I don’t often miss bread anymore since our family has been gluten-free for almost two years. When asked by someone contemplating a gluten-free diet how we do meals without bread……well, we just do!
But at first it seemed agonizing and the transition to gluten-free was difficult.
We used to have pancakes or muffins for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and rolls with dinner.
I had mastered my homemade whole wheat bread, the smell of it wafting through the house, calling us to the kitchen with its intoxicating aroma.
But when Todd had to go gluten-free, we all went gluten-free. Since it’s not a necessary food for survival, we could all stand to do without. Plus we had been having some health issues with our kids as well and decided that it would be best for them to go without it for a time. (and while I remain 98% gluten-free, the rest of my family is still completely gluten-free)
Meals were tough at first, learning how to replace wheat with other flours in recipes seemed mind-boggling. And for the most part, we just go without bread now, except for some whole grain pancakes on the weekend. I just found that while eating gluten-free – replacing our normal foods with gluten-free options also meant that we were eating more refined flours than we had for a few years. So we added more vegetables and some whole grain dishes made with rice or millet instead of the bread and rolls.
Every once in a while though, maybe once a month, I make a loaf of gluten-free bread. It’s not a health food per se (because of the ‘white’ flours/starches), but a great substitute for a light and moist loaf of bread. A facebook friend of mine gave me the recipe a few months back and we’ve enjoyed it ever since.
It’s not as pretty as a loaf made with whole wheat, but it sure is tasty!
Homemade Gluten Free Bread
Homemade gluten free bread recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water divided
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 Tbsp yeast
- 5 Tbsp whole cane sugar divided
- 3.5 cups brown rice flour
- 2.5 cups tapioca starch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water-1/2 cup milk along with 1 tablespoon sugar. Let stand for about ten minutes. (I use hot water and cold milk - hot+cold=warm)
- In a stand mixer (or use your muscles) mix together the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, xanthan gum, the rest of the sugar, and the salt together until well combined.
- Mix together the yeast mixture, the softened butter (not melted!), the eggs, and the apple cider vinegar.
- Add the additional warm water while mixing to get the right consistency. We're looking for something like stiff cake batter. It will be spoon-able, not knead-able like wheat breads.
- Spread into two greased bread pans, about half full. One option I use regularly is to make a loaf of bread, a pizza crust, and use any leftover for breadsticks.
- Let sit in a warm area for 20-40 minutes, depending on room temperature. Keep and eye on it as you don't want the bread in the pan to get too high as it will bake over the sides and fall to the bottom of the oven. I like to turn my stove on just enough to warm it, turn it off, and then place the pans inside for the bread to rise.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until 190 degrees in the center.
- Let cool and remove from pans.
Nutrition
Best eaten the same day or seal in airtight container and keep on the counter for another day or two. (refrigerating seems to make it dry out faster) After that, you can grind it up to make bread crumbs or homemade croutons!
This recipe also doubles as our gluten-free pizza crust. I simply make spread it out onto a greased pizza pan, no rise time needed, bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, top with our favorite sauce, cheese, and pepperoni and bake for another 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.
You can also grind your own brown rice flour in a grain mill – this saves me from having to purchase yet another GF flour!
For other flour variations, simply use a grain-based flour for the brown rice flour (like millet – which you can also buy whole and grind in a mill) and other starches for the tapioca starch (like potato starch or arrowroot flour).
Donielle Baker
Planting a medicinal herb garden
Have you tried freezing it? Also, based on the directions, I’m thinking it should say 1/2 cup milk in the ingredient list, but I wanted to make sure. Thanks!
@Catherine, I have not tried freezing it, but that’s because every other GF recipe I’ve tried freezing has just crumbled apart after thawing, so now I don’t bother. 🙂
And yes – 1/2 cup. I’ll fix it, thanks!
at what point does the water/milk/yeast get mixed with the flours? is that at step #2? thanks!
@Toniette, Sorry – step #3. You mix all of the liquid ingredients together first and then pour it into the dry as you mix them all together.