The Best Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

This Gluten Free Sandwich Bread is surprisingly easy to whip up and guaranteed to bring you immense satisfaction when you take that first tasty bite. With its tender crumb and perfectly balanced golden crust. Everything comes together to create a texture that elevates any gluten free sandwich.

Let’s be real for a minute. Not being able to eat gluten is HARD. It downright sucks. And missing out on the joys of baking and eating bread can sometimes feel like a little piece of your soul has died. Okay that’s a little dramatic but you get my point. That’s why I felt it was important to include this Gluten Free Sandwich Bread recipe in Module One: Gluten Free Breads of the Kira Bakes Gluten Free Pastry School. Knowing how to bake a fantastic yeast leavened bread that is baked in a loaf tin (this means very little dough shaping skills required) will give you so much confidence in the kitchen and help bring back the kind of joy only really, really good bread can provide.

What makes this THE BEST Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread Recipe

1. This Gluten Free Sandwich Bread is a high-rising loaf with a slightly crisp golden outer crust and slices beautifully. The interior softness of this bread is pure perfection.
2. This bread bakes beautifully with just one rise, directly in the loaf pan.
3. It takes just over 2 hours to make this bread from start to finish. Only about 15-20 minutes of hands-on work in total. 
4. This recipe is perfect for making sandwiches, grilled cheese, PB&J toast. It also works well for making salad croutons or turkey stuffing. Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas!
5. It makes THE BEST GLUTEN FREE FRENCH TOAST! Once you bake this bread you won’t want to limit its purpose to just sandwiches. It also transforms into a breakfast favourite – French Toast. As you dip each slice into a mixture of eggs, milk, and cinnamon, the bread will eagerly absorb the flavours, turning into a custardy delight when cooked to golden perfection.

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread Quick Facts:

Lets get baking! (Step-by-Step Instructions)

Mis en Place

Going back to the Kira Bakes Gluten Free Pastry Principals, this is always our first step when baking as it not only helps ensure accuracy during the mixing process, but it also makes the whole baking process a lot more relaxing and enjoyable. It’s a win/win!

If I’ve said it 100 times, I’ll say it again. Measuring ingredients by weight not volume is the magic sauce to gluten free baking! I always do my best to provide the cup (volume) measurements where possible. If you are going to measure by volume, click this link for tips on the correct way to measure by volume.

Scale the following ingredients

Prepare the equipment

Mixing 

Stage 1: make psyllium gel.

In a medium bowl, combine 250ml warm water (110F/43C), apple cider vinegar, psyllium husk and ground flaxseed. Whisk until combine. The gel will form quickly. Set aside and allow the gel to become firm. This takes approx. 5 minutes.

The Magic of Psyllium: Psyllium husk and making a psyllium gel is the key to making delicious gluten free bread. This magical gel transforms gluten free bread dough into something that we can knead and shape.  Without it, the mixture would be more like a batter and we wouldn’t get the same chewy, open crumb structure.

Stage 2: combine wet ingredients.

In a large measuring jug or medium bowl, combine 300ml warm water (110F/43C), honey and yeast. Whisk to combine and dissolve the yeast granules. Within a few minutes you should see the yeast water start to bubble and foam slightly.

It’s the Yeast we can do! Although when using Instant Yeast you could be add it directly to the dry ingredients. My preference is to bloom instant yeast with warm water and sugar (or honey) to ensure the yeast is still alive. When you see the bubbles/foam start to appear you know the yeast is alive and well. Dry Active Yeast NEEDS to be activated (bloomed) in warm water (110F/43C), before using in a recipe.

The Ideal temperature for Yeast to thrive is 75F-95F/24C-35C

Yeast dies at a temperature of 138F/59C

Stage 3: combine dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand-mixer, combine all the gluten free flours and starches (brown rice flour, corn starch, tapioca starch and sorghum flour), salt and xanthan gum. Whisk to combine. 

Stage 4: combine wet and dry ingredients.

Add the yeast water and psyllium gel to the dry ingredients. With the stand-mixer on low, begin mixing (kneading the dough). After a few minutes the dough should start to come together but still look fairly sticky.  Turn the stand-mixer up to medium-high and mix (knead) for a further 5 minutes or until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should appear smooth, bouncy and a little sticky.

Shaping

1. Tip the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and begin shaping the dough into a rectangular log. You do this by flattening the dough gently with your fingers, begin fold each quarter of the dough up and over to form a round. 
2. Turn the dough over so the seam is now on the work surface. Cup your hands around the dough and leading with your pinky fingers, apply pressure and begin to turn the dough slowly in a circular motion while also pulling it towards your body. Repeat this three to four times. 

You are looking to build some tension while also sealing the bottom of the loaf. If your counter is too oily and the dough is just sliding around, wipe away some of the oil or use a bench scraper to clean the work area. 

3. Turn the dough over in your hand and pinch the seal (where the ends meet) together. Place the dough back down on the work surface (seal side down) and with your hands cupping the sides of the dough and press slightly to create more of a rectangular shape. 

Quick tip: If the dough is too sticky during the shaping process, you can rub some olive oil over your palms to help shape the loaf.

Using olive oil instead of additional flour reduces the risk of adding too much extra flour (creating a dry, dense bread), while also adding richness.

Panning

Transfer the shaped dough into the loaf tin and cover with a dry kitchen towel or cling-film.

Proofing

Allow the loaf to prove for 45min or until it has nearly doubled in size.

Gluten Free Proofing: with traditional bread making, we tend to allow the dough to proof until it has doubled or tripled in size. With gluten free bread making, the dough is more delicate and when it becomes over-proofed the bread will become dense with a closed crumb structure. The best way to avoid this is to only prove gluten free dough to 150%-200% or just nearly doubled in size. 

Baking

While the bread is proofing, preheat the oven to 500F/260C (if not already done) and melt the butter for glazing.

When the loaf is fully proofed, use a pastry brush to lightly coat the top of the loaf with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Place the loaf on the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 425F/220C. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the loaf from the tin and bake directly on the oven rack for a further 15 minutes. 

During the final 15 minutes of baking, re-melt the remaining butter for glazing.

Cooling and Staling

Transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool and immediately brush with the remaining melted butter. This step will maintain a soft outer crust.

Cool for 1-2 hours or until completely cool. This is very important because as gluten free bread cools, the moisture in the bread evaporates, creating a drying, fluffier interior. If you were to cut into gluten free bread while it’s still warm you will find a very sticky, gummy texture.

Storing

You can store Gluten Free Sandwich Bread for 1-2 days wrapped in a dry tea-towel or inside a paper bag. 

You can freeze Gluten Free Sandwich Bread by wrapping it in cling film, then placing it in a Ziplock bag for up to 1 month. Let the loaf defrost slowly before warming in in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes to refresh it.

Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread Q&A

Question: Can I use a gluten-free flour blend?

For this specific gluten free bread recipe, no, I wouldn’t recommend it. During recipe development, the results yielded from many of the store-bought gluten-free flour blends have turned out dense and gummy. The best results I had were with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix. Just note that if you do use a store-bought gluten free flour blend, you may yield a slightly different taste, texture and rise when substituting ingredients. Also, remember to omit the xanthan gum if the flour blend already contains it. Otherwise the loaf will be very gummy and sticky.

Question: Can I make this without Psyllium Husk?

Unfortunately, no. When it comes to gluten free bread baking, Psyllium Husk is the not-so-secret weapon in achieving a bread that you can knead and shape. It also works to absorb moisture and gives the dough enough elasticity, so it rises properly. All of this contributes to creating a fluffy crumb structure, similar to gluten-based breads.

You can use either Whole Psyllium Husk or Powdered Psyllium Husk. I use Whole Psyllium Husks as this is what I have access to. If you want to use Psyllium Powder all you need to do is make sure you use approx. 20% less. 

For example, if the recipe calls for 10g of Whole Psyllium Husk, you would use 8g of Powdered Psyllium Husk.

Question: Can I make this without ground flaxseed?

Yes, you can.  The flaxseed in this recipe provides structure and helps to absorb the moisture, making the bread easier to knead. You can replace the flaxseed with one Large US Egg. Keep in mind that your dough will be stickier and it will be harder to shape.

If using an egg instead of ground flaxseed, add the egg during stage 4 (combining wet and dry ingredients) along with the honey water.

Question: Can I need a stand-mixer?

Yes and no.  Ultimately the results will be better if you use a stand-mixer because this dough is very sticky and you just won’t be able to mix and knead the dough by hand to the same level. If you plan to make lots of gluten free (yeasted) breads, then I would highly recommend purchasing a stand-mixer. The overall success for yeasted breads really relies on the ability to knead extra sticky (high hydration) doughs. That being said, I have mixed this recipe by hand and although it wasn’t perfect, it was still a very pleasant loaf of gluten free bread.

Question: Can I make this dairy free or vegan?

Yes! To make this recipe dairy-free and vegan you can swap out the honey for equal parts maple syrup or raw sugar, and instead of brushing the loaf with melted butter you can use vegan butter (melted) or a plant-based milk.

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Ready to try another Gluten Free Bread Recipe? Why not bake my Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread or Gluten Free Italian Sub Rolls.  

The next lesson is Module Two: Sugar & Fillings. Modules launch the last Monday of each month. Make sure to sign up to my newsletter for reminders and other gluten free recipes and tips.