Picture the gluten free white sandwich bread you’ve been missing in your life, and know that the wait is over. It’s that simple. This soft and tender bread bends and squishes, and has a lovely bakery-style crust.
A history of gluten free bread
When I nailed the recipe for this gluten free bread way back in 2010, I knew lunch would never be the same again. In the very best way.
When the first edition of the very first Gluten Free on a Shoestring cookbook came out, I was downright terrified that someone would take it upon themselves to post this entire recipe online, without permission. The horror!
It was truly revolutionary when I first created it, even though now it seems like old school gf bread. And I felt super protective of this recipe that I’m sharing with you today, which is straight out of the second edition of my first cookbook.
Now, I won’t lie: when I first learned that my son had to be gluten free for life, I distinctly remember saying, “wait, so you’re telling me he can’t have a cupcake at a birthday party?” ? (Clearly, we’ve come a long way since then!)
Of course, it quickly became clear that bread ? was going to be the biggest day to day issue with going gluten free. Especially in our bread-obsessed culture, we all define ourselves by whether we eat bread, how much we eat of it, and what type of bread we eat.
A batter-style gluten free bread recipe
This batter-style bread doesn’t look or behave anything like conventional yeast bread when it’s raw or even when it’s baking. That didn’t matter to me at all when I first developed the recipe.
I still have such vivid memories of researching every possible additional ingredient I could add to this bread to help support the dough during its rise. I finally settled on apple cider vinegar and cream of tartar, plus egg whites, and of course xanthan gum (you simply can’t make gluten free bread that doesn’t fall apart without it).
Before that, I wasted a ton of expensive ingredients. But it was all worth it. Every failed recipe attempt eventually led to this bread recipe.
What is this bread dough like?
If you have any experience baking conventional yeast bread, this bread dough will seem completely unfamiliar to you. This batter-style gluten free yeast bread dough is more like a loose cookie dough than it is conventional bread dough.
You need a mixer paddle attachment to mix it, most definitely not dough hooks! The one drawback of this bread is that I’ve never made it with total success with a bowl and spoon. Mixing all of the ingredients until they’re truly smooth and fully incorporated is just really hard without a stand mixer.
It’s a bit fragile once it’s risen, so handle with care. If you’d like to add seeds to the bread, do it after the dough has risen. Just brush the top lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with seeds.
Baking the bread in a Pullman loaf pan
I had always wanted to try making it in a Pullman loaf pan. That was the only way to see if I could get those perfect, no-dome slices that are truly made for sandwiches.
Baking in a Pullman pan (which is that taller, narrow pan with a lid that slides on) also tends to make softer bread. The moisture in the bread is trapped inside the pan during baking, and the bread absorbs it as it bakes.
The photo below is a loaf baked in a 2 pound Pullman loaf pan. The photo above is the bread rising in a 1-pound Pullman loaf pan.
You can make a 1-pound Pullman loaf, or a 2-pound Pullman loaf. The baking time is nearly the same, as the pans are much longer but also considerably more narrow.
For the 1-pound Pullman pan
For the 1-pound pan, you don’t do anything different to prepare the bread dough. When it’s ready to rise, use the Pullman cover instead of plastic wrap, then bake for about 40 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and allow the top to brown.
For the 2-pound Pullman pan
For the 2-pound loaf pan, double the recipe and be sure to mix the ingredients with a bit of extra care. The instructions are the same as for the 1-pound pan for rising and baking.
Ingredients and Substitutions
As always, unless specifically indicated otherwise, I haven’t made this recipe with any substitutions. These are mostly just my best-educated guesses for how to accommodate other dietary restrictions. Proceed with caution when modifying any recipe!
Dairy
That one’s easy. Just replace the butter with Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and reduce the salt to 1 teaspoon. Use any nondairy milk you like, just be sure it’s not nonfat and is unsweetened. I really like unsweetened almond milk here.
Egg
That’s a little harder since the recipe calls for egg whites, not a whole egg. I’ve never tried this recipe with any substitutions to make it egg-free, but I’d recommend trying a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
More gluten free bread information
If you’re waiting for the right ingredients or just need a sandwich while the bread rises, I’ve reviewed 8 gluten free brands of bread that I really like. I’ve also compiled 10 secrets to baking gluten free bread.
I’m happy to share everything I know with you! If you’re ready for the next step, I’m there for you, too. When yo’re ready, join me in learning about baking with my gluten free bread flour blend.
Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread | Your First Loaf
Ingredients
3 cups (420 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter)
2 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
2 1/2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons (12 g) kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (12 fluid ounces) warm milk (about 95°F)
4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (plus more for brushing if using seeds)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 egg whites (50 g), at room temperature
Toasted sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
Grease or line a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan (or slightly smaller) and set it aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the flour, xanthan gum, yeast, cream of tartar and sugar. Whisk together with a separate, handheld whisk. Add the salt, and whisk again to combine. Add the milk, butter, vinegar and egg whites, mixing on low speed after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl as necessary during mixing. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and mix for about 3 minutes. The dough will be thick, smooth and quite wet.
Scrape the dough into the prepared loaf pan. Cover the dough with lightly oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 to 45 minutes or until it’s about 150% of its original size. It should be overflowing the top of the loaf pan by at least 1/2 inch when you retrieve it but it will not have doubled in volume. It may take longer to rise properly in colder, drier weather and less time in warmer, more humid weather. When the dough has nearly reached the end of its rise, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Remove the plastic wrap, and using a sharp knife or lame slash the top of the loaf about 1/4-inch deep. If using the optional seeds, brush the top of the risen bread gently with melted butter, and sprinkle with the seeds. Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches about 195°F on an instant-read thermometer. The outside will form a thick, brown crust. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. To freeze this bread, cool completely and then slice, wrap tightly, and freeze. Defrost as many slices at a time as you need in the toaster.
From the book Gluten-Free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap Second Edition, by Nicole Hunn. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc. Copyright © 2017.
Charlene Tseng says
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for sharing these wonderful gluten free recipes!
can we use the Mock Better Batter for this recipe? or does it have to be the original Better Batter?
Nicole Hunn says
Nope, Charlene. You can always use mock Better Batter anywhere you’d use Better Batter! Nice, right? ?
Lisa says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have been trying for a year to make gluten free yeast bread with out any luck. I made this and it turned out wonderfully. I do not have paddles on my mixer. I used regular beaters and it turned out great.
Nicole Hunn says
I’m really glad to hear that, Lisa. Thanks for letting us know how well it turned out.
youngbaker2002 says
Looks fantastic Nicole!!
Nicole Hunn says
Thanks, Mena!!
Bonnie says
Wow, I can’t wait to try this recipe! We don’t have Better Batter in the UK. Would you recommend a plain flour blend or a bread flour blend as being the better option? Thank you! I’ll definitely let you know the result…
Nicole Hunn says
Please follow the link in the recipe to my flour blend page. I have a recipe for mock Better Batter that will work in this recipe!
Myra S. says
Dear Nicole, thanks for your quick response; I thought I had accidentally deleted this comment, so I sent a duplicate comment after I finished baking and cooling the bread (which as you know by now is terrific!). That said, I will go with weights over volume going forward. I pre-ordered your book, so looking forward to baking many more items from your kitchen. Myra
Myra S. says
Hello! I made this for the first time today. FYI, I was checking on volume vs. weight (with weight winning), and when measuring out the kosher salt the 2 tsp weighed one half of the recipe (6 g vs. 12g in your recipe). I decided to err on the low side to avoid it being too salty. It came out terrific!!
Melissa says
I have a question for you. Your recipe says to bake at 375, but the video says 350 degrees. Just wondering which one you prefer? Thanks for all your hard work in creating these recipes!
Nicole Hunn says
Oh my gosh does it really? It’s definitely 375°F. Thank you so much for catching that. I’ll see if I can edit and re-upload. It’s 375°F, but I guess I’m so used to baking things at 350°F!!
Deb says
I’ve never attempted bread before so I’m excited to try this! I have a couple questions. Does it matter if you use whole vs. skim/lowfat milk? And salted vs. unsalted butter? Thanks so much!
Nicole Hunn says
Yes, you cannot use skim milk, Deb. I always use whole milk, as it has the absolute best flavor. And the recipe calls for unsalted butter, so please use that!
GAYLE says
what do you use instead of reg. stainless beaters in your mixer. I have a Kitchen Aid. It has a big coated whisk that might work.
Nicole Hunn says
You cannot use whisk attachments, Gayle, as I explain in the recipe. You must use a paddle attachment.
Myra S. says
Hello there! FYI, I’m trying your recipe today and noticed that your measurements from utensils to grams is a bit off. I measured 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to see how it measured in grams and only got 6 grams, you list 12 grams. Same thing for the sugar (the grams are almost double what my utensils measure out). The weight of the yeast compares to volume exactly. I usually trust weight over volume, but in the case of the salt I decided to go with the just the 6 grams as I don’t want it too salty, but my sugar is already in the mix with everything else (I weighed the gf flour mix) so I hope it’s not too sweet. I’ll see how it comes out, and will post later, but wanted you to know.
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Myra, there is no discrepancy as you describe. The point of using weight measurements instead of volume measurements is due to the lack of standardization in volume containers, and the inevitable human error that leads to discrepancies in volume measurements. Please measure by weight and ignore the volume measurements, as they are by nature approximate. And I really don’t recommend tinkering with this recipe, particularly an essential ingredient like salt, which serves multiple purposes.
Diana says
Hi Nicole,
I’ve made this recipe many times (using Better Batter) from your first book (I love all the GFOAS books btw) but have never used a Pullman loaf pan. I also want that wonderful square shape so perfect for my GF deli meats and cheeses. Do you cook the bread with the cover on or off? Also, the smaller pans are 9x4x4. Does that work for the 1-pound loaf? It’s just me so I don’t need two pounds of bread. I’ll already freeze half a pound of it anyway. Wanted the check before I bought one. Thanks in advance for the clarifications.
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Diana,
I’m afraid I don’t know if a Pullman pan as you describe would hold the same volume of bread dough as a standard 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan. You’d have to refer to the information provided by the manufacturer of the pan you are considering. I can only tell you my own experience. Sorry! Oh, and you definitely use it with the cover on! Otherwise, you won’t get the square top. :)
Carole says
I have an old Sunbeam electric mixer that doesn’t have paddle mixers, just regular metal one. Will they work with this recipe?
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid not, Carole!
Dorothy Boudreau says
I do not have a stand alone mixture, why can I not use dough hooks with my hand blender.
I am not able to mix by hand because of arthritis.
I have 2 of your books they are wonderful.
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid dough hooks just don’t work with these batter-style breads. Sorry, Dorothy!
Lisa says
I made it with regular beaters on my mixer and it turned out just fine. The consistency before baking wasn’t the same as the pictures showed, but it was great
Rachel says
I cannot remember if my gf flour has xanthum gum or not is it ok to still add it?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Rachel,
I’m afraid you really need to know if it has xanthan gum as an ingredient. If you just add it, you could easily be adding way too much!
Marie McCauley says
Will have to try this! Thanks for sharing.
Sophia says
It’s interesting you use egg whites and yeast as leavening agents, as well as that you incorporate the salt immediately with the yeast. Not only does salt retard yeast fermentation, but so does the low pH of the apple cider vinegar (although I understand the vin will result in more lift).
Do you feel the egg whites causes the crumb to be denser and drier? I found this out the hard way — seems counterintuitive but that’s my observation at least.
Anyway, as a millennial gluten free cook I totally admire your work.
Nicole Hunn says
I actually don’t incorporate salt with the yeast, Sophia. I whisk the yeast separately after the other dry ingredients have been incorporated, but I have actually made it by whisking everything together and it works just fine. The point of adding salt to yeast bread is, in fact, to both add flavor and to retard the yeast production. And the egg whites provide some more lift, and are also added in part for their drying properties since these batter-style gluten free yeast bread doughs require a near-excess of moisture, as traditional gluten free flour blends are hydrophilic. This recipe is as old as the sands of time (since 2010!) and I promise it definitely works exactly as written!
Karen says
Nicole, Is this a repeat of your first book or new recipes.
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Karen, as I describe in the post, this recipe is an original from the first book, but as with every recipe has been tweaked a bit and has a photo in the new edition.
Linda A Tanzini says
You said to double recipe for larger loaf, does that include the yeast, sorry if this is a lame question
Nicole Hunn says
It’s not a lame question, Linda! Yes, you double every ingredient. I generally don’t recommend doing that with these batter-style bread recipes unless you’re using a powerful stand mixer with a paddle attachment, though, since it’s doubly important that all the ingredients get mixed properly. But other than that, go for it!
Sandra L Barnes says
I cannot eat apples, among other food types, what may I use instead of Apple Cider Vinegar? Also, the secret to making a pie crust that won’t fall apart is, sour cream? Thank you.
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Sandra, You can try another vinegar if you like! And I have a recipe for extra flaky gluten free pie crust that uses sour cream, if you’re interested. Just use the search function here on the blog to find it.
Pearl says
Thanks! Have you tested this recipe with a bread machine?
Nicole Hunn says
I don’t use or recommend a bread machine, Pearl, as they vary significantly from brand to brand and make an odd-shaped loaf. Not to mention that this recipe is so simple that I’m not sure why you’d need one!
Margie Sweeney says
Have used your cook book many times since my purchase years ago and it has helped me make creative and delicious meals! Just have one quick question, when you use Better Batter, this recipe for example, are you adding the xanthan gum because the Better Batter I purchase has xanthan gum in it? Thank you!
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Margie, as the recipe states, if your blend already contains xanthan gum like Better Batter, then leave out that ingredient! So glad you’ve enjoyed the first edition of my book. :)
Dianna says
How do you think this will come out in a bread machine with a gluten-free setting?
Nicole Hunn says
I don’t use or recommend a bread machine, Dianna, as they vary significantly from brand to brand and make an odd-shaped loaf. Not to mention that this recipe is so simple that I’m not sure why you’d need one!
Robin says
I wonder if aquafaba (liquid from from a can of chickpeas) would be a good egg whites substitute.
Nicole Hunn says
I’ve wondered about that myself, Robin!
Chrissy says
I understand that it is a perfect substitute Robin. 2 TBLS aquafaba for 1 egg white.
Beth says
Is there any way to substitute the egg whites? I’m allergic to eggs. Thanks!
Nicole Hunn says
Please see the last section about substitutions, Beth!
Jeana says
Have you ever made this in a bread machine?
Nicole Hunn says
I don’t use or recommend a bread machine, Jeana, as they vary significantly from brand to brand and make an odd-shaped loaf. Not to mention that this recipe is so simple that I’m not sure why you’d need one!