Gluten Free Brown Bread

“Wheaty” tasting, this gluten free brown bread has added whole grains and lots of depth of flavor. This versatile, wheatless loaf of gluten free whole grain bread keeps you full and satisfied, and makes the best hearty sandwiches.

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A good starter recipe

If you're new to making gluten free bread, or to making bread in general, it's best to begin with a batter-style bread like this wheat free but wheaty-tasting brown bread.

Batter-style gluten free bread recipes have only one rise, and they tend to rise quickly because the dough is super wet. High hydration means that yeast grows readily.

In fact, most recipes for gluten free bread that you'll find elsewhere on the Internet (and in cookbooks that aren't, well, mine), are in this style. I hadn't made one of these recipes in years—and then I started working on the second edition of my very first cookbook.

They don't have the yeasty taste that you get from a slow refrigerator rise, and they don't have the same chew. But they make a lovely sandwich. And they're a great starting place if you're hesitant to make yeast bread (gluten free or otherwise).

Expert Tips

This multigrain gluten free bread recipe even has some real depth of flavor because of the addition of oat flour, whole grain teff and molasses.

Mix the dough until smooth

This recipe, like all of our batter-style gf bread recipes, calls for mixing in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. If you don't have a stand mixer, I don't recommend a handheld mixer, which just doesn't offer the right style of attachment. Instead, try a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

Try a pullman pan

My favorite loaf pans for baking bread, lately, are 1.5 pound Pullman-style loaf pans. You begin baking the bread with the Pullman cover in place to prevent the loaf from rising into a dome, then remove the cover for the remainder of the baking time so the loaf can cook through and brown properly.

Be patient during rising

Yeast bread will rise at a large temperature range, including anything that might be considered room temperature (from warm to cool room temperature), just more slowly at lower temperatures. In warmer temperatures, this loaf may rise fully in 45 minutes; in cooler, drier temperatures it may take much longer. Please be patient! 

Bake in a hot oven

This bread bakes at 375°F, a slightly higher temperature than you would bake a cake, to encourage “oven spring,” which is the initial rise of yeast bread in the oven, and to help the loaf bake through and brown fully.

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy-free

It's easy to make this recipe dairy free. Just replace the butter in the recipe with either Miyoko's Creamy brand vegan butter or Earth Balance buttery sticks. And use any unflavored, unsweetened nondairy milk (as long as it isn't nonfat).

Egg free

There are two egg whites in this recipe, but I've also successfully made it with one whole egg. I think 1 chia egg (1 tablespoon chia flour mixed with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water and allowed to sit until it gels), 1 flax egg, or 50 grams of aquafaba (the brine in an unsalted can of chickpeas) should work.

Oat free

You can replace the oat flour in this recipe with quinoa flakes or cream of buckwheat. And I now have a full discussion of replacing oats in gluten free baking.

Gluten free flours

I always prefer a base of Better Batter classic blend gluten free flour as a base for my gluten free yeast bread. In this recipe, we're adding gluten free whole grains with teff (or teff flour) and oat flour. You can try replacing the oat flour with a variety of other whole grain, gluten free flours. Here are a few suggestions:

Replacing oat flour

I think that buckwheat flour would work well in place of oat flour, as would sweet white sorghum flour. Make sure your sorghum flour is fresh, though, as it spoils more quickly than other flours.

I wouldn't suggest using quinoa flour in place of oat flour here, as quinoa flour tends to be bitter. Brown rice flour doesn't have the same “chew” as oat flour, so I don't recommend it, either.

Whole grain teff vs teff flour

This recipe calls for whole grain teff, not teff flour. I have wondered whether it would work with teff flour, though. And whether whole grain teff could be replaced with, say, chia seeds. I bet it could!

If you enjoyed making this recipe, here's my amazing gluten free focaccia recipe if you are interested in making more options.

Gluten Free Brown Bread Recipe

4.99 from 114 votes

By Nicole Hunn

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Rising time: 1 hour hr

Yield: 10 slices

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Enjoy the heartiness of whole wheat bread when you try this gluten free brown bread recipe. This gf whole grain bread is wheaty and delicious, all while being wheatless.

Equipment

• Stand mixer with paddle attachment

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 2 ½ cups (350 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (I used Better Batter; click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
• ▢ 2 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
• ▢ 3 tablespoons (38 g) whole grain teff, whole or ground into a flour
• ▢ 9 tablespoons (68 g) certified gluten free oat flour, (I just grind old fashioned gluten free rolled oats into a powder)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (9 g) instant yeast, (See Recipe Notes)
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons (9 g) kosher salt
• ▢ 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (21 g) unsulphured molasses
• ▢ 2 (50 g) egg whites, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 ½ cups (12 fluid ounces) warm milk, (about 95°F)

Instructions 

• Grease and line a standard 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan or a 1 1/2-pound Pullman loaf pan and set it aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the flour, xanthan gum, teff, oat flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, sugar and yeast.
• Whisk with a separate handheld whisk to combine well. Add the salt and whisk again to combine.
• Add the butter, vinegar, molasses, egg whites and milk, and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until the dough starts to come together, then mix on high for about 5 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Cover the dough with oiled with plastic wrap or the top of the Pullman pan.
• Place the covered pan in a warm, draft-free area to rise until the dough is about 150% of its original volume.
• When the dough is nearly finished rising, preheat your oven to 375°F.
• Remove the plastic wrap and place the loaf pan in the center of the preheated oven. Remove the plastic wrap. If using a Pullman pan, keep the cover in place.
• If using a standard loaf pan, bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf is firm enough to take out of the pan.
• If using a Pullman pan, bake for 40 minutes before removing the pan cover.
• In both cases, remove the bread from the loaf pan and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. Return the bread on the pan to the oven, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
• Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Video

Notes

About instant yeast.
If you'd prefer to use active dry yeast in place of instant yeast, you'll need 25% more, by weight, and to hydrate it before mixing the yeast into the bread mixture.

Here, that would mean 125% of 9 grams of instant yeast, or just over 11 grams active dry yeast. Mix the active dry yeast with a couple tablespoons of the warm milk, and let it activate, then add it with the rest of the milk when the recipe calls for it.

Nutrition information is per slice assuming a whole loaf sliced into 10 pieces and is approximate and not to be relied upon.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 433mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 234IU | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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FAQs

Storage instructions

Never store gluten free bread in the refrigerator, as it tends to be drying. This bread will stay fresh covered tightly on the kitchen counter at room temperature for a day, but I wouldn't risk more than that. You know what they say about day old bread!

For longer storage, I recommend slicing this loaf of gf brown bread when fresh, and fully cooled. Then wrap it tightly in freezer-safe wrap and freeze it for up to 2 months—longer if your storage wrap removes all air from contacting the bread.