Have you ever heard of Sally Lunn batter bread? It's an English creation, from the town of Bath, apparently dating back hundreds of years. This tender, cake-like yeast bread is rich and buttery, with a nice brown bakery-style crust. It seems to be most traditionally made in a tube pan, but … I just didn't see the point. First of all, then you're using, like 6 cups of flour and *whoa* Second of all, not everyone has a tube pan. And then there's the fact that I planned to serve it warm and sliced, with butter, and then to make my kids' school lunches because, well, it's bread. It reminds me a lot of brioche, just with many fewer eggs and much less butter. All that means is that you can serve yourself a slice with a ton of butter on top. Perhaps the best part of this bread? How easy it is to make. It has only 1 rise (well, the way I make it), and is a batter dough so there's no kneading, no shaping.
See how easy it is? Make the batter dough, scrape it into a greased loaf pan and smooth the top. Set it to rise, and then bake. As soon as it comes out of the oven, wrap the loaf pan with the bread still in it in a tea towel for 30 minutes. (This is what allows you to have a nice, tender crust. If you prefer a crunchier crust, allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, uncovered, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.) Remove the towel, and remove the loaf from the pan. Allow to finish cooling, then slice and serve!
Think of this like the enriched version of my Gluten Free English Muffin Bread from GFOAS Bakes Bread. If you can't have eggs, just make that bread! It has no eggs at all. If you're dairy free, please see the Bread Flour notes in the ingredients list. Everything you need for success is in there. And as always, please please measure everything by weight, not volume, and you'll be slicing into that gorgeous loaf of gluten free bread before you know it!
Gluten Free Sally Lunn Batter Bread
Ingredients
3 cups (420 g) Gluten Free Bread Flour*
1 2/3 teaspoons (5 g) instant yeast
1/8 cup (25 g) sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons (8 g) kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (10 fluid ounces) warm milk (about 95°F)
6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs (120 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten
*BREAD FLOUR NOTES
- 1 cup (140 g) Gluten Free Bread Flour, as discussed more fully on pages 8 to 10 of GFOAS Bakes Bread, contains 100 grams Mock Better Batter all purpose gluten free flour (or Better Batter itself) + 25 grams whey protein isolate (I use NOW Foods brand) + 15 grams Expandex modified tapioca starch (for Expandex resources, click here).
- For a calculator that helps you build the flour without math, please see my Gluten Free Flour page.
- If you would like to use Ultratex 3 in place of Expandex, please see #6 on my Resources page for instructions.
- For nondairy protein powder replacements for whey protein isolate, I recommend rice protein isolate or pea protein isolate. You must increase the liquid to 15 fluid ounces. I discuss nondairy alternatives in more detail in on pages 10-11 of GFOAS Bakes Bread.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease well an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan and set it aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the bread flour, sugar and yeast, and whisk to combine well with a separate, hand held whisk. Add the salt and whisk again to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk, butter and eggs, and beat with the paddle attachment until the dough is smooth. It will be very wet. Scrape the dough into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula, piling the dough a bit higher toward the center. Cover the loaf pan with oiled plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free location to rise until the highest part of the dough rises about 1/2 inch above the sides of the pan (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours). Remove the plastic wrap from the loaf pan and slash down the center of the loaf at a 45° angle and about 1/4 inch deep with a sharp knife or lame.
Place the loaf pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the loaf is golden brown all over, registers 185°F in the center on an instant read thermometer, and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom (about 45 minutes).
Remove from the oven and immediately cover the pan with the loaf of bread still inside with a tea towel. This will ensure that the thick crust of this enriched bread is tender when cool. Allow the loaf to sit, covered, for 30 minutes before removing the towel and transferring the loaf to a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and serve.
Adapted from Taste of Home and my recipe for Gluten Free English Muffin Bread.
Emma says
After missing bread for months this is finally a GF alternative that’s like the real thing! Thank you so much! I made it with Doves Farm GF white bread flour rather than the mix you suggested because I couldn’t get the whey protein and Expandex easily and used a hand mixer throughout but it still worked great :)
Victoria Donaldson says
Made this last night. Very easy and a nice quick bread when I wasn’t prepared for the weekend. Thanks!
Bethany says
Hi Nicole…I’m working on this recipe today and noticed that you have 1/4 cup of sugar (25g). Do you mean 1/8 cup sugar or 50g? 1/4 sugar weighs roughly 50 g on two different digital scales I have. Thanks!
Nicole Hunn says
Yes, 1/8 cup, Bethany! Good catch. It’s fixed now.
Bethany says
Thanks! It’s working on rising now!
Alexis S says
I am so excited for this recipe! I used to eat it at Colonial Williamsburg when I could eat gluten.
Mare Masterson says
So I went home last evening and casually mentioned this post and that it is a cross between your English Muffin bread and a brioche and there were many “ooohs and aaahhs” coming from both Ray and Amber. They also mentioned that i NEED to make the actual brioche. I was too exhausted last night to do soda bread for today. This work thing is just too much lately, and then there is too much going on in the evenings. So this new bread and Irish Soda bread will happen this weekend.
Nicole Hunn says
How about they make it for YOU, Mare? ;)
Pam Clausen says
Will try this! Looks great! Could you consider having a link to Pinterest? I would love to post many of your recipes there! Thanks!
Nicole Hunn says
Please click the “SHARE” link at the top and bottom of every post, Pam. There’s a Pinterest button in there. :)
youngbaker2002 says
looks great nicole. we just made the English muffin bread for the first time yesterday and it’s already gone. :)
Nicole Hunn says
That’s a favorite for sure, youngbaker! I think you’ll love this one, too. So easy!
larisa says
Can you use cup 4 cup flour, and can this be made in a bread machine?
Nicole Hunn says
No, larisa, you must use my bread flour blend, as specified in a recipe. I don’t use or recommend use of a bread machine, I’m afraid. I find that they produce very inconsistent results and an odd-shaped loaf, plus they vary significantly from brand to brand.
Lynn says
Nicole, can you tell me what brand of whey protein isolate you buy? I want to make sure I get the correct kind and I didn’t see any reference in your Q&A section.
Mare Masterson says
Nicole uses and recommends NOW foods brand.
Nicole Hunn says
Mare is correct, Lynn (and it’s in the Bread Flour notes in the recipe)! I use NOW Foods brand unflavored whey protein isolate. The best price is usually on amazon. :)
Jennifer S. says
this looks soooooo awesome! can’t wait to try it out!
Nicole Hunn says
You’ll love it, Jennifer!
Sharon Cottrell Schulze says
Sounds great! I’m away from home right now, but I’ll be making a loaf as soon as I get a chance on Thurs.!
Nicole Hunn says
Perfect, Sharon!