Store bought gluten free bread is often dry and crumbly, not to mention small. Can we not get a nice, sliceable loaf of bread like our gluten-eating peers? Something that's got a balanced moisture content that isn't cakey? Yes, yes we can. Let's make it ourselves.

This bread uses a no-knead technique, a single fermentation step, and a seed soaker to achieve a perfect crumb. The seeds help distribute the dough evenly, and they produce a gel that helps hold the dough together. I strongly recommend a tall loaf pan for this style of bread. It goes a long way towards a shapely loaf. Since this has a relatively high moisture content, and we can't build tension over the top with gluten, we need all the vertical support we can get.

We'll use active dry yeast instead of sourdough starter to keep things simple. Just mix, proof, bake, and enjoy! 

Strongly Recommended

Food scale

Tall Loaf Pan 9 x 4 x 4 for gluten free sandwich breads

Thermometer

Wire cooling rack (whatever you have to give air flow to the bread will work, such as chopsticks on a pan or bowl)

Nice to have

Bread Proofer

Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls

Smiley Silicone Spatula

Electric Kettle

2-Cup Angled Measuring Cup

Pop Top Containers

Silicone Brush

Oil Bottle Dispenser

Ball Regular Mouth 8-oz Jars

Ball Regular Mouth Lids

Seed soaker

1. The night before, prepare a seed soaker. Mix Pumpkin Seeds, Flax Seeds, Amaranth Seeds, and Chia seeds with 150g water. If you did not prepare this overnight, you can use hot water to speed up the process, although I find that this can sometimes produce bitter flavors from the seeds so it is not preferred.

Proof yeast

1. This is optional if you are confident in the liveliness of your yeast. Mix 312g of warm water (up to 104°F) with instant yeast and maple syrup. Set aside.

Mix Ingredients

1. Mix Sorghum Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Xanthan Gum, Tapioca Flour/Starch, Kosher Salt with a fork or whisk to distribute evenly.
2. Whisk eggs into Proofed yeast mixture. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Work quickly to stir with a fork, then spatula until the dough comes together. It should still be liquid-y and loose at this point in time.
3. When dough is evenly distributed and fully hydrated, fold in the seed soaker. The gel from the seed soaker will help the dough come together, so that the edges can be pulled cleanly away from the bowl, and a very soft and gel-like ball forms.

Fermentation

1. Lightly oil a 9 x 4 x 4 Tall Loaf Pan
2. Slide your dough into the pan. It should not pour like a batter, it should roll in like a soft, ploppy ball. See video for reference if confused about texture.
3. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until the dough almost reaches the top of the pan. Do not let it rise past the top of the pan, because it will expand even more when you bake.

Bake

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F
2. Remove damp cloth from loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes or until 195°F inside. Optionally, you can add some water to a sheet pan inside the oven to incorporate steam, or you can place a sheet tray or pan upside down over the loaf to get a perfectly flat top.
3. Once the bread is cooked through, remove the bread from the oven, take it out of the loaf pan, and place on top of a wire rack. If your bread is cooked through all the way, it should release cleanly. If you need some assistance, you can use a butter knife or offset spatula to release the edges.
4. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

Store

• Slice before freezing
• You can refrigerate the bread inside a tea towel. You do not need to use plastic. There is no need to worry about it drying out.
• Best served toasted!