This is one of those recipes that nearly got the best of me.
I set out to develop a recipe for an artisan whole grain gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, starch-free, soy-free, nut-free, and gum-free yeast bread that was knead-able, soft in the center with a crusty exterior, that was the perfect compliment for any meal. Ready to top with nut butter or avocado and perfect for sopping up rich sauces.
Tall orders.
If you are familiar with gluten-free breads there aren’t many artisan options. You can find tiny loaves of sandwich bread in the freezer section of your health food store and if your lucky, they might carry rolls or English muffins as well. I was craving a good whole grain loaf that you might find in the bakery section of the store. Something special, rustic, and versatile.
I spent weeks of testing trying to develop the gluten-free vegan loaf that fit all these requirements. I tried flour combination after flour combination and six different leveaners. Flour dusted and in the kitchen for hours I nearly gave up. Was I ever going to get this one right?
A few weeks later my testing was rewarded. I promise this bread will shatter your low expectations of gluten-free loaves. Whipping up this loaf brings back memories of baking crusty loaves before my diet changes. The kitchen is filled with the warm smell of fresh yeast. The dough can be kneaded by hand. It feels remarkable like baking a gluten-filled loaf of years past. Better actually. This loaf comes without a stomach ache.
If you miss baking bread or miss the taste of a good artisan loaf, this one is for you.
Print
Cook Time:
Yield:
Category:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
This yeast raised bread is safe for nearly every diet. It’s crusty exterior and soft center will make you feel like you are eating an artisan loaf. The recipe might sound intensive due to its number of steps, but I assure you it comes together with minimal effort. Most of the time spent is waiting for the bread to rise. It is important to let the bread cool completely before slicing. This allows the bread to finish cooking inside. Cutting it early will result in a gummy undercooked interior.
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Wet ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups warm water ((between 105 and 110 degrees))
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast ((one packet))
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon gluten-free brown rice syrup**
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup chia seeds (, ground into a powder)
- 1/3 cup psyllium husks
Instructions
- Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment.
- In a bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and one teaspoon of the brown rice syrup. Let sit for 7 minutes. The mixture should be frothy and smell of warm yeast. Add in the olive oil and remaining brown rice syrup. Slowly whisk in the ground chia seeds and psyllium husks, making sure there are no clumps. Allow this mixture to sit for 3-5 minutes, until thick.
- Add in the wet mixture to the dry. Mix on medium speed until well incorporated and the dough forms a loose ball.
- Remove from the mixer and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm, even temperatures place (I usually let mine rise in an off oven with the door closed) for 45 minutes to an hour. The dough should double in size.
- Once the dough has risen, kneed a few times in the bowl. Form into desired shape (see notes) and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Slit the top a few times, drizzle with olive oil, and top with a pinch of course salt. Place a baking stone on the lower middle oven rack. Allow the bread to raise for 30-45 more minutes on the counter while the oven preheats to 375 degrees.The bread should double in size.
- After the second rise, bake the bread in the oven for 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the bread cool completely on a wire rack, several hours, before cutting.
Notes
– The oat flour can either be purchased at a health food store or made by grinding gluten-free rolled oats in a blender until a fine flour forms.
– If you can’t find gluten-free brown rice syrup, you could substitute in honey if you are not a strict vegan.
– If your yeast does not get frothy or bubble once it has sat for 7 minutes, chances are your yeast is dead. I would recommend starting over with new yeast.
– Eat within a few days or store the slices in the freezer. Since there are no preservatives, this loaf will spoil faster than those from the grocery store.
– This loaf bakes best when divided onto two medium sized loaves. I divide the dough in half and shape it into two baguettes. It can also be made into two round loaves, also called boulles.
– If you don’t have a baking stone, a pizza stone works just as well. As a last resort, you could try a sheet tray.
– You want to let the oven preheat during the entire second rise. This ensures that the oven is at an even temperature when baking the loaves.
Leona Cornwell says
April 22, 2015 at 5:48 amThis is the absolutely the best gluten free bread I have ever eaten! Thank you for letting me be a taste tester. I am so glad to finally get the recipe so I can bake this for myself.
Laurel says
April 22, 2015 at 1:18 pmI am SO thankful that you were my taste tester!
Karen S says
May 23, 2015 at 9:07 pmIf you ever get to the point that you can tolerate potatoes, then you could use potato water in your bread. The bread will last longer that way. A natural preservative. Good luck!
Laurel says
May 24, 2015 at 4:27 pmThank you, Karen! I’ll have to give that a try :)
Farzana says
August 1, 2015 at 6:43 amHi, I have tried making this bread several times and each time my dough did not rise (leaving the bread quite dense). I tried following each step quite closely- don’t know what I an doing wrong. Help!
Laurel says
August 1, 2015 at 5:43 pmHi Farzana! I am sorry you are having trouble! The bread definitely isn’t light and airy, it’s more of a dense whole grain loaf but I am happy to help track down what could be causing you the problem! Are you using the same exact flour combination? What type of yeast are you using? Are you baking at a high altitude?
Farzana says
December 6, 2015 at 11:21 pmHi Lauren, thank you for responding, sorry I did not see it and did to reply back. Since August I have been making this bread and it has turned out perfectly. Since last month, I have changed my oven from an electric one to a gas one. Since then, my bread rises beautifully but is hollow inside and gummy and dense in the bottom. I revisited your blog again and you mention a baking stone. What is its role?
Laurel says
December 7, 2015 at 9:32 pmHi Farzana, I am glad that you had success for so long, but am sad to hear otherwise! Bummer! My guess is that your new oven bakes at a warmer temperature than your old oven. A hot oven would make the bread rise faster, but cause the middle to be underdone. Even though you are preheating to the same temperature as you did with your old oven, ovens can vary a surprising amount in actual internal temperature. I would get an oven thermometer like this one, and preheat the oven and then see what the actual internal temperature is. Once you know how much your oven varies from the temperature on the recipe, you can adjust accordingly.
Baking stones can help to regulate the temperature of the oven, and help to give the bread a better bottom crust, but I would bet your problem is the oven temperature. The baking stone wouldn’t vary the results that much, and especially not if you were having success without it before. Let me know how it goes for you!
Ginger says
January 28, 2016 at 5:26 amStumbled across this while searching for gluten-free, starch free, egg free, baking powder free……wondering if that is possible… bread! This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
Laurel says
January 28, 2016 at 6:42 amHi Ginger, I am so glad you like it :) When I realized that I could eat fresh bread again, I was in seventh heaven. Please let me know how it turns out for you! I have helped a few people perfect the recipe at different altitudes and with different oven temperatures. So if you need any assistance, just give me a holler!
Ginger says
January 29, 2016 at 10:48 amThanks! I have everything now to make it. (Except the baking stone ). I plan to try it very soon. Does it work on a cookie sheet? Have you tried it in a loaf pan?
Laurel says
January 29, 2016 at 8:28 pmI have made it on a baking sheet with okay results, but it didn’t turn out well in a loaf pan. Happy baking!
Clara says
February 20, 2016 at 12:09 pmThis bread looks amazing! I’ve been looking so long for a gluten free bread that has oat flour (I LOVE oat flour) but no starch. Would it be possible to make this in a bread pan for sandwich bread?
Laurel says
February 20, 2016 at 12:23 pmHi Clara, I can’t say I had great success in a loaf pan, but I will sometimes shape the dough into a square log instead of two rounds for sandwich bread! Nothing beats a good sandwich :) Oat flour is absolutely my favorite!
Ana says
July 23, 2016 at 5:24 pmHello, I am allergic to gluten AND quinoa. Based on your experiments do you think this recipe would still work well without the quinoa flour, and is there one of the others flours you’d recommend bulking up as a substitute?
Laurel says
July 24, 2016 at 6:44 amHi Ana, Being intolerant to so many things myself, I so wish I had an easy fix for you! I am afraid that the quinoa flour plays a big role in this bread. It is a highly absorbent flour and without it, the moisture level will be thrown off. Have you ever heard of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day? They have come out with a gluten-free version of their book and posted their main bread recipe online. I just double checked that it was free of quinoa flour. It might be worth a try! I have made it many times, and can vouch for how good it is. Here is the link: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2014/11/03/master-recipe-from-gluten-free-abin5
Happy baking!
Laurel
Anna Whitby says
July 30, 2016 at 8:12 amI just mixed up the dough for this bread and I need some clarification about the chia seeds. The recipe states “1/3 cup chia seeds, ground into a powder.” So, I took 1/3 cup chia seeds, ground them into a powder, and added all of it to the recipe. (I didn’t measure, but the powder that resulted was significantly more than 1/3 cup.) When whisked in with the remaining wet ingredients it seized up immediately, and when I then added that to the dry ingredients the result was unmixable. I ended up adding an additional cup of water, and it was still quite stiff. It’s rising now, so I don’t yet know how it will turn out, but I am wondering now if what you meant was “1/3 cup ground chia seed powder” rather than “1/3 cup chia seed, ground to a powder.” That little comma changes the meaning and, obviously, the results. Remember: Punctuation saves lives! (“Let’s eat, Grandma” vs. “Let’s eat Grandma.”) So, please tell me which it is — 1/3 cup ground chia seed powder, or 1/3 cup chia seed, ground to a powder. Thank you!!!
Laurel says
July 31, 2016 at 8:14 amHi Anna, Yes, the recipe should read: 1/3 cup chia seeds, ground into a powder. You want to measure out 1/3 cup of whole chia seeds and then grind them into a very fine powder with a coffee grinder. This can result in more than 1/3 cup. The mixture should thicken up, and be a gel like consistency, though it should take about 5 minutes to do so. It is a dough that hard to mix, that is why I recommend only using a KitchenAid or other stand (not hand) mixer for this recipe. The thickness of the dough really helps to give the gluten-free bread its structure.
Were your psyllium husks a fine powder or in their whole form? For this recipe, they should be in there whole form and not the powdered variety. This makes a huge difference in the thickness of the mixture. I tested the recipe both ways and powdered psyllium husks do not work. They create a similar problem to what you are describing. I would check your psyllium husk package to see which type you are using.
If all your ingredients are correct, I would recommend you power through with the recipe as written and resist adding in any extra water. It is a thick dough, but that is what gives it structure and allows it to keep its shape while baking. Gluten-free baking is quite touchy and adding in extra ingredients can really throw it off and create an inedible loaf. If you continue to have problems you can always email me at catchingseeds@gmail.com.
I do hope this recipe ends up working out for you! It is one of my favorites. Happy baking! :)
Laurel
Anita says
November 23, 2016 at 9:46 pmHi Laurel. I’ve been looking for a brown rice and chia recipe, and came across your site. I would like to make this recipe but I don’t do well with sorghum. Do you think the recipe would work well if I eliminated it and used an extra 1/2 cup each of brown rice and oat flour, or a cup and a half of quinoa flour? I realize you may not know, and I am willing to try it regardless. But I thought I would see if you had an opinion on it first. And, I would prefer not to use as much yeast; do you think this would respond well to a slow rise method, such as in a “no knead glutenous bread”, where the bread would rise between 12-24 hours, with only 1/4 tsp of yeast?
Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!!
Laurel says
November 25, 2016 at 9:15 amHi Anita! Sorry for my delayed response. I was out in the boonies of Montana without an internet connection for Thanksgiving. I think that substituting the sorghum for brown rice and oat flour would work the best. Quinoa flour is a highly absorbent flour and would soak up too much of the liquid and make the bread dense and dry. The recipe does call for a lot of yeast, partially because without it, gluten-free bread is so dense. I have had a few gluten-free bread recipes that use the slow rise method, but I wouldn’t know if it would work with this loaf. I would hate for you to try it and waste all the ingredients if it didn’t work out. I often make bread from the book Gluten Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. They are all slow rise breads and many of the recipes are vegan. Honestly, I make their bread more that I do my own recipe. If you wanted to try their bread without buying the book, I found that they have one recipe for free online! If you do tinker with my recipe, let me know how it turns out! Happy baking :) – Laurel
Carol Shaw says
December 11, 2018 at 6:44 amI can’t rave enough about this bread recipe!!!!!!! It is FANTASTIC!!!! My kids love it too, it has become a daily staple. Thankbyou for your fabulous work!!!
★★★★★
Laurel says
December 11, 2018 at 10:27 amThank you so much for your kind words, Carol! I am so happy that your family is loving this recipe!
Jojo says
January 8, 2019 at 2:37 pmHi,
I’m allergic to psyllium husk, but I’m really attracted to this recipe. Could I subsitute with flax?
Laurel says
January 8, 2019 at 3:35 pmHi Jojo, I don’t think so. The psyllium husk is essential in getting the bread to hold together and have the correct texture. I also love the book Gluten Free Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for baking bread. I know their recipes are free of psyllium husk! I would feel better pointing you in the direction of a bread that I know will work for you rather than having you experiment with this loaf and potentially have to scrap the recipe – gluten free flours can be expensive! Happy Baking!
Colleen says
January 28, 2019 at 5:19 pmThis was absolutely delicious, Laurel! Thank you so much for all your trial and error, and for graciously sharing it! Being a Vegan 8 groupie :) I’m used to measuring everything in grams instead of cups so I wasn’t sure which method you used when making this recipe. I decided to use grams since every flour in your recipe calls for different grams in a cup and it worked out great. I made 2 baguettes and will try circular loaves next time. I sprinkled sesame seeds on top and think you could use sunflower or pine nuts and it would be equally as fabulous. The one thing I wondered is how you easily transfer the loaves from the counter to the hot stone. Even though they’re on parchment they’re heavy and although I had them on a metal pan it was hard sliding the parchment and loaves in a hot oven. I figured you might have a trick I didn’t think of. Thanks again Laurel!!
★★★★★
Laurel says
January 28, 2019 at 5:50 pmHi Colleen! I am so glad you are enjoying the recipe! Since you have a scale, I think grams are the way to go :) I actually use a pizza peel (like this one) to slide it onto the stone. I spread some course grind cornmeal onto the pizza peel so that the bread slides off easily and then place the loaf right on top of the cornmeal. I touch the edge of the peel to the baking stone and give it a good shake to slide it off. It’s definitely the easiest method I have found. And I will definitely be trying the pine nuts! That sounds absolutely delicious!