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You can take most recipes for cake and make them as cupcakes. And vice versa. But there's something about a loaf shape, you know? If you're making a quickbread in a loaf pan, you're really best off using a recipe that was developed for the purpose.
If it's too wet, it will burn before it bakes all the way through. If it's too dry, well, it'll be … dry. But good news! This gluten free honey bread is made to be baked as a loaf. It's soft and tender, and lightly sweet. The perfect tea cake for an afternoon snack, if you ask me.
Another favorite quickbread of mine is this Gluten Free Cranberry Bread. Try that one, too, if you haven't already. Oh so good.
It might seem strange to drizzle it with honey. I mean, it's honey bread, right? But it's just so nice. If you can, use a lighter-colored honey. I used wildflower honey, but I don't know enough about honey to know if that's consistently lighter in color or if I just got lucky.
It bakes up nice and tall (note to egg-replacer readers: you might have a bit of a time with this one!), with the most gorgeous golden brown color.
And don't forget that extra drizzle. P.S. It's even better if you spread some warm butter on top and then drizzle the honey.
Honey has a tendency to burn, so you really want the proportions to be right in this bread. Measure by weight, not volume!
Substitutions: I have tested a few, but only the ones mentioned in the recipe below and no others. If I had to guess, as I mentioned above, it would be tough to replace the eggs in this recipe with a substitute. For dairy-free, try dairy-free yogurt. Can't have cornstarch? Try using arrowroot. I can't promise, though, as I can't test every possible permutation. But as always, feel free to experiment and let us know how it goes in the comments below!
Additions: If you're partial to a particular spice, try adding it and making a this a honey spice bread! If you want to add a mix-in, like some dried fruit, don't add too much or it will weigh down the bread.
Gluten Free Honey Bread
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or handheld mixer
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (245 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, (omit if your blend already contains it)
- ⅜ cup (54 g) cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled (you can also use vegetable shortening, melted and cooled, or unsalted butter at room temperature)
- ½ cup (168 g) honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature (any kind)
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease well a standard 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan and set it aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), place the flour blend, cornstarch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar, and whisk to combine well with a separate, handheld whisk.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the coconut oil. Mix on medium speed to combine with the paddle attachment (or your handheld mixer).
- Add the honey, vanilla, milk, yogurt and eggs, mixing to combine after each addition. The batter will be smooth and thickly pourable.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and shake it back and forth to smooth it into an even layer.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes.
- Cover the loaf loosely with aluminum foil, and continue to bake until the top of the loaf springs back when pressed lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with, at most, a few moist crumbs attached (about another 10 minutes, but begin to test after 5 minutes by pressing lightly on the top of the loaf).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice and serve with a bit of butter and a light drizzle of honey.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this twice – very good. I only need to bake it for about 40 – 43 minutes. At 35 minutes I cover it with foil.
I baked this last evening. I also left out the cornstarch because I didn’t have any. I used Better Batter GF flour. I buttered my pan and should have sprayed with Pam, I guess, because the sides and bottom were very dark and slightly burned. I just cut off those edges. This bread is absolutely delicious. Can’t tell it’s GF. Could I take this recipe and exchange chocolate sauce (not syrup) for the honey?Just curious.
Ok so I have not baked with coconut oil but have some in my cabinet. So are you saying measure out the 6 tbsp before melting or after melting?
This is one of the first things I’ve ever baked and I must be the worst baker of all time! I pulled this out of the oven and it was burnt on top and then when I took it out of the pan it was raw in the middle. I tasted the little bit around the perimeter that was cooked properly though and it tasted great! I’ve just got to up my baking skills. I appreciate you making these recipes available, I’m going to keep trying them until I get better.
Oh, my mouth is watering! I can almost feel my teeth sinking into this bread (slathered with butter, of course)! This is next on the list. Right now I have Hawaiian Roll dough rising in the frig. The batter smelled SO good that I seriously wanted to eat it right out of the bowl. (I resisted.) I made a loaf of the lean crusty white bread yesterday and the flavor is indescribably good. It tastes like REAL bread. Slightly tangy, bursting with complex flavors, and tastes nothing like the bland, starchy, GF breads of yore. Oh, it is so delicious – I must go have another slice now, toasted lightly and smeared thickly with grass-fed butter and raw honey. Mmm… It’s not “good for gluten-free.” It’s just plain GOOD!!!
My family and I LOVED this honey bread. I used Cup4Cup for the flour and the cornstarch since it is super starchy anyway. It turned out beautifully!! This bread was just the thing for a cold day! Thank you!!