No-Fail Gluten Free Bread for Beginners!

If you are new to gluten-free cooking, the first thing you need is a good gluten free bread recipe.  I had several recipe fails when I first started cooking, and I got quickly frustrated.  This recipe for Millet Oatmeal Gluten Free Bread saved me!  It turns out every time, so I call it my no-fail gluten-free bread!  (I've tried several successful recipes since this one, but this is still my kiddo's favorite and tastes most like regular bread.)

The trickiest thing about gluten-free baking is learning the correct texture of the dough, tricks to make it raise, and cooking time.  I'll teach you my methods and tricks to get the best bread possible.

Be sure you read all the way to the end of the post to find out my secrets for getting a good bread shape, saving money on gluten-free flours, and making quick gluten-free bread.

RELATED: Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes (Gluten free)

No-Fail Millet Oatmeal Gluten Free Bread Recipe

This recipe comes from GutenFreeMommy.com, but the method is my own.  Her blog has disappeared, so I sure am glad I saved this recipe!

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice flour (I grind my own)
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• ½ cup gluten-free oat flour (I grind my own)
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• ¾ cup millet flour
• ⅓ cup sweet rice flour (I grind my own from Calrose Rice)
• ¼ cup flax seed meal (Optional--Adds fiber, but not flavor)
• 1 Tablespoon xanthan gum
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar

Wet Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 packet active dry yeast+ 1 tsp granulated sugar for proofing yeast (1 pkg = 2 ¼ tsp)
• 1 Tablespoon molasses
• 4 Tablespoons butter or butter substitute, melted
• ¼ cup plus 1-1 ½ cup very warm water

Directions:

This method was perfected by my mom--the best experimental gluten-free cook I know!

1. Turn the oven on to 200°. When it reaches that temperature, TURN IT OFF.  (Many gluten-free flours store best in the fridge or freezer.  If your dry ingredients are already at room temperature, you can skip steps 1 and 6.)
2. Grease or spray bread pan.

Bread is best when ingredients are at room temperature.  So, either take all of the ingredients out of the fridge well in advance, or warm up the cold ingredients by doing the following:

3. Carefully place three eggs (still in the shell) in a bowl of very warm water while you assemble the other ingredients
4. Proof yeast by combining the yeast, 1 tsp. white sugar, and ¼ cup water.  (I use a tall glass.) Let the yeast sit for about 10 minutes while you do the next steps. (If the yeast is not foamy after 10 minutes, start over with new yeast.  Don't be afraid to use very warm water--up to 120°.)
5. Melt 4 T butter in the microwave, and place it back in the fridge to cool.
6. Place the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to mix.   (When measuring dry ingredients, scoop flour into the measuring cup with a spoon.  Level off the top with a knife.  Do not pack down the flour.)  Place mixing bowl in the warm oven for a few minutes while you do the next steps.

Prepare wet ingredients

7. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the vinegar, molasses, and butter.  Whisk again.  (Tip-before measuring the molasses, dip your measuring spoon into the melted butter.  The molasses will easily pour off the spoon without you needing to scrape it off.)
8. Carefully remove the dry ingredients from the oven.  Just a reminder--the mixing bowl will be hot!  Use hot pads or oven mitts!  (Learned that one the hard way!)
9. Add egg mixture, proofed yeast, and 1 cup of warm water to the dry ingredients.  Beat with the flat paddle of mixer.  Dough should be very thick, but it may be necessary to add up to an additional ¼ cup of water.  Beat on high for 5-15 minutes.  (I usually do 8 minutes.)  The dough will not be stretchy like regular bread dough.  It is more like really thick cake batter.

10. Pour dough into prepared 10-inch bread pan.  Use a wet spatula to smooth the dough and push it into all the corners of the pan.  This dough will not settle as it rises and bakes, nor will it "shake down" if you jiggle the pan from side to side.  You need to get it completely smoothed and spread out with the spatula.  You may need to re-wet the spatula a few times to keep the dough from sticking.

11. Place dough in the still-warm oven to rise.  The original recipe says this step should take 50-75 minutes.  Since I've been using the method I'm sharing with you, my bread has often risen in only 20 minutes.  Be sure to check it!  Experiment as to how high you want the bread to rise before cooking.  I use a special bread pan (I'll link it at the bottom of the post), and I only let my dough rise until it is about an inch from the top of the pan.  Remove the bread from the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°.  (By the time my oven is ready, my bread has usually risen to the top or above the top of the pan.)
12. Replace the bread in the oven on the center rack to bake.
13. Bake for 40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 206°.  (If your bread is not at the correct temperature after 40 minutes, return it to the oven and check it every 5 minutes.  Once you get this recipe down, your bread should consistently finish baking after the same amount of time.  Unless I alter the recipe, mine always takes 40 minutes.  My mom's takes longer.  It will depend on your oven and how much water you added in step 9.

Remove bread from the pan and allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Store sliced bread in the fridge or freezer.  (I slice mine, and save a few slices in the fridge.  The rest, I separate with pieces of waxed paper between the slices, and put them in a freezer bag in the freezer. Then I defrost the slices in the microwave or toaster to serve.)

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

The Secret to My Special Bread Shape

If you've baked gluten-free bread before, you are probably wondering how I get my slices to look like real sandwich bread instead of the short squatty pieces you get from a regular bread pan.  The secret is my bread pan.  I absolutely love it!  Gluten-free bread does not raise as high as regular bread.  Consequentially, when you use a standard bread pan, your slices are wide and short.  To solve that problem, I use the Pulman Loaf Pan.

This type of pan is usually used with the lid (also called a Pan de Mie pan) to create square bread.  For gluten-free bread, remove the lid.  Because the pan is narrower than a regular bread pan, the bread expands upward, creating a more normal-shaped piece of bread.

How I Keep the Cost of Gluten-Free Bread Low

RELATED: How to Make Your Own Almond Meal

I have one more secret to my gluten-free bread.  I keep the cost down by grinding many of my own flours.  I use my blendtec blender (linked above), which is a gluten-free cook's best friend!  Gluten-free flours are pricey.  I grind my own bean flour, brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, and white rice flour.  I also grind my own almond meal.  That greatly reduces the price for my baking, and I highly recommend it!  Plus, I know that my flours are fresh--maintaining a high nutrition content.

The Secret to Quick Gluten Free Bread

My final bread-baking secret.  When you think about mixing all the different flours for this bread, it probably sounds like it will take forever -- and it will, the first time.  My secret is that I never assemble this bread totally from scratch.  I spend a half hour once a month or so and make bread mixes.  I combine all the dry ingredients into one ziplock bag per batch (or sometimes I make double batches).  I store the bread mixes in the freezer.

When it's time to make bread, I pull out a mix, dump it into my mixing bowl, and put it in the warm oven to warm up. (Step 6 becomes my step 1.)  From there, all I have to do is assemble the wet ingredients, and I'm ready to go!  Easy peasy.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Good luck on your gluten-free journey!  You might be interested in some of my other gluten free recipes.  Images below are linked.