No doubt you've heard baking is both art and science but for me this recipe for gluten free crusty bread works every time. The bread bakers I know, love to talk about how it feels more than exactly how much flour to use. They love the process; the feel of the flour, the dough in their hands and the smell of yeast in the air.
I was never one of those people. I prefer measurements and I can follow instructions precisely.
For everyday gluten free cooks mastering a handful of bread recipes will pay off in spades. The opportunities for warm crusty bread, fresh from any oven, are greatly diminished so you might as well give it a try.
My best tip is the same tip for any recipe, make it at least three times. Don't abandon it thinking it's a bad recipe. If you like the taste try it a few times, make some notes and see what you think.
The Science of Baking
Everything from the size of your eggs, the humidity in the air and the temperature of your oven, contributes to the success of a recipe. That is the science. The art is when you can bake it successfully, loaf after loaf, perhaps going by the feel. I have not completely mastered that technique but I'm working on it.
For gluten free bakers knowing when your baked goods are fully cooked is equally as important.
Baking with Cup Measurements or Weight Measurements
Expert bakers swear that baking with weight measurements is the most accurate, therefore gives the most consistent results. Yet not everyone is that far along on their gluten free journey so I give you both cup and weight measurements.
For more on this topic check out my post, Gluten Free Baking By Weight. Gluten free bakers are going to use and measure more ingredients than anyone baking with wheat flour.
It's not hard to weigh flour, it's just a mindset and a willingness to get organized for that kind of baking.
I perfected this recipe using cup measurements when I was fairly new to gluten free baking. Since then I've learned more about different binders and baking by weight yet this recipe works in my kitchen with the cup measurements.
Watch on YouTube: Making a Flour Blend by Weight
Although I'm making my own EGFG gluten free flour blend in this video you'll see how I organized my supplies to be able to do this quickly and easily.
This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase using these links your cost is the same, but I receive a few cents for every dollar spent. I appreciate your support for this website.
Crusty Bread in a Boule or a Loaf
You can make this bread in a loaf pan if you want slices that would be ideal for sandwiches. I wanted to taste it dipped in extra virgin olive oil and good quality balsamic vinegar...so I formed it into a ball. This free form ball-shape is often called a boule after the French word for ball. It refers to a rustic loaf of bread that has been leavened with yeast. If you have ever been to France you will recognize the word “boulanger” which is the bread baker and “boulangerie” which is the bread bakery. Both of these words come from the root word “boule”.
PIN for later...
No matter what shape you choose for your bread I wish you success. Let me know in the comments below how your bread turned out and if you email me a photo I'll share it here.
Follower Photos
Thanks to Brad for this picture of his first attempt at this Crusty Bread recipe.
More Gluten Free Help and Bread Recipes
For a better understanding of gluten free flour check out my year-long blog series where I reviewed 21 different ingredients. I did this to learn about the binders, starches and flours I had and what recipes I used them in. At the bottom of every post you'll find the titles with links to the whole series. It starts with How To Use Rice Flour.
Click on the text on the image(s) to go to the recipe/blog post.
Crusty Bread
Ingredients
- 1½ cups tapioca starch (193 grams)
- ½ cup brown rice flour (77 grams)
- ¾ cup sorghum flour (77 grams)
- ⅓ cup potato flour (not potato starch) (57 grams)
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon xanthan gum
- 1½ cups lukewarm water (100°F)
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- ¼ cup melted butter
Instructions
DRY INGREDIENTS
- Combine flours, yeast, salt and xanthan gum together in a large bowl. Whisk to break up lumps and combine evenly.
WET INGREDIENTS
- Combine wet ingredients in a stand mixer with paddles. Gradually add the dry mixture continuing until it is all incorporated into dough. Using wet hands and a spatula dump the dough into a large bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let rest until the dough rises, approximately 2 hours.
- The dough can be refrigerated at this point for up to 3 days.
- Using wet hands form the dough into a ball shape. Place on a piece of parchment paper on top of a cutting board and let rest for 1 hour, loosely covered with plastic.
- Set the oven racks so you can place a metal pan with water under the bread. Preheat the oven to 450°F and place a baking stone on the middle rack.
- Dust the top of the bread with brown rice flour and make hash marks with a sharp knife.
- Transfer parchment and bread onto the preheated baking stone.
- Pour 1-2 cups of boiling water into the metal baking pan and place underneath the bread.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until nicely browned and firm. Cooking times will need to be adjusted for the size of your loaf and temperature of your oven.
Vee Miles
Hi Cindi, came across your site a few days ago and like many of your hints and tips. I’ve been GF for some time and I am constantly trying new blends and recipes. One of the ingredients I incorporated, but have stopped is potato flour, as I was unable to buy it in my country (Australia). I did the hydration bit, but in the end it was just too much trouble. I now bake without it. Just came across this recipe of yours and I’m always willing to try something new, so wonder what you can use in replacement for the potato flour?
Cinde Little
Hi Vee! Gluten free cooks always need substitutes so here are a few things you can use in place of potato flour. Mashed potatoes is often suggested and would probably work well in a bread recipe. I think a flour is more what you're looking for in this recipe so try tapioca starch or cornstarch would be a good alternative. I find that recipes combining starches work better than using a large amount of starch in any single recipe. Since this recipe already has a good amount of tapioca starch I'd try cornstarch or even rice flour. The challenge with substitutes is that you need to try and keep trying to find what works for you. All the best and let me know how it turns out.
Phyllis
Cinde-just made the dough and it has risen nicely. If I put in refrigerator overnight and then put in a 9x5 loaf pan-how long to leave out before baking? Thanks for always responding to questions
Cinde Little
Hi Phyllis. I haven't done that but I would recommend leaving the dough on the counter for 1 hour before baking it in the oven. I hope all goes well.
Alene
Hi! Here I am again. Cannot have a drop of rice. Do you have an idea to replace the rice flour. I know that this is bread, and changing an ingredient is difficult. Just thought I'd ask. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day..
Cinde Little
Hi Alene! I haven't tried these substitutes but they are all considerations. You can replace brown rice flour with oat flour, sorghum flour or almond flour. Other substitutes for brown rice flour are tapioca starch or potato starch but we're not trying to make a light fluffy cake so I'd be inclined to try one of the first three. Best of luck and let me know how it turns out.
Carol
Do you know how it turns out using a bread machine?
Cinde Little
Hi Carol. I don't have a bread machine so I can't answer that for you. What I can tell you is that gluten free bread should only rise once so you'll need to override that setting if you have it. Also, gluten free recipes often have extra liquid to aid absorption and therefore may need a longer baking time. As long as you go at it with an open mind and keep good notes I'm sure you can learn to make it in your bread machine. Happy baking!
Brad
Hello,
If I wanted to make this in a loaf pan what instructions would you use for baking this bread? Would I still use the water, etc.?
Thanks
Cinde Little
Hi Brad! The actual cooking time for your loaf will depend on the size of your loaf pan. Divide the dough into 2 loaf pans if they're quite small. The internal temperature of cooked bread should be 190°F so check it with an instant read thermometer. These two tips are reason enough to make the same recipe several times to really perfect it. Finally, I would definitely add the water when you put your loaf in the oven. It creates steam and that helps your bread rise. Let me know how it goes and send me a picture.
Brad
Thanks Cinde and I’ll get back to you.
Brad
Hi Cinde,
I made the bread and although the taste was good the rise was not. It was left, covered with a tea towel, for just over two hours as suggested. I also had a pan of water in the oven (convection) as well.
Your insights would be appreciated.
Thanks and take care,
Brad
Also, how do I send a picture?
Cinde Little
Well done Brad, you made it! Rather than move on to another recipe since you liked the taste I always recommend making any recipe 3 times. We learn something and might even see slight differences even when we think we did every step exactly the same. Here are 3 suggestions to make this recipe work for you. 1) Try adding 2 tsp baking powder along with the yeast to get more rise. 2) Decrease the rise time if you think the dough has reached it's maximum sooner. It may have started to deflate. 3) According to America's Test Kitchen psyllium husk powder is the most effective binder for gluten free yeast breads. I came up with this recipe before I added psyllium husk powder to my pantry but if you're adventurous you could try it. The general guide is to replace 2 tablespoons of xanthan gum with 4 tablespoons of psyllium husk powder. As for sending a picture you have to email it to me and I'd love to see it. [email protected]
Rien
Hello. Can i substitute xanthan gum with psyllium husk? With same amount or not?
Cinde Little
Hi Rien. Psyllium husk powder in the best binder for yeast breads because it binds more effectively with water and bread dough has a lot of water. This then does a better job of strengthening the protein network so it can hold lots of gas and steam during baking. That's what makes the bread light. Breads made with xanthan gum will be dense and heavy. However, if you're keen to experiment then try it an see what happens. Some people like to do side by side experiments to see the difference themselves. 1 tsp xanthan gum = 2 tsp psyllium powder. If you're more interested in making really good yeast bread then you should buy the psyllium powder. Best of luck!
Margaret
How healthily is adding so much starch to a person diet? What does it do to their weight? Thank you p.s. yes I am gf not by choice
Cinde Little
Hi Margaret, I think you know that adding more starch to your diet is not a healthy choice. As a general statement we all eat too many carbs; bread, baked goods, pasta, rice, potatoes and more. Many people who go gluten free slowly move away from all those high carb foods and incorporate more healthy whole foods into their diet. They probably cook more and eat better as a result. Yet they also want to enjoy all the foods they ate before a gluten free diet. That might be biscuits, pizza, quick breads, muffins, pancakes, cookies and on and on. A healthy diet is always a balance of whole foods and treats. There are lots of gluten free choices available now but most replacement items are less healthy than their gluten filled counterparts. For bread lovers out there they can learn to make all kinds of GF bread and choose ingredients that have a bit more nutrition, but I don't think bread is ever going to be at the top of a list of healthy foods. Weight is a different topic since some people gain weight after going gluten free (as their body is able to absorb nutrients from the food it gets) while others maintain or even loose weight. So if you're going to bake some bread I say make what you like and enjoy every bite!
Kate
Hello! I can't wait to try this recipe. Have you ever baked the loaf in a double dutch oven?
Cinde Little
Hi Kate. I don't have a double Dutch oven but I'm sure the bread will bake nicely in one.
Sam
Hey! What can I substitute the egg with as my son has an egg allergy too
Cinde Little
Hi Sam. I haven't used egg replacers myself but these are the 3 most common ones I see. I hope one of them works out for you!
1 egg = a rounded 1/2 Tbsp dry egg replacer powder + 2 Tbsp filtered water
1 egg = 1 Tbsp ground flax seed + 3 Tbsp filtered water
1 egg = 1 Tbsp chia seed + 3 Tbsp filtered water
Happy baking!