A while back we decided to commit to gluten free bread for my son. Well, that didn’t last, but this bread is really good.

If you’re attempting a gluten free diet, and tried to survive on that unspeakable (and absurdly expensive) bread they sell in the store, you probably gave up on GF altogether. In contrast, I could easily live on this bread. This is an easy recipe because no bread maker is needed. You mix (not knead) this bread batter by hand and it even rises (not quite as much as regular bread, but it definitely rises). Don’t expect a final consistency like French bread. It still has a slightly “cakey” consistency, but nothing like the stuff they try to pawn off as bread in the grocery store. Most importantly, this tastes good.

This recipe is based on one I found on Bob’s Red Mill site. It’s really not much different, but the recipe on that site lacks the narration that I needed. I also added some stuff to make it tastier and give a couple tips.

Why am I doing this? I’m simply sharing this to try and make it easier for those of you out there just starting out.

Preface:

First of all, I went through an awful learning curve before I realized the difference between Red Mill’s “All Purpose Baking Flour” and the regular 1:1 flour substitute Red Mill sells. I have no relationship to Red Mill, but ONLY the “All Purpose Baking Flour” worked. The other one made bread like a rock. Bob’s has a page about the difference. I found it tricky to find in the store, so I ended up ordering it by the case (4 bags) on Amazon.

I did not have good luck with Krusteaz.

I also tried this without Xanthan gum. Big mistake. You need that since the bread has no gluten.

The other thing I learned was the awesomeness of 9×6 iron bread pans. I rub Crisco on them before putting in the mix. They work 1000x better than glass. I also use them for other things, too.

The only variation to the recipe below was that I usually added a heaping TBSP of two or three of these: sunflower seeds, hemp or flax seeds. This gives it a nuttier flavor. Don’t forget to reduce the flour quantity accordingly.

Don’t be surprised at how wet the mix is. It is so wet and sticky that after I pour it in the bread pan I coat the top with corn meal so my fingers don’t stick when I push it down into the pan. That is actually very nice because when it rises (which it does perfectly in a slightly warm oven for an hour or so) and cooks it has a delicious looking crust.

It slices perfectly with the slicing machine I have.

It freezes well after slicing.

The recipe below doubles perfectly if you want to make two 9×6 loaves.

Cornell’s Gluten Free Bread Instructions – #’s for single loaf

1. Combine all the dry ingredients including yeast in a large bowl
   1. Be sure brown sugar doesn’t have any lumps.
   1. Subtract quantity of flour for any quantity of seeds that are added.
2. Separately, mix wet ingredients.
   1. Combine the 1-1/2 cups water, yeast, and about a teaspoon of the brown sugar.  Let yeast activate.
   1. Add oil and beaten eggs.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix/beat until smooth (can also be done with a mixer).
4. Grease a 9×5 bread pan(s).
5. Place batter into bread pan(s) and smooth out top with corn meal to avoid sticking to fingers.
6. Cover the loaf with a clean dish towel and let rise about an hour or until the batter is slightly above the rim of the pan. Meanwhile, preheat an oven to 375°F.
7. Bake for 50 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 190-200°F.
8. Cool briefly (5 min); remove from pan and cool thoroughly on a rack.

Again, this recipe requires the use of Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour.

For best results make sure water is warm (about 110°F) and your other ingredients are at room temperature before baking.

Cut when thoroughly cool. Slice and freeze for longer keeping.

Dry Ingredients

• 3-1/3 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour (453g)
• 3-1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum (10.5g)
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar lightly packed (76g)
• 1/2 cup Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder (76g)
• I added 1 TBSP of hemp and 1 TBSP flaxseed – and sometimes 1 TBSP sunflower seeds

Wet Ingredients

• 2  Eggs large (100g)
• 1/4 cup Oil (60mL)
• 1-1/2 cups Water +2 Tbsp (390mL) warm, about 110°F
• 2-1/4 tsp Instant yeast

(The 2 extra Tbsp of water may have been due to altitude.)