Okay boys and girls, you’ve heard me moan about how terrible gluten free bread is more times than enough at this point. And I’m sick of it. I’m sure you are too. But that doesn’t change the fact I’m sick of my bread tasting like rubber and plastic combined. I don’t know how that’s possible, but it is. I’m starting a new mini series on the hunt to try and find the best gluten free bread recipe. I’m going to try different combinations, different flours and cooking methods. Then we’re going to rate them all and hopefully by the end we’ll have a 10/10 loaf. I mean, it’s gluten free still. I’ll settle for a 7.5. Â
Week 1 and I’ve already screwed up my plans and I altered the recipe I was supposedly following slightly. However, it isn’t a complete fail. I was following a recipe I found on YouTube and her end loaf was a bit hard and her dough didn’t rise. She used hot water, anyone who has made dough before knows the water should be warm so you don’t kill the yeast. And I added more xanthan gum because I thought that might fix the texture issues. I realised while I was adding the xanthan that I’d inadvertently made a smaller batch of the bread recipe they use on the side of the Dove’s Farm gluten free packets. So, I guess that’s what I’m sharing today?Â
Making Gluten Free Bread
This is the first time I’ve made gluten free bread not using a bread flour. The recipe I was following called for plain, so this was all new to me. And yes, I was in a very privileged position to have multiple gluten free flour options in my pantry during lockdown. But I basically have everyone in my life buying a bag whenever they see it so I can keep this food blog running without too many holdups… and I had stocks of a few before this flour saga started and I’ve been trying to use it wisely. Â
 
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The initial recipeÂ
- 3 cups gluten free flourÂ
- 1 cup hot waterÂ
- 1/4 tsp active dry yeast Â
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gumÂ
- ¼ tsp saltÂ
What I used Â
- 2 cups gluten free plain flourÂ
-  2/3 cup warm waterÂ
-  1 tsp active dry yeast Â
- 1 tsp sugar Â
- 2 tsp xanthan gumÂ
- ¼ tsp saltÂ
Instructions Â
- Put the flour, xanthan gum, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the warm water and mix well. Cover a bowl with cling film or a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour until it has doubled in size. Â
- Preheat oven to 220c/ 200c fan.Â
- After it has doubled, remove from bowl and knead lightly for about 5 minutes on a floured surface then place in an oiled loaf tin and bake for 50-55 minutes. Â
The results! Â
As you’ll be able to see, the loaf worked. I have bread! I opted for a smaller loaf than the original recipe purely because of the flour situation and I didn’t want to make a huge loaf when I’m the only GF person eating it. Â
Texture wise, I’d probably say this recipe was a 6/10. It isn’t hard as such, but it isn’t a nice soft loaf either. Â
If I were to compare this to shop bought gluten free bread like the ones I ranked in my testing gluten free breads post, I’d put it in the top half. It isn’t as good as the Gradz loaf, but it’s a lot better than some of the rubbery plastic options. This finished loaf did taste like real bread. But it tasted a little bit like bakery bread that had maybe been left sat on a counter for slightly too long. It made great toast. Maybe a 7/10 for taste, with gluten containing regular bread being a 10 and average GF bread probably being a 4/10. Â
Overall, I’d give my first gluten free loaf a 6.5-7/10, not bad but definitely some room for improvement as we test other gluten free bread recipes in this series. Â
Do you guys have any gluten free bread recipes that you love? Or any that you’d like me to test in this series? Â
Until next time,Â
SophieÂ
I know nothing about these ingredients, and making bread, but you make it seem easy, and if I ever decide to do this, I’m definitely going to refer back to this.
Ive tried so many gluten free bed which is just so dry. I will have to give this a go. Thanks for sharing
Great post! I haven’t tried gluten free bread but I do want to try it!
I love making bread. Nothing beats the smell or taste of handmade bread. But I admit I’ve never attempted a GF loaf. This recipe looks really easy so maybe I’ll try this when I next feel like baking.
Helen
Your loaf looks so good and sounds pretty decent too! Well done ! I recently found some super delicious pita breads in my local store which are gluten free and I’m a bit obsessed with them at the minute! They are amazing, although I’m yet to find a mindblowingly good loaf either! x
I totally agree, things like buns and pittas tend to be a lot better than loaves. What brand are these delicious pittas? I think I need to try them!
Looks like a great recipe, just a shame I shouldn’t be eating carbs and that I need the protein to help manage my reactive hypoglycaemia
I bet the sugar gave the bread a nicer rise and better flavor! This looks like it is moist and has a good crumb, and I love that you decided to make your own bread. It is interesting the way you describe it as bakery bread that has sat out too long, and I am curious to see you continue your experiments!
This looks yummy! I’ve been thinking of attempting to make some bread recently as it’s something I’ve not done before and I’m thinking this may be a good one to try. Gluten Free is something I’ve not tried before but I’d be willing to give it ago.
Ooh I’m excited for this series! Bread is something that I am yet to master myself and I’ve never made a gluten free bread before. I’m looking forward to seeing which recipes work out the best for you. Hopefully you can find a banging gluten free bread recipe! x
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
I’ll be honest, and be never eaten gluten free bread, as I’ve basically heard it’s not very nice. I like the idea of baking your own to find a nice one, I really like the little loaf look
Xantham gum is an ingredient I have never heard of until reading this post! This bread looks incredibly soft (if that’s the right word!) x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Ooooh! That bread looks good! I’ve been meaning to make bread for ages, ever since I bought the ingredients I need but haven’t got round to it! Thanks for reminding me!
Love love love this. The only time I tried to make gluten free bread I failed miserably so I’m definitely gonna try this out and tag you on insta when I do ! Thanks for the recipe
I love that you are experimenting and trying to make something better than the store bought. This bread looks great!
There isn’t a gluten-free bread recipe I like but I am trying to find a bread recipe in general to make, but I am not great at baking, so I feel like this is hard for me lol.
Yum.
http://www.rsrue.blogspot.com
Haha… I didn’t think it was possible for anything to taste like rubber and plastic combined – that sounds absolutely awful, Sophie! No wonder you have started on this quest to find the perfect GF bread. I don’t have any recipes right now, I’m afraid, but I will keep my eyes peeled for you. In the meantime, this one looks decent – but I’m looking forward to the next post in this series (and fingers crossed it gets more than 7.5 stars!). Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!
Oooh! I love that you made your own bread that is gluten-free and packed with flavor that wasn’t all rubbery. I really like how the bread turned out. Looks really delicious. I haven’t made bread before but I need to learn some day!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
I have a couple of friends who are celiac so this is a good recipe to tuck in the “to try” folder xx
mia // https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com
I’ve been thinking about trying a gluten-free diet for a while, but had always heard the same comments about the bread! Will need to give this recipe a go, thank you for sharing!
The loaf looks great. My wife is having to go gluten free and is thinking of baking her own bread having tried a few of the supermarket options. I’ll be passing this on!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’ve never used xanthan gum, but looking into it, it sounds like an interesting substitute for gluten-free baking.
I don’t think I’ve tried baking my own GF bread before (or if I have it was a long time ago).
My favourite GF break is from M&S, but we don’t have one local (in normal circumstances I would buy a few and put them in the freezer) and we can’t cross the border, so I haven’t had bread for ages. I may order some from the Wheat Free Bakery though.
I can’t wait until you get this down! I’ve wanted (and needed) to eat gluten-free bread for a while, but I bake my own and the thought of experimenting and the requirements of multiple flours just turned me off every time! I look forward to this series!
It looks delicious! It’s good that your first attempt turned out so well! 🙂 I have done a lot more baking in iso but mainly cookies, haha! Bread is beyond my abilities I think.
Hope you are having a lovely weekend! We had a (small, due to restrictions) party for my son’s birthday yesterday, it was really fun 🙂
Blimey 7/10 certainly isn’t bad for your first try! That’s amazing! And it looks fab too – definitely doesn’t look like your first try! xxx
Ooh this looks great! I’ve been meaning to make my own bread for weeks but still haven’t got round to it, worried I’ll mess it up! xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
I would love to have a go at making my own bread, when I do buy bread I always go for the ones that have been made at the bakery in the shop. Your first gf loaf looks amazing though, thats pretty good for your first go at it! Before lockdown my boyfriends mate used to come over quite a bit who also cannot have gluten so when we’ve all had dinners together we make it easier and go for the same meal although I’d admit that we do tend to go for the easy option of using GF pasta!
Chloe xx
Great job for your first GF loaf! It certainly looks a lot better than some of the commercial ones I’ve seen. I’m sure your next loaf will be even better!
I have made a ton of bread but I have never tried making gluten-free bread. This recipe looks simple enough, I might give it a try. I look forward to seeing what your future gluten-free bread baking adventures look and taste like.
I’ve tried so many gluten free breads that taste like chalk in my mouth. I’m going to give this recipe a go myself and see how it turns out.
this looks so good! I have bookmarked your page!
This looks simple and delicious all at once – I love it!
I will pass this on to my grandad as buying GF bread costs a lot and often tastes rubbish! xx
It does look denser than regular bread, but that is the tradeoff I think of it being gluten free. Going to very hard to get it fluffy. It looks like it tastes better than you think it does though, so I guess I won’t try this recipe.