This bread was simple to make, rose great in a standard bread pan, was soft, and when fresh, isn’t crumbly at all. I did find it to be a wee bit crumbly after being frozen, but not as bad as some of the recipes I’ve tried in the past. It tastes SO good! If you’re a celiac, you know it’s hard to find good bread recipes. I’m so thrilled to have found as many great breads as I have in the few months I’ve been gluten-free. LOVE IT! And I absolutely LOVE when others share their gluten-free recipes with me. It’s a great gift to receive tried and true recipes. 
I hope you guys enjoy this bread as well (I just did…topped with some pear marmalade…DELICIOUS!).
Ingredients:
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup ground flax
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup skim milk powder
- 2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg whites
Directions:
- Combine warm, yeast & sugar in a glass bowl. Stir & let sit 5 minutes. This allows the yeast to proof & shortens rising time.
- In a large bowl or plastic bag, combine dry ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, using a heavy-duty mixer with paddle attachment or dough hook, combine remaining ingredients until well blended. Add water/yeast mixture & combine.
- With mixer on lowest speed, slowly add dry ingredients until combined. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With mixer on medium speed, beat for 4 minutes.
- Spoon into prepared bread pan or mini-loaf pans. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm, draft-free place for 30-40 minutes, or until dough has risen to the top of the pan.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom of single loaf.
- Slice and wrap while still warm in airtight individual sandwich bags, then place these in a larger freezer bag. Freeze up to 6 weeks.
- Bake 12 minutes for 11 mini loaves. Freeze 2 loaves/sandwich bag.
NOTE: Unlike the recipe, I let my loaf cool totally before slicing & packaging. LOVE the new electric knife we got for Christmas, it makes such wonderful, even slices. Perfect!
Nutritional Value: Based on 16 slices per loaf it comes out to : 131 calories, 4g fat, 19g carbs, 3g protein and 1.5g fiber.(Thanks for this info, Sheila!)
This bread does look delicious Jeanine..you can be sure I would direct someone who needs to cook GF to your site. My friend has mentioned that GF bread tends to crumble.
I will be sure to try this recipe soon.
Too bad I’m just a tad too far from Altona to stop by the meeting. Sounds like I would get some great info.
Have a great time sampling everything!
Wow! This looks amazing, I can never get a big enough slice of gluten-free sandwich bread! Yum, holding onto this one
!
This bread rocks! I just made it; it has the best texture of ANY gluten free bread I’ve ever had! Soft and delicious. THANK YOU for sharing this!
The only concern I have is this: the bread rose to the top of the pan, but it didn’t get that cute ‘mushroom top’ that yours did…it’s like it stopped rising when I turned the oven on, should I have let it rise above the pan? Just wondering, yours is so pretty!
Hmm…I have no idea why you can't get a nice high loaf. This recipe gives one medium size loaf. I let the dough rise until the top of the pan, then turn the oven to 350*, once it has reached 350, I bake for 25 minutes. I baked 2 loaves today, and they were SOOO good! This stuff is good all the time, but absolutely amazing fresh! I brought a loaf to an older lady with celiacs, and her son (who has seen her GF baking for years) asked why mine looked like a real loaf of bread. lol
Good luck, sophie! Are you letting it rise in a warm place? Is your yeast still active (does it bubble when proofed with warm water & sugar?). What else could it be…
This looks gorgeous! It is going on my “to try list”. If I make it I’ll probably post it on my site. I just found you site and am “hooked”.
Jenn, you won’t be disappointed.
This is the only bread I’ve been baking lately, so yummy!
Hello! This looks great. Do you use an 8×4 inch loaf pan? Do you use glass or metal? Do you bake 25 minutes as mentioned in the comment above, or 35-45 minutes as noted in the recipe? I definitely want to make this, but have terrible luck with bread, so I want to do exactly what you did. Thanks!
Hi there! I'm glad to help.
The pan I use is a 4×8 Bakers Secret non-stick pan. I usually double the recipe & bake 2 loaves at once.
I actually bake the loaf for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. But first I let it rise about 35 minutes in a slightly warmed oven (with the door closed), until it reaches the top of the pan.
Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with!
Do you bake yours in a fan forced oven?
Hi there!
I do not have a fan forced oven. Just a regular oven.
Have you ever made the bread without the milk powder? My girls have CD, but like most Celiacs we know, they are also dairy free. I thought about using soy infant formula, but once it's opened it doesn't last long and it's expensive! Thanks
Hi there!
If you're unable to use the milk powder, I would substitute the water in the recipe with either soy or rice milk. I think that should give a pretty good results as well. Let me know, OK?
For those that can't have dairy, I tried this with "Better than Milk" which is a soy sub that's powdered, and it worked wonderfully. I love this bread!
Thank you!!! My family loves this bread. The texture and taste is phenomenal. My very picky daughter says it's the only bread she can eat without anything on it because it tastes like "real" wheat bread. The only issue I have had is with the bread rising. The bread will rise to the top or just above the loaf pan and then no higher, so it never looks like a "loaf of bread." Any suggestions?
Kristi
This bread smells and looks and tastes fantastic! I am not GF but my husband is and I think he will finally be happy with this bread! YAY! My only question is: Do I have to slice and freeze this bread or can I leave it as a loaf and slice it as needed?
Elizabeth, thanks for the tip! I haven't heard of "Better than Milk" before, sounds like it would work great!
The Wood Family – So glad to hear that your family is enjoying this bread. I never have trouble with mine rising a bit above the pan when baking though. I do get a nice rounded loaf everytime. I don't think it will get as high as regular bread, but at least it's not only 2" tall, I've had loaves like that before, just not right!
Jenny – So glad to hear that you guys are enjoying this bread too. I really wish I had some on hand right now, would make a great breakfast.
You do not have to slice it and freeze it. I very often leave the loaf on the counter and slice off what I need. It will be good for a few days after, you just have to watch, mold does like to grow quickly on home-baked bread. I have sliced it and frozen it though, and was able to take out just the slices I wanted at a time too. Worked well! Enjoy!
This looks delicious – and finally looks like a decent sized sandwich loaf! All of the ones that I've been able to buy look as if they ought to be at a doll's tea party!
Do you have any idea of the nutritional information/calorie count per slice?
Is there any way to do this in a bread machine? I don't have any dough hooks or paddles.
Is the ground flax the same thing as flax meal? Thanks for a great recipe.
Sorry for the delay…
Laura, I do not have any nutritional info on this bread. I'm sorry! That's the problem I find with baking stuff myself, I have no idea what anything is worth. However, with the list of ingredients, at least I know it's healthier.
I have never worked with a bread machine, so I'm not sure how this loaf would work there. I'm sure you can do it though, a lot of GF cookbooks have instructions for manual or bread machine, so I'm sure it's possible.
Yes, ground flax seed is the same as flax meal. Happy baking!
Thank you to those who commented on the dairy free issue also. I have a gluten/dairy free kiddo here and it's so hard to find bread that doesn't have both.
Thank you! This is such a fantastic recipe and it turned out just as you promised, maybe even better! I've blogged how my loaf turned out: http://chowdown-caroline.blogspot.com/2009/10/gluten-free-sandwich-bread.html. Thank you again. You've given me the confidence to keep baking gluten free breads!
I like this recipe except for the starch which raises my blood sugar, so I have baked it without the extra starch.
Jeffrey, what did you replace the starches with? I'd be interested in giving that a try, as long as the texture doesn't change too drastically.
My husband and I have decided to try to cut out a lot of gluten from our diet and have been trying to find some healthy GOOD! Gluten Free Recipes.
The Docs say I do not have any kind of sensitivity to Gluten but I have been trying to figure out why I am so tired all the time and my immune system is not where it should be.
I tried this bread recipe yesterday and it is the best I have ever made including the gluten breads I have tried to make.
I made two different recipes at the same time using different flours, sugars and oils and they both came out good.
With both recipes I used milk instead of water because I did not have powdered milk. And I used Guar Gum instead of xanthan.
With the second recipe I used Agava instead of Sugar, Olive oil instead of Veggie, and a Flour blend of Brown Rice, White Rice, Sorghum, Millet and Tapioca Starch instead of the other flours. This bread took 3hrs instead of 1 to rise and is a little more crumbly but it is still real good. I wish I could find a way to make it less crumbly and still use my flour mix.
I know that the yeast activated better with the sugar than the agava but it still activated with both.
The problem I have with both breads is that they rise real well but when I put them in the oven to bake they shrink and come out smaller than when they went in.
Also the crust ends up a bit crisp to where when I cut it, it tears the bread a little.
If anyone has any help or suggestions for this that would be great.
I live in a high altitude so getting things to rise has always been a challenge.
Right now I am looking for a Good Carrot Cake Recipe too.
Thanks
Julie
Just wondering if anyone can tell me how to make this work with the baking mix I have. I plan to buy all of the ingredients seperate once I use up my baking mix. I am trying to find a bread that my 8yr old daughter (who was just diagnoised with celiacs) likes and is not hard, crumbly,dense and dry. I am currently sending her with a sack lunch everyday and the mixes and store bought breads are not even close to something we would have called bread back in the days of gluten. So if this can be transferred to using the baking mix please let me know the amount I need to use and what I need to elimate from the list of ingredients for this recipe. Oh I currently have Pamela's bread mix and flour blend. Thank you in advance.
4Maddy – I hear ya about the lunches! I'm glad that my children aren't having to eat GF yet, just myself.
As for the baking mix, I think I'd try using 2 cups of the baking mix (does it have xanthan in it? Not sure…) and 1/2 cup ground flax seed. That would replace the brown rice flour, potato & tapioca starches. Let me know how this works for you!
Hi Jeanine – I have been looking for a good GF bread recipe for a while now. Many recipes claim they have the best – this recipe really is. I just finished tasting a slice from my first loaf and it was everything you say it is. When I made it and left it to rise, it didn't rise for me. I thought "here's another door stop", but I put it in the oven anyway. It rose beautifully in the oven. I used a larger loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3), but it still rose over the pan. Thank you sooo much for posting the recipe for this Best Gluten Free Bread ever!
I saw this recipe here and I had to try it! I had the same problem some of the other people had with rising. Mine didn't rise much at all.
I also altered another recipe to make it more similar to this one. This recipe can is for the bread machine (I am hooked on the bread machine right now). You can take a look at the recipe at : http://theglutenfreediary.blogspot.com
I still haven't made the yummy doughnut recipe you have on here, but I am looking forward to trying it!
I was wondering what the purpose of the ground flax was? I really want to make this bread in the morning but I don't have any. Thanks!
This looks perfect. I have a customer that wants sandwich bread for a 2-year-old with gluten, egg and corn allergies, so I am going to try it with some egg replacer. What is the concern with fans in the oven? Is this a concern just with this recipe or GF baking in general? I only have a convection oven at work and the fan is running if the oven is on. I could bring it up to temp and turn the oven off if needed, and hope the oven can hold the heat for 35-45 minutes.
Julie, I don't have an experience with high altitude baking, but it could be that you are letting it rise just a bit too long before putting it in the oven? I've had that happen to me with french bread before. Hate when that happens.
As for the carrot cake, I do have a great carrot cake recipe on here, just click on "Our Recipes" up top. Tastes exactly like the carrot cake I used to make.
I've baked this bread using convection now, without any problems. I wouldn't be too worried, Chris.
Brenda, I'm SO glad that this bread worked out well for you. Woohoo!!
Sealed, the ground flaxseed is one of the whole grain "flours" in this bread. There is quite a bit of it in there. I buy my flax seeds whole and grind them up in a coffee grinder (one that I don't use for coffee beans, just flax seed). Get some, you won't be disappointed!
I did the math and based on 16 slices per loaf it comes out to : 131 calories, 4g fat, 19g carbs, 3g protein and 1.5g fiber. Pretty darn good for GF baking. Thanks for the recipe… I plan to make it in the morning. Sheila
Sheila, thank you so much for doing that math! I really appreciate it! I'll be adding that to the post, if you don't mind.
How did you figure that out?
THANK YOU!!! I am a horrible baker and have only been a diagnosed celiac for 8 months, along with my 16 month old daughter. This bread is so yummy and even though I live at a high altitude came out like a real loaf! I didn't have ground flax so I added 1/4 cup of teff and 1/4 cup of sorghum flour. I also made the lemon loaf yesterday and it turned out great, although I need to get a proper lemon zester. I will definately be trying more of your recipes! I can't believe I can have bread that doesn't turn out like a brick!
Kristy & Gracie, it is so exciting to have a loaf of bread that works, isn't it? I remember my firs time baking this loaf…very excited!
And those are great substitutions as well, thanks for posting that! LOVED the lemon loaf as well, glad that worked well for you too! I usually zest my lemons using the fine grater on my box grater. Works great!
This is the best GF bread I have ever had! Even my non-GF friends couldn't tell it wasn't 'real' bread.
I had to rise the bread for an hour to get it to the top of the pan. Then, when I baked it, it rose waaay over the top and make a fabulous poofed top.
Unfortunately, I pulled it out of the oven and it deflated. What did I do wrong? I made a second one today and decided to just shut the oven off at 45 min, and see what happened, and it still deflated. What am I doing wrong? The bread still looks and tastes wonderful, it is just hard to make sandwiches with a non-uniform shape.
As for the person with gluten/corn/egg sensitivity (above), here is my favorite gluten-free vegan bread. It is from the blog Aprovechar, and here is the link to it: http://aprovechar.danandsally.com/?p=228
Oh my goodness!!! I made this for my sister's family last night and it was delicious!!! Thank you so much, they were missing bread. My bread rose beautifully! I let it rise in my oven at 180 degrees prior to baking it took approx 33 minutes to rise. Then I baked it at 350 for 30 min! Absolutely perfect, Thank you so much!
Sonya, you've got me stumped! Hmm… if the bread is deflating, are you sure you are baking it long enough? Maybe you're letting it rise a wee bit too long? I'm not really sure. Anyone??
Gail, so glad that the bread turned out perfectly for you. I've never had a flop yet!
This bread sounds amazing… I will have to pass this on to my friend too because she is allergic to gluten! Thanks!
I did some online research and I think your suggestion that I'm rising the bread too long was right on. I read your previous comment about rising your bread in the oven and did just that. I set my oven to its lowest setting (170 degrees F) and let the bread rise in there. It took 20 minutes compared to the hour it used to take me when I turned my microwave oven into a hot box using ramekins of hot water. Okay, back to the oven idea. At 20 minutes, I changed the oven setting to 350, and set the oven timer for 45 minutes. At the end, I removed the bread from the pan promptly (another deflating buster suggestion I picked up off of the web) and set it on its side. I got the pillow top I wanted, and the sides only caved in a little. Thanks for the suggestion. Also, I took the suggestion to use Better Than Milk from above, and I STILL think this is the BEST GF bread I have ever had. It is so moist and delicious. Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving us this fantastic recipe.
I just made this bread. the taste is wonderful. it rose beautifully in the oven but then when i took it out it gradually began to sink until it was barely over the edge of the pan. I was so disappointed. What went wrong? Maybe i didn't cook it long enough (30 min)? The top was really brown so i am wondering if next time i should cover it with foil and continue baking another 10 min? thoughts? i think it is a wonderful recipe and i am sure i made some error. help sorting it out would be awesome!
I found this recipe several months ago and it is the one bread recipe I make and recommend to other recently diagnosed celiacs to prove that there IS life without wheat. After having to make sandwiches where the bread is tough, dry and the top slice cracks into at LEAST two pieces, this bread is a godsend. thanks for sharing this wonderfulness.
I forgot to say that I don't even care when it deflates…
Hi Jeanine!
I'm a gluten free casein free blogger from Brazil. I made this bread milk free and I liked it very much, thanks!
I've posted it in my blog, Take a look at http://dietasgsc.blogspot.com/2010/01/pao-de-linhaca.html
I do not bake with flaxseed and I avoid milk powders, is there anything I could do for substituting those ingredients?
WOW what can i say the best Gluten Free Bread that i have tasted, i made the Bread today just out of this world not like the shop Bread that you get in Scotland that is like a brick.Thanks again.
I do not bake with flaxseed and I avoid milk powders, is there anything I could do for substituting those ingredients?
You can substitute ground almonds or almond meal for the flax. You can also use powdered rice or rice protein powder instead of the milk powder. If you would prefer to not do that you can cut the water down to 1/2 cup. Proof your yeast in the water. Substitute 1/2 cup warmed rice milk,almond milk,or soy milk for the powdered milk.I have substitution chart on my website at http://www.glutenfreetraining.com
Vicki, those are some fantastic substitutions! You have a wonderful list of them on your website as well, thank you so much!
Great recipe,I don't have xanthan gumwhat can I use to substitute it??
Thanks
I am sOOO excited to have found your site. I tried
your recipe and to my surprise it looked just like
YOUR bread. It tasted delicious! I have not had
bread in nearly 3 months so this was such a blessing
to me.
I used arrowroot powder intead of xanthan gum.
I also used my bread machine on the dough cycle
and then baked it in the oven.
Thank you so much for bringing bread back into my
life.
Has anyone tried to make this bread in a breadmaker?
Sandra, I know others have. I'll ask on facebook, maybe we can get some instant answers. If I get them, I'll post them here.
Just baked a loaf of this beautiful bread w/ a few subs. Came out wonderfully and only sank a tiny bit! Thank you for the recipe!
@Anonymous That is great! What kind of substitutions did you make?
For the dry ingredients I used
1 1/2 c flour mix (Namaste Perfect Flour Blend)
1/2 c ground Golden Flax
1/4 c Garbanzo Bean Flour
1/4 c Arrowroot Starch / Flour
1/4 Almond Meal / Flour (subbed for the milk powder; I got this tip for baking dairy free from Bette Hagman's (sp?) books)
I did not change the wet ingredients.
Thanks Again!
@Anonymous, Great substitutions! Way to make it work for you, I like that.
Hands down, the best GF bread I have ever made! I had some Teff flour that I wanted to use, so I subbed in 1/4 of a cup for the same amount of flax meal. Yum! It is finally crumbly today, after being loosely wrapped on my countertop since Sunday night, four and a glad days ago. And did I mention it tastes delicious, too? I had no problems with rising or baking, but I did bake it a little longer than suggested in a 9×5 pan.
This looks good – Udi’s is always out-of-stock at the grocery. I need to stash a couple of loaves of this bread in the freezer!
Yeah, it’s not good when you have to rely on a store’s stock for your bread all the time. Definitely try making your own!
Hi, I was wondering if I could use egg replacer in this instead of the eggs since I’m allergic. I have used it in all kinds of baking, but not bread. Flax is also used as an egg substitute sometimes so I’m thinking it should be okay. Just not sure if I should consider 2 egg whites as “one egg” of replacer or what would be appropriate. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jill,
I haven’t tried these substitutions, but here is what I would try:
I would sub the 2 eggs with 4 Tbsp ground flax seed soaked in 6 Tbsp warm water. For the 2 egg whites I would try subbing 1/4 cup apple sauce. To get the extra rise that the eggs would have given you, I would add 1/2 tsp baking powder as well.
Keep in mind, I haven’t tried this myself, so if you do, please report back, I’d love to hear how it worked for you.
Oh great suggestions. Thanks so much… I will give these ideas a try and let you know for sure. My daughter is really wanting some “Real bread” too, and from the pictures it looks close, I can’t wait to try it.
Let me know how it works for you!
Hey, Jeanine,
We were out of flax meal, so I substituted Millet flour. WOW. It made the bread a beautiful golden color, rose nicely, and turned out a gorgeous “normal” bread loaf that did not squish when it cooled. It cut nicely, lasted well, and only got crumbly or dry after about a week. This made my husband’s day! Thanks!
What a great sub, Aine! Thanks for sharing, now I know what to do next time I’m out of flax meal.
Merry Christmas to you!
Okay, so I haven’t made this bread yet (cold and flu season has been getting the best of me as of late). I was wondering where you store your GF flours… room temperature or the refridgerator?
I actually keep most of my flours in a drawer in plastic containers. I keep flax seed and oat flour in the freezer, and any others that might be ‘iffy’ I only have small amounts on hand (quinoa, etc). But, my rice flours & starches are all at room temp. HTH, and I hope you feel better soon!
Oh, and here’s a picture of my flours drawer: http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2010/04/gluten-free-oatmeal-cinnamon-raisin-bread.html/bakingcenter
Have you ever tried to make this in a crock pot before?
No, I’ve never baked bread in the crockpot, but I know Carrie at Gingerlemongirl.com has successfully baked bread in the slow cooker. If you try it, please come back and let me know how it works.
Well I made this recipe in the crock pot and it rose and cooked beautifully, but when I took it out it dropped like a rock! I am no baker so not sure if it rose too fast, but the bread tasted fantastic even though the loaf was only three inches or so tall. I am going to try it again and not put the yeast in the hot water because I think it rose to quick. Why does bread fall anyways? Thanks, Amee
Hi! I shared this recipe on my blog, giving you all the credit don’t worry. I make light of the fact that this amazing bread will keep my husband from cheating on me with sub way sandwiches! But, on a more serious note… Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving bread back to my family. Please check out my blog post at: http://mfamrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/03/perfect-gluten-free-bread.html
Thank you very much for this wonderful bread recipe!!! Actually my husband and son (both celiac) thank you even more. They are so excited that they now can have a decent sandwich with soft gluten free bread. Not the brick type that you buy at the store. It took me a couple of trys to perfect it. I purchased 2 of the non stick 8″ loaf pans (mine was too large,1st mistake), then I added the xanthum gum. I was using Guar gum (2nd mistake) because thats what I had. Now I double the batch so they can each have a loaf and it comes out perfect everytime. They are both looking forward to an actual turkey sandwich tomorrow. YOU ROCK!!! Thanks again from all of us!!
I only have sweet brown rice flour. Would that work in place of brown rice flour?
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