Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

This is the softest, fluffiest gluten free sandwich bread you’ll ever make – and it stays soft for days. It has a gorgeous pillowy-soft, tender crumb and a crisp crust, making it ideal for sandwiches (and it also toasts beautifully). It’s super easy to make: the dough comes together quickly and easily with the help of a stand mixer and there’s minimal shaping required. And even non-gluten-free folks will absolutely love it – it’s THAT good.

It also toasts beautifully (both in a toaster and on the stovetop with a bit of butter). That can sometimes be a problem with gluten free bread, but if you pop a slice of this sandwich bread in a toaster, it’ll come out beautifully browned and crisp on the surface, with a plush, fluffy interior. And, of course, it makes the best sandwiches.

Here’s a quick overview of what makes this recipe work:

• A very soft and sticky dough is essential – so don’t be tempted to add more flour to it.
• Scoring the loaf *before* proofing allows it to expand evenly and without tearing in random places, resulting in a gorgeous smooth crust.
• Baking the sandwich bread on the bottom oven rack on a preheated baking steel ensures an even bake and prevents a dense line on the bottom of the loaf. If you don’t have a baking steel, a baking stone or a heavy-duty baking sheet will work too.
• It’s VERY important that your bread comes out of the oven with crisp sides and bottom – that prevents it from essentially “caving in” on itself during cooling. If your bread isn’t crisp all over when you take it out of the loaf pan, you can place it onto a baking sheet and return it to the oven for 5-10 minutes. This will further crisp up the crust and ensure that your bread holds its shape.

How to make this easy gluten free sandwich bread

This gluten free sandwich bread is incredibly easy to make. You’ll start by making the psyllium gel, and then you need to add the milk, oil and eggs to it, followed by the dry ingredients. Then, you just need to knead everything together into a smooth dough with no flour clumps.

The dough will be very soft and sticky, so I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment to prepare it. While you can make it by hand, it will be quite messy – that’s why I prefer the convenience of using the stand mixer.

The soft, sticky dough is *essential* for getting that gorgeous fluffy, tender texture of the sandwich bread, so don’t be tempted to add more flour!!

Shaping the sandwich bread

Because the dough is very soft and sticky, it’s important that you work on a generously floured surface and with floured hands.

When it comes to shaping sandwich bread loaves, there are usually two options to choose from:

1. You can roll out the dough into a square or rectangle and then roll it up into a log.
2. Form the dough into a ball and then shape that into a log.

We’ll use option number 2 here. That’s because option 1 tends to create quite a lot of tension in the top surface of the loaf and that can be a problem with gluten free brioche bread, resulting in the formation of rather unsightly tears and cracks during proofing.

So, to shape this gluten free sandwich bread, you first need to form the dough into a smooth ball. Then, use the palms of your hands to gently press the dough into a log shape that fits snugly into the loaf pan.

Finally, transfer the bread into the loaf pan. (You don’t need to grease or butter the loaf pan.)

Scoring & proofing

While you’d typically score bread *after* proofing (just before it goes into the oven), here you’ll score it *before* proofing.

When you proof gluten free brioche in a loaf pan, it has a tendency to form irregular (and rather unsightly) tears and cracks on its top surface. Scoring the loaf before proofing, however, allows it to expand smoothly and with no additional tearing, resulting in a smooth top crust and a much nicer appearance.

The dough will easily double in size during proofing and it’ll rise well above the rim of the loaf pan. That’s how it should be – and it’ll give you that typical sandwich bread shape. Just before it goes into the oven, lightly brush the top crust with some egg white.

Baking gluten free sandwich bread

You need to bake this sandwich bread on the lowest oven rack directly on top of a preheated baking steel. This ensures that the bottom of the loaf bakes through and it prevents the formation of a dense line you can sometimes see on the bottom of gluten free bread loaves. If you don’t have a baking steel, you can use a baking stone or a heavy-duty baking sheet.

Bake at 400ºF/200ºC for about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until the bread is deep golden brown on top, the bottom and side crust is crisp, and the bread weighs about 960-970g (this shows that it’s lost enough moisture during baking). If the top of your loaf starts browning too much, you can cover it with a sheet of aluminium foil (shiny side up) and continue baking until done.

As an optional extra step, you can remove the sandwich bread from the loaf pan, place it onto a baking sheet and return it to the oven for an extra 5-10 minutes. This will crisp up the crust even further.

Do this optional extra step if: (a) the crust of your bread doesn’t feel very crisp when you remove it from the pan, or (b) if you like an EXTRA crispy crust on your bread.

It’s VERY important that the sides and bottom of the loaf are very crisp when you take the bread out of the oven: that gives the loaf enough structure so it’ll keep its shape. Because it’s so soft and fluffy on the inside, if the crust isn’t sturdy enough the bread will essentially “cave in” on itself during cooling. The crisp crust prevents that – but don’t worry, it’ll soften on cooling just enough so it’s perfectly delicious.

What makes this recipe work?

• Using a mix of psyllium husk and xanthan gum gives you a gluten free dough that has enough flexibility and extensibility so that it can expand (first during proofing and then during baking), while also having the perfect soft, plush texture typical of a good brioche. You can read more about the role of psyllium husk in gluten free baking here, and I’ve also written a detailed blog post all about xanthan gum here!
• Baking powder is a somewhat unusual ingredient in a bread dough. It basically gives the yeast a helping hand and it ensures that the sandwich bread will be extra soft and fluffy, and therefore closer in texture to its “regular” counterpart made with wheat flour. I like to use baking powder in all my gluten free enriched bread recipes, such as cinnamon rolls, burger buns, doughnuts, challah and babka.
• The eggs are responsible for the rich flavour of this sandwich bread, and they also help to achieve the perfect brioche texture.
• Using oil instead of butter will give you a lighter crumb and sandwich bread that stays softer for longer.
• A custom blend of gluten free flours will give you the best possible crumb – I don’t recommend using a shop-bought gluten free flour blend (that is, don’t use a 1-to-1 gluten free flour), as I can’t guarantee what the outcome will be like.
• The dough will be VERY soft and sticky – that’s how it should be, and it’s actually the key to super soft and fluffy gluten free sandwich bread! Initially, it might even look like a very thick batter, but don’t be tempted to add more flour to it: that would make your sandwich bread too dry and dense. You’ll be handling the dough on a generously floured surface and with floured hands, which will make it much easier to shape. (You can also chill the dough in the fridge for about 1 hour before shaping, that’ll make it easier to handle.)
• Scoring the bread before proofing ensures that it rises evenly without any tearing or cracking, and it’ll give you a smooth top crust.
• Baking on a baking steel prevents the formation of a dense line on the bottom of your loaf (which can be a common issue with gluten free bread baked in a loaf pan).
• A relatively long baking time ensures that the bread is thoroughly baked through and that it develops a crisp crust all over (including on the sides), which is essential for the bread maintaining its shape.

Possible substitutions

Although all the ingredients in the recipe should be easily accessible either in your local grocery store or online, I still wanted to include a list of substitutions you can make. (NOTE: all substitutions should be made by weight and not by volume.)

• Instant yeast: You can use active dry yeast instead, in which case you’ll have to activate it first. Mix it together with the milk and a tablespoon of the sugar listed in the recipe, and allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes or until it starts frothing and bubbling. Then, add it to the dry ingredients along with the rest of the wet ingredients.
• Psyllium husk: YOU CAN’T SUBSTITUTE IT WITH A DIFFERENT INGREDIENT. But if you use psyllium husk powder as opposed to the whole psyllium husk, use only 85% of the weight listed in the recipe.
• Tapioca starch: You can use an equal weight of cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK), potato starch or arrowroot starch instead.
• Millet flour: You can use an equal weight of finely ground/milled brown rice flour instead.
• Sorghum flour: You can use an equal weight of white teff flour, light buckwheat flour or oat flour instead (the latter only if you’re not sensitive to oats).
• Sunflower oil: You can use an equal weight of vegetable, canola/rapeseed or your favourite baking oil instead. I haven’t tested this with coconut oil, so I can’t guarantee how well it will work.

Easy Gluten Free Sandwich Bread