Gluten Free Artisan Bread
Sweet ‘n’ Salty Nuts
June 19, 2011
Thermomix Gravy
June 27, 2011
Gluten Free Artisan Bread
Bread is a bit of a sore point with a lot of people who can’t have gluten. Gluten is the protein in bread that makes the dough all stretchy and elastic. It gives bread that lovely, light, slightly chewy texture. It makes the bread soft and pliable, so you can fold a piece of bread in half and it doesn’t break and crumble. (Didn’t you love eating folded-over sandwiches as a kid? I did.) But it’s also the thing that causes bloating and discomfort in a lot of people, and does such terrible things to coeliacs!
When my son and I had to go totally gluten free for three months, the most difficult thing for us was not having bread. I mean, we could have gluten free bread, but have you ever tried the gluten free bread from the shop? Yeah, not so exciting. And it’s expensive. And it’s totally useless for sandwiches or for wrapping around a sausage.
I did end up making my own gluten free bread with Cyndi O’Meara’s recipe (originally from the Changing Habits Changing Lives cookbook), which is much nicer than the shop bought bread, and cheaper, and you can grind up the grains in your Thermomix. I still had to force my son to eat it though – he wanted his spelt bread back.
Then recently I bought the cookbook ‘Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day’ and the first recipe I tried was the gluten free artisan bread. Wow. It turned out better than any gluten free bread I’d tasted before. I mean, look at this – it even bends without breaking!!
You can wrap it around a sausage, or make sandwiches with it, and it won’t disintegrate into crumbs! And believe it or not, this photo was taken when the bread was a day old!!! (Sorry about all the exclamation marks, but I just can’t help being excited about this bread!)
When my first loaf came out of the oven, it suddenly seemed like half the neighbourhood were in my kitchen, all wanting a slice of bread… Even when I told them it was gluten free it didn’t scare them off – they loved it! (So, yeah, that first loaf didn’t last long.)
The crust on this bread is thick and crusty and chewy, which I love, and the flavour is slightly sourdough-ish, which I also love, and it turns out looking very rustic, which I love as well… So as you can see, I’m pretty pleased with this bread! (Those of you who are followers of my Quirky Cooking Facebook Page are probably tired of hearing about this bread, but I thought I should share it with the non-facebookers out there.)
The addition of sorghum flour gives it a better texture, and bit of fibre. If you like, you could add more texture with the addition of some seeds – linseeds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds – they’d all be great in this bread.
So here’s the original recipe for this bread: Recipe for Gluten Free Crusty Boule (I’ve just re-written it to make it more ‘Thermomix friendly’.) Before you start, it would be best to watch the video clip by Zoe, one of the authors of the book – it’ll give you a better idea of the method than just reading the recipe.
This recipe makes four 500g loaves – the dough stays in the fridge and you just bake a loaf when you need it. So easy!
- 300g brown rice (or use brown rice flour)
- 220g sorghum flour (find in health food shops or Indian/Asian grocery stores - also called 'Jowar Atta' flour)
- 380g tapioca starch (tapioca flour)
- 2 Tablespoons instant yeast
- 1 Tablespoon fine sea salt/Himalayan salt (adjust to taste)
- 2 Tablespoons xanthan gum
- 4 large eggs
- 670g lukewarm water
- 65g neutral flavoured oil (eg. macadamia, grapeseed, sunflower, light olive)
- 30g honey
- Grind up brown rice in the Thermomix in two batches on speed 9 for a minute per batch.
- Add the dry ingredients (with all the rice flour) and mix in on speed 5 until well combined. Tip flour mixture into a large mixing bowl.
- Weigh liquid ingredients into Thermomix and mix on speed 4 until combined.
- Pour liquid into the bowl with the flour mixture and mix together with a wooden spoon until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated. There is no need to knead! Dough will be like a wet, sticky, scone dough, not like a regular bread dough.
- Cover (but not airtight) and allow dough to rest at room temperature until it rises, approximately 2 hours or so. You can use it immediately after this initial rise, but the flavour is nicer if you refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container overnight first. You can use the dough over the next 7 days, although bear in mind, the flavour gets stronger each day.
- When you're ready to cook it, wet your hands, and take out a grapefruit-sized piece of the refrigerated dough. Quickly shape it into a ball, gently pressing into shape, and smoothing with a little water if you don't want it rough and rustic.
- Allow the dough to rest, loosely covered in plastic wrap, on a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal, or on baking paper on a cookie sheet if you don't have a pizza peel. It will need to rest for about an hour and a half, or even 2 hours. (If it hasn't been refrigerated and you're using it straight away, it will only need about 40 minutes to rest.) It will rise a little in this time, but it won't double like regular bread dough does.
- Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 230 degrees C (450 degrees F), with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. (If you don't have a baking stone, a cast-iron pan or heavy pizza tray will do.) Place an empty grill tray or baking pan on the rack underneath.
- When the loaf is ready to bake, slash the top with 1/4-inch-deep parrallel cuts, using a very sharp knife, or a serrated bread knife. This isn't just for looks - it seems to bake better inside if you do this.
- Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone or pan. (If using baking paper, leave it under the bread). Quickly pour a cup of hot tap water into the hot grill tray or baking pan and immediately shut the oven door. Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes, until lightly browned and firm. If you used baking paper, carefully remove it two-thirds of the way through the baking time and bake the loaf directly on the hot stone, cast-iron pan, or oven rack.
- Allow bread to cool on a rack before slicing.
Note: Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time. If you like, you can make two loaves at a time, as they’re small enough to sit side by side in the oven.
110 Comments
Hi Jo! Our son is egg white free, wondered if you think we could make this with egg yolks plus egg replacer as the egg white? Am think I’ll give it a shot but thought I’d check first incase you have any insight for me! x
Hi Jo,
THis comment is for people who found the dough too sticky. I have made it with two different types of tapioca starch. The Organic Tapioca Flour from the health food shop worked perfectly according to the recipe. When I used the Erawan Brand, from the local Asian grocery however, my dough was a batter. I had to reduce the liquid to about 500g to make it work.
Hi Jo
Thanks for this recipe, I look forward to the day that I can try it with real sorghum.
In the meantime, I have tried a few substitutes such as chia, quinoa and today I have tried Basmati rice (it’s on its second rise as I write this).
So far, the flavours have been excellent for pizza bases and savory toppings such as ricotta, tomato and onion or tomato, avocado and aoli, but a bit disappointing for straight butter and honey, and not quite as cost effective as sorghum would be either.
As I was making up my dough last night I realised I had been milling wrong- the grains have been a bit course. I noticed the rice was meant to be milled in 2 lots. So batch 4 will benefit from this wisdom.
I like that the dough is fairly formed the bread mix I was using before was delicious but came out like cake batter. I also just love being able to do the whole thing from scratch.
Hi Jo
Same picture, same person… not sure why it had the weird Nic, hopefully it’s fixed now…
I successfully swapped the Jasmine rice, Chicpea flour, cornmeal and basmati for sorghum.
Its fantastic, we have had so much fun experimenting with this bread. My BF thinks it just gets better and better.
Thanks so much
Thank you all for your information we went to Lola’s wheat world last night and ordered some sorghum. Does anyone one know is the red or white is better? We got some of both.
Hi Jo
I tried making a yeast free, honey free version this week for my friend and she loved it. I did a quarter batch and made it into 2 small loves. I had in mind that I would try one, test it on my BF and his work mate and if it passed give the other to my friend.
Yum, we ate the one that cracked on the top and it was like damper. I used baking pdr as a raising agent and brown sugar instead of honey.
It was not quite as stable as the yeast bread, but my friend who didn’t know what she was missing loved it. I also froze some and defrosted it today it did not need toasting. Yea!
Hi Jo,
I made this bread after watching the video and following the recipe to the T. I used a pizza stone and steam and the dough mix looked fine, just like the video but it didn’t rise and was very doughy when cooked. I tried increasing the time and tried increasing the temp but it made no difference. Any suggestions?
I too am very grateful for your recipes. My boys are gluten, dairy, corn and soya free. My ASD boy is going off foods so its great to be able to offer something else and have him eat it!
Many thanks
Liss
Hi Jo, just bought a 5 kg bag of Sorghum from Kialla on pre-order via a great local store in Sydney and was so excited to get baking however on reading the label it says processed in the same factory as gluten containing products so no good for us as coeliacs 🙁 just thought others should be aware although this wouldn’t be such an issue for GF non-coeliacs. Lola’s website says their flour is tested for gluten and non-detected however there are postage costs of around $15 to add on as well. I will find an alternative as so keen to make this bread!!
Hi Jo, Just wanted to let you know that I purchased some white sorghum flour (Bob’s Red Mill) via the Organics on a Budget website recently 🙂
Hey Jo. I was wondering if you can freeze this dough. Or would it be better to use the dough and bake it the freeze?
Wow this is a seriously great bread. I ordered all my ingredients from Woolies online. I baked three loaves in an afternoon, which were quickly devoured that same night – and only one of us is gluten intolerant. The rest of us HATE gluten free bread – but no one noticed this was gluten free!
Hi Jo,
Can I replace the rice for quinoa or millet or barley? I react badly to rice.
Thx Mirella
Just did a lazy go at this bread (didn’t have time for the refrigerating and resting for multiple days) and am pretty happy with the results. Next time I’ll try and do the whole thing to get the fuller flavour.
Hi Jo, this bread looks great and I will try it, but after looking at the video I’m wondering if you could make the loaves larger than the one in the video and how long you would need cook them for?
Thanks Nanette
Hi there, thanks for the recipe! How many days would the mix be good for in the fridge? Can you freeze it raw too if it’s reaching max fridge time? Would it then need extra rise time? Thanks!
Hi,
Is there any way to make this bread without a thermomix? I don’t have one but do have a little boy who needs to go off gluten, dairy and sugar for the next little while. Thanks.
Hi Awakened Heart
My friend did not have a Thermomix and he made this bread with flour he sourced from the health food store.
I have also made it with a Kogan and it works too (If a Tmix is out of your budget atm, a Kogan could suit you).
Hi Jo….. im making this bread quite regularly now but im worrying about not soaking my rice before using it. Do you have any idea how I could still soak the flour after milling it to remove the phytic acid?
Hi Carlie, the long soaking time on the counter top and in the fridge helps with reducing the phytic acid. But if you’d like to soak longer, you can soak the rice whole, then dehydrate it, before milling it. 🙂
Thank you 🙂 is nice recipe
for more recipes Cooking: Gluten Free visited my blog http://1healtheating.blogspot.com/2014/03/gluten-free-how-to-make-chocolate-chip.html
Hi Jo, I have found all the dry ingredients at a shop called The Source Bulk Foods its in Prahran Vic but from there website it looks like they are opening stores nationally. Its a thermo heaven store every grain, flour, sugar possible all in big tubs to scoop out. They told me tapioca & arrowroot came into them as the same thing. Also I purchased the xanthan gum powder from across the road from there at Essential Ingredient.
Sounds good, Pam! I love ‘The Source Bulk Foods’! 🙂
Hi,
have been looking for a dairy,gluten,soy free bread and this looks lovely. Do you think it could be made in a bread tin for a less’rustic’loaf?
Thanks
Hi Fiona – Yes, this would be fine.
The whole batch of batter makes two loaves cooked in bread tins.
Enjoy! 🙂
Hi if I make this in a larger amount than the grapefruit size of dough will I need to lengthen the cooking time? Should I just make sure it is golden and firm as you say or should I purchase a thermometer. My hubby and I are really happy with the results so far from this recipe.
Hi Jo, I would like to thank you for this recipe as this is hands down the BEST GLUTEN FREE BREAD RECIPE EVER! I finally found the sorghum flour in an Asian shop (for those who live in Dublin, Ireland, i found it in Rathmines in a shop called Kwality foods). I didn’t find arrowroot flour (i used your recipe from the book) so replaced with potato flour and it was amazing! Great texture, great taste, just slightly drier than normal bread. Really pleased with it and i will be making it again and again!
Hi Jo, I really like the sound of this bread and the positive comments from those that have tried it. I will give it a try. I am experimenting with GF breads and presently have mainly made ones with almond flour or wholemeal spelt flour. I’m very fortunate not to have any intolerances but are looking for alternatives to wheat for my health overall. I note a lot of people seem to be wanting to source Sorghum flour – I have purchased from this family where you can order an organice version online http://kurrajongridge.com.au/ Regards, Ann, Western NSW
My family and I love this recipe and the funny thing is, for a long time I have been making it with 600g brown rice instead of 300! I had misinterpreted the 300g brown rice being whizzed down in “two batches” (obviously of 150g each) and thought that Jo meant two lots of 300g :-/ Yes I am male! Anyway, it gave us a lovely bread that was very dense and completely delicious – especially when toasted.
Tonight I have made the batch with the correct amount of brown rice flour and tomorrow will roll the dough out and bake the loaves. I am very excited to see how this turns out and will drop by again to let you know 🙂
Ha ha, that’s so funny!! How did you go?
Hi there,
i just made this bread and i can tell i has some major potential it tastes great!
I didn’t use a thermomix so i just mixed using a normal food processor, i followed all directions and baked for 40 mins however once i let it cool down and started to slice it up i realised the middle was still uncooked a little and doughy! i did put it back in the oven and its better.
Did i not cook it enough? or do you think didn’t mix it enough? how do i know when its done ?
kindly,
charlotte
Yes it just needed more time. Always cook until the outside (top and bottom) is very dark brown and very crusty and hard. It should sound hollow when you knock on it underneath. Also, did you use a pizza stone? If you don’t cook it on a pizza stone you won’t get a great result. It also needs the grill tray of steaming hot water when you first put the bread in, as the steam helps to cook it. I hope that helps! Jo x
Hi, I saw Nikki was going to try egg replacer for the eggs. Do you think it’d work? I need a soft bread without eggs for my son. Thanks Jackie
I don’t think it would. Try this recipe by my friend Leslie: http://meandmythermie.com/2013/08/13/glutendairysugaryeastegg-free-loaf/
I was so excited reading this post. I couldn’t wait to try this bread for myself. Can’t tell you how gutted I was when I got to the part that said you use sorghum. Many coeliacs (myself included) react to sorghum. SO disappointed as I would have loved to eat a decent GF bread. 🙁
You can replace the sorghum with millet 🙂 Do you have my cookbook? There’s a substitutions section in the front of the book that you’ll find helpful. It’s hard to put every variation for every diet into a recipe – it becomes too confusing. So use the subs section to change them around to suit.
Hi, I am going to try this without yeast and use Bi-carb and Apple cider instead, so I will let you know how it goes. I was also wanting to incorporate some green banana flour into the mix as well. What do you think would be best to replace in the recipe with GBF maybe some of the rice flour?
Thanks
Sorry I’m not sure – if you experiment and it works, let us know!
I want to try this recipe as i hear it is wonderful. Will it work without yeast as i cant tolerate. Any suggestions for a substitute? Thanks
Susan
You really need yeast for this one, sorry! Could you maybe try my grain free paleo bread recipes?
Hi Jo
Made this as I can’t stand the gluten free supermarket breads. It was truly delicious and came out perfectly. I made 5 loaves and kept a couple in an air tight container and sliced the others and put them in the freezer. Once thawed the bread was still delicious and the crust still kept some of its crunch. Great for toast also. Just making your buckwheat and quinoa and chia now. Thank you so much for these recipes.
I have just mixed this up and it like batter, I read a comment up the top that said different types of tapioca behave differently and to use less liquid ,but I have already added the 670g of water, can I save the mix or not?
Hi Jo, am keen to try this but i’m off Tapioca/arrowroot flour. Any ideas on substitutes. I just bought some Teff flour today, how do you think that might go? Thanks, Cindy
Hi Jo, I’ve made this bread quite a few times & just wanted to let you know that recently I made it using chia eggs. It worked really well! My husband works with a vegan lady & 2 coeliacs & he wanted to take a cob loaf for morning tea so this was the recipe I used.
Love Love love this bread. Thank you so much Jo. To date the best gluten-free bread I’ve ever tasted and love that it has a crust!
Is that meant to be 2 Tablespoons or 2 tsps…I just seem to have problems with a strong yeasty fermented taste whenever I use more than 2 tsps of instant yeast. Thanks
Hi there, I’m vegan and looking for a great gluten free bread. What could I replace the eggs with? Or will I just need to look elsewhere? Cheers, Fiona
Hi Jo,
I made this bread and it tastes delicious but ended up spreading out and being quite flat. Any ideas to make it stay in a ball so I can use it for sandwiches?
Hi Jo, really looking forward to trying this recipe. I was wondering if you had tried it in a loaf tin at all? I love the free form shape but thinking if I don’t have a pizza stone whether the metal from the tin would help the baking process.
Hi Jo,
can you cook it in a bread maker machine? Thanks
No sorry, there’s a really specific way of cooking this kind of bread – it will turn out like a brick if you use a bread maker as the heat isn’t high enough. x
I subbed out half the tapioca flour for chickpea flour (I ran out of the tapioca and decided to start my bread at 10pm)
Anyone tried it before?
Thanks x
How did it work out, Karen? 🙂
Made this today for the first time and it was awesome! And that was despite the fact I had to substitute rolled oats (which I milled) for the sorghum flour (didn’t have any) and not enough tapioca flour so added almond meal to make up the difference! I also used straight away rather than refrigerate. Looking forward to doing it “properly “.
PS: I’m not gluten intolerant, just trying to reduce intake so the rolled oats were fine 🙂
Woo hoo, good tweaking!! Well done, happy it worked well for you 🙂
Hi Jo. Can you please tell me which brand of yeast you use? Think I met you and your lovely boy at Pottsville a couple of years ago😊
Hi Sandra!! 🙂 I don’t tend to use yeast these days since being on GAPS. If I were to use yeast, I would use fresh. xx
Thanks Jo 🙏🏻 Where would I get that (organic etc). Anyway I finally found one on line from a health food shop ( bio real organic dry yeast made in Germany) and had it posted to me from Brisbane 😊. Love your recipes and tell everyone thank you 😍
I’m not sure, sorry! Glad you were able to locate some organic dry yeast. 🙂 xx
Hi all. Love this bread. I also can’t currently get hold sorghum flour where I live so tried cornflour instead (will try millet). But my dough didn’t rise too much (not really at all) and was quite a thick bread when baked. Could my substitute flour be the culprit, or does anyone have any tips for making sure the bread rises a bit if it needs a bit of encouragement?
Hi David! 🙂 Did the dough rise at all after the first rise (2 hours)? If the house is cold, finding a nice sunny/warm spot in the house can help the dough rise even better. xx