’s a good idea to mix up a large batch of the gluten-free flour blend and store it in an airtight container in your pantry. That way, it’ll be ready when you want to bake bread.

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You can add some extra flavor to the bread by brushing the loaves with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven.

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