The Best Gluten-free Sandwich Bread Recipe

Whenever I see that a recipe has been made vegan, I'm immediately suspect that it has been made to be flavorless.  This is not the case with vegan bread.  After all, a traditional french baguette is only water, flour, yeast, and salt.  Bread is supposed to be made vegan.  Once you get the gluten-free part down, the vegan part should be easy, right?

Well... it did take me several tries to get this.  For my baguettes and small round loaves I can get it to rise just fine without the eggs.  However, sandwich loaves have more volume and need a little something extra for the vertical lift I was looking for.  Fortunately, by the time I got done with it I'd crafted the best gluten-free sandwich bread I'd ever made.

To make it egg-free, this recipe calls for just a little bit of flax seed to give the dough some extra structure so it can rise well.  It also gives the bread great flexibility, so your sandwiches can stay together.  I ended up liking the flax better than the eggs.  Go figure.

I've been doing all my gluten-free sandwich loaves in a Pullman Pan.  It gives you a much taller loaf than a traditional pan.  It's 4x4x9 inches and often comes with a cover.

The Best Gluten-free Sandwich Bread

Makes 1 loaf

Prep time: 10 min
Rise time: 1 1/4 - 2 hours for two rises
Bake time: 45-55 min


Mix in the bowl of your stand mixer:

350g (about 1.5 cups) warm water 100-120 degrees
30g whole psyllium husk - or - 20g ground psyllium husk
4 tsp apple cider vinegar

When the wet mixture thickens to form a gel, add:

36 g (3 Tbsp) sugar
1 package (7g or 2 1/4 tsp) Red Star Quick-rise Instant Dry Yeast (or similar)
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/4 tsp salt
450g Bread Flour 

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients for several minutes until well-combined.  Turn the dough out into a lightly-oiled bowl to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.  Gently turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured working surface and shape it into a rough rectangle, deflating the dough gently as you go.

Fold the dough like a letter.

Then fold the dough again to make an even tighter, smaller dough package.

Tuck the ends under and place the formed dough in a loaf pan to rise.

Let it rise for 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hour, or until the dough no longer springs all the way back when dented with a finger.

Bake the bread in a 450 degree oven for 25 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375 and cook until done, another 20-30 minutes.  The loaf is done when the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees or the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

You can slice the bread as soon as it cools.  The bread stays fresh in a plastic bag on the counter for at least four days.  After that you can choose to slice and freeze it or store it in the fridge for a few more days.  

Enjoy being gluten-free!