The simplest recipe for gluten free artisan bread, that can be mixed by hand in one bowl with the most basic pantry ingredients, is here. It’s your everyday gluten free bread recipe.
The simplest yeasted gluten free bread recipe
This is a very pared down bread recipe that doesn’t call for much more than flour, yeast, a touch of sugar, salt, milk, and eggs. It’s not a sandwich bread, and it’s not one of our newer gluten free breads made with harder to find ingredients like whey protein isolate and Expandex modified tapioca starch.
Think of it like a table bread. It’s the sort of everyday bread you can slice and make into sandwiches or slice into chunks to serve with your favorite soup. It would be perfect for making into bread crumbs, too.
The crumb is open and tender, and the crust is thick but never hard to chew. Baked in a small oven-safe glass bowl, and turned over for the last 15 minutes of baking, the light brown crust extends all around the loaf. Be sure to cool it completely before slicing or it will squish as you slice.
Make it in one bowl
Unlike all of my other yeast bread recipes, this gluten free artisan bread does not have to be made in a stand mixer. I do often make it in my stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, because it’s easier and it does tend to make a slightly higher-rising loaf.
It will rise
If you are new to yeast bread baking, especially gluten free yeast bread baking, you may be nervous that your dough won’t rise properly. Please keep in mind that yeast has a very wide temperature range in which it is active, but reproduces at different rates.
At lower room temperature, it will rise, just not as quickly. At higher temperatures, it will rise more quickly. But if you place it in a hot environment, you risk killing the yeast.
Just be patient. Over-proofed bread, that breaks through and has something of a pockmarked appearance, is bread that has been left to proof after it’s done. It’s based upon rise, not upon time.
Ingredients and substitutions
Here are my best educated guesses for how to remove any additional allergens in this recipe you may have in your family.
Dairy: This recipe can easily be made dairy-free by replacing the dairy milk with your favorite nondairy milk. I recommend using something unsweetened.
Eggs: There is only one egg in this recipe, so it can likely be replaced with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). I’ve also made the recipe with 2 egg whites (50 g) in place of a whole egg, and it’s a bit more dense but the recipe still works.
Tapioca starch/flour: I’ve also made this recipe with an all purpose gluten free flour (specifically, Better Batter) in place of tapioca starch/flour. It works, but it doesn’t rise as high and the crumb is tighter.
Instant yeast: In place of instant yeast, you can always use active dry yeast by multiplying the amount (by weight) of the instant yeast (here, 6 grams) by 1.25 or 125%. Here, that would mean 7.5 grams of yeast, which is clearly difficult to measure precisely but just add a bit more after you reach 7 grams.
Active dry yeast has a thicker coating around the yeast, so you should soak it in some of the liquid in the recipe (here, milk) until it foams before adding it with the rest of the milk.
If you don’t have yeast at all, I’m afraid there is no substitute in this recipe. But please have a look at the mindmap on our Baking With Limits page for plenty of yeast-free bread options.
I’m reluctant to publish information about ingredient availability that will become outdated quickly, but for now I will say that I was able to buy SAF instant yeast on Amazon.com just today. Instant yeast is also available in store at some Walmart and Target stores. If you can only find active dry yeast, grab it and use the instructions above for how to modify the recipe to make use of it.
Easy Gluten Free Artisan Bread
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons (227 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter)
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (54 g) tapioca starch/flour
2 teaspoons (8 g) granulated sugar
2 generous teaspoons (6 g) instant yeast
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon (6 g) kosher salt
1 cup (8 fluid ounces) warm milk (about 95°F)
1 egg (50 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten
1 tablespoon (14 g) extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Grease a 1 or 1 1/2 quart glass oven safe bowl and set it aside. If you don’t have a glass bowl, you can use a small round pan or cast iron skillet with high sides. If using an aluminum pan that isn’t dark in color, raise the oven temperature to 400°F.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch/flour, sugar, and yeast, and baking soda, and whisk to combine well. Add the salt, and whisk again to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk, egg, and oil, and mix vigorously. The bread dough/batter should come together and lighten a bit in color as you mix.
Transfer the dough/batter to the prepared baking bowl, skillet, or pan, and smooth the top with clean, wet hands or a moistened spatula. Do not compress the dough at all. Cover the dough completely with an oiled piece of plastic wrap. Be careful not to compress the dough, but cover the bowl securely. Place it in a warm, moist place to rise for about 45 minutes, or until the dough has increased to about 150% of its original size. In cool, dry weather, the dough may take longer to rise; in warm, moist weather, it may take less time to rise. When the dough is nearing the end of its rise, preheat your oven to 375°F.
After the dough has risen, remove the plastic wrap and place the bowl in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the bread is lightly golden brown all around. Remove the bread from the oven and rotate the loaf in the bowl so it’s upside down. Return the bread to the oven and bake until the crust has darkened slightly all around, and the bread sounds hollow when thumped anywhere, on the bottom or top, about another 15 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should reach about 195°F on an instant-read thermometer. Turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Marcy says
Hi, I’m just wondering, did you measure your flour using the spooning method or dipping?
And is the dough more battery then dough?
Nicole Hunn says
I always measure by weight, not volume, Marcy. Please read the text of the post and watch the how-to video for full information on what to expect.
Sarah says
Have you tried this recipe with the new Better Batter Artisan blend yet? It’s gum free (as I assume you know since you use this brand of flour!), so I was wondering if I still add gum in as this recipe says to do, or if I can omit and follow the rest of the recipe.
Thanks!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid I can’t recommend using that blend in any of my recipes yet, Sarah. I have it, but I haven’t used it at all.
Carissa says
I’ve made this dairy-free. I’ve made it with a chia ‘egg.’ It always comes out delicious! Best recipe
Nicole Hunn says
Thank you for sharing that the “chia egg” works well for you, Carissa. That’s really useful. And of course I’m so glad you love this recipe. I do, too!
Laura says
I read your substitution list but I just wanted to check if I could use modified tapioca starch, like expandex?
Nicole Hunn says
Expandex is very different than regular tapioca starch/flour, Laura. You can’t use it in this recipe, no.
Nancy A Paine says
Wow, mine was a failure! I made it exactly as written, same flour, room temp egg, took the temperature of my milk, and no rise, and I baked it anyway, after an hour. The taste was also not good. I tested my yeast afterwards, with warm water and sugar, to make sure it was good, i was SURE that was the issue, but nope- yeast was fine. I was really hoping to read ALL of the comments, to see if it didn’t work for others, but oddly, can’t find them all. Where did all the comments go? I sure would love for this to work, and wonder what other found. I am a very experienced baker, with regular and many gluten-free flours, too.
Nicole Hunn says
Nancy, there are nearly 150 comments on this post, and they are almost entirely very positive. There are so many comments that they are broken up into multiple pages, so you have to click to see the rest. I’m not hiding comments from anyone. In fact, I’d be happy for you to read them. I understand that you’re disappointed that the recipe didn’t work for you, but it’s hard to help when I’m not there with you and universal statements about having done everything “exactly as written” are often overbroad. Very often there are issues that seem insignificant to you that are actually quite significant.
Here are my usual questions for yeast bread:
Did you measure by weight, not volume (volume is simply not accurate)?
Did you use one of my recommended flour blends, including the tapioca flour that this recipe calls for?
Did you make ingredient substitutions?
An hour sounds like it was not enough rising time. I discuss rising time quite extensively in the post under the title “It will rise.” Yeast bread requires patience, and an hour is often not long enough, depending upon the environment in your kitchen.
Did you bake at the proper temperature? Most ovens aren’t properly calibrated, so you really need a simple analog standalone oven thermometer.
Kati says
This was my first attempt at any kind of gluten free bread and my world is forever changed. I added rosemary and garlic (dried, even though I’m sure fresh garlic would have been far better than powder. I was afraid of messing with the moisture content). My husband has been stuck admiring restaurant bread baskets from afar, but this loaf is ideal for dipping in olive oil and balsamic. The crust is divine! Between the two of us, I anticipate the entire loaf will be gone before the end of the day. Thank you thank you thank you!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m getting a little choked up reading your comment, Kati. I know that longing, and I know what it’s like when it gets satisfied. I’m so happy for both of you. Thank you for sharing.
Keri says
Hi Nicole
Do you think I can add lactose free cheese to this recipe to make it a cheese bread? Your artisanal cheese bread has too much dairy in it for my body to digest. I really miss cheese bread.
Keri Stilling says
Hi Nicole
What would happen if I were to add some lactose free cheese to this recipe? There is too much diary in.your artisanal cheese bread recipe for me to handle. Do you think it would still work? Really missing cheese bread!
Nicole Hunn says
I think lactose-free cheese would be fine, Keri, but I’m afraid I don’t know for sure since I haven’t baked with that. You could also use the plain artisan bread recipe (linked in this post) and just make a grilled cheese with your lactose-free cheese if you’re concerned about the recipe turning out.
Lori says
I don’t have tapioca flour – can I sub almond or coconut flour for it?
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid not, Lori. Please see the Ingredients and substitutions section of the post for your answer.
Rose says
Nicole, this is an outstanding Gluten Free Artisan Bread Recipe and one of the easiest I’ve found. Thank you for sharing this with us. The taste was wonderful too. Ran out of tapioca starch today, so I became a little creative and crossed my fingers. I put in 1/8 cup of corn meal and 1/8 of corn starch in place of the tapioca starch. Felt like a mad scientist and wasn’t sure they would work. I understand some people stay away from corn items, but I have to say it was pretty tasty! The only thing I noticed was the crust was a little crispier.
You have a new fan. Glad I found this recipe!
Lorraine says
I have a grain grinder….if i grind my white or brown rice flour that has been purchased from a store…will that yield a super fine flour ? i cannot purchase superfine white or brown flour at a market locally.
Nicole Hunn says
Please see my post on homemade superfine white rice flour, Lorraine.