Gluten-Free Bread (xanthan-free, vegan)
Today I have a very unique recipe to share. A gluten-free bread recipe that needs to be kneaded! It is made of whole grain flours and is also free of xanthan gum, starches, nuts, eggs, and dairy. Last August I began creating kneadable dinner rolls and braided bread free of the above mentioned ingredients. But something was missing. You see, I grew up making whole wheat bread from scratch with my mother. When I was two years old I was at the counter kneading bread. In high school I would bake my own bread for sandwiches. I have missed the feel of bread dough.
A few months ago I decided to try adding psyllium husk to my bread to see what would happen....and wow....gluten-free bread that really kneads! I was already using ground chia seeds, which help to hold moisture and bind everything together. But the combination of psyllium husk and ground chia works wonders! Psyllium is a fiber that is used in colon cleansing. It also works wonders on lowering cholesterol levels. It can be found on amazon.com or at your local health food store. Be sure to look for "whole psyllium husk." Whole chia seeds can be found at your local health food store and online. See the tip at the bottom of the recipe for grinding them.
If you try this bread, I would love your feedback in a comment below. Or, share your photos on Instagram and tag me @nourishingmeals! I have many more kneadable gluten-free, xanthan-free, vegan bread recipes in my book, Nourishing Meals. Some examples include Buckwheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Everyday Sandwich Bread, and Sourdough Teff Bread! Enjoy!
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Farmhouse Seed Bread
I worked for many years to create a gluten-free, vegan, xanthan gum-free yeast bread recipe. Finally, I tried using ground chia and psyllium together early this year (2011) and the results were incredible! Previously, I had only been using ground chia seeds in my vegan and gluten-free bread recipes, and then one day it dawned on me to try adding in psyllium husk! Psyllium forms a strong gel when mixed with water. It worked beautifully! There are so many variations to this bread. I've made it into an Olive-Rosemary bread using 1 cup pitted kalamata olives (thinly sliced) and 2 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary. You could also try a Garlic-Seed bread by adding in chopped fresh garlic and seeds. I am sure there are many more variations. If you have a corn allergy, try replacing the cornmeal with almond meal. I have made this bread with many different flour combinations so feel free to experiment, but this one is my favorite for flavor and texture. The bread gets its crusty crust from being baked on a stone pan with a pan of water on the lower oven rack. The steam from the water helps to form the crust. The bread will be a little gummy hot out of the oven so be sure to let it cool a bit before cutting into it. Slice it and serve with a good quality olive oil for dipping. It is also delicious spread with either almond butter or hummus!
Be sure to buy whole chia seeds and then grind them very finely in a coffee grinder or the dry container of your Vitamix. If using a Vitamix, it is best to grind at least one cup at a time so they grind properly. Store them in a glass jar in your fridge for no longer than a week.
Wet Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Topping
Prep:
- Place the warm water in a bowl or 4-cup liquid glass measure. Add the yeast and teaspoon of maple syrup, whisk together. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes to activate the yeast. The mixture should get foamy or bubbly. If not, dump it out and start over.
- While the yeast is activating, mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- After the yeast is activated whisk in the olive oil, maple syrup, ground chia seeds, and psyllium husks into the water-yeast mixture. Let stand for 1 to 2 minutes (not any longer) to let the chia and psyllium release their gelatinous substances. Whisk again.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together with a large wooden spoon until thick.
- Then knead the dough on a floured wooden board to incorporate the flour. Add more teff and sorghum flours, a little at a time, until the dough holds together and isn’t too sticky (about ¼ to ½ cup total). Don’t add too much flour, otherwise the dough will become very dense; it should still be slightly sticky.
- Form dough into a ball, place back into the large bowl, and cover with a damp towel. Place in a warm spot to rise. I like to place the bowl over a pot of warm water.
- Let dough rise for an hour or until doubled in size. Rising time will depend on the temperature of the environment around the dough.
Preheat:
- After the dough has risen, place a pizza stone in your oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven (the one beneath the pizza stone). I usually use an 8x8-inch glass pan filled ¾ of the way full.
- Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured wooden board. Knead the dough for about a minute. Then form into a round ball. Place on a square of parchment paper and use a sharp knife to score a “tic-tac-toe” pattern on the top (or use your favorite scoring pattern).
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with poppy seeds and sesame seeds. Let rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place while the oven and stone are preheating.
Bake:
- Carefully lift the parchment paper with the risen loaf and place it onto the stone in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool 30 to 60 minutes before cutting into it. The bread will be very gummy hot out of the oven. The texture is perfect once cooled. It reminds me of a hearty whole wheat bread.
Note: If you are adding garlic or olives to this bread, add them in when you are kneading the dough the first time.
Use this recipe in our Meal Planner
About the Author
Ali Segersten
Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States. She is a Functional Nutritionist, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Alissa is the founder and owner of Nourishing Meals®.Nourishing Meals Newsletter
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Comments
This looks like regular whole grain bread, beautiful rise and crust! Thanks for this recipe, I can't wait to try it.
What a clever way to make a bread! I made this bread yesterday and had to have a piece late last night, after it cooled! Just fantastic. What grabed me for this recipe was no starches! I was short on time so I just dumped everything into a Kitchen Aid mixer and let it do the work. It turned out absolutely gorgeous! It did not look GF at all! Hubby thought it was rye bread! It is really good just with nice butter and jam, that was my morning breakfast. I will make this bread from now on!Thank you!!!
Wow Ali, that is such a cool recipe! I love kneading bread and have always found gluten-free bread lacking in that way. The psyllium must add a lot of fiber too!
lippian84 - You can order teff flour online. I buy it from azurestandard.com in 25 pound paper bags. The cost for that is $41. You can also find it on amazon in a 4-pack form Bob's Red Mill and the cost for that is $28 for 6 pounds. Quite a difference! I would also read the comments above as there were some changes made using other flours. If you don't want to buy teff online then I would give one of your other favorite GF flours a try, if it is brown rice flour, then try that one. ;)
here are the 2 links:
https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/791/
and
http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-24-Ounce-Packages/dp/B000EDI0X2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303174088&sr=8-1
Hi,
I used my Magic Bullet to grind the chia seed as I do not own anything else to do that... but it works great. The flat/grinding blade works on small amounts of grains, spices, coffee beans, etc. The other blade is great for smoothies and for salad dressings. I highly recommend it for an inexpensive but small grinder..
this bread is rising on the board as we speak.. closest thing I have ever seen to real bread dough. My dd and I are both on dairy free and gluten free diet...
thanks
Laura
This blog is such a godsend... I recently found out I have to eat gluten-free but I LOVE to cook, and possibilities seemed so limited... not to mention that now I'm pregnant and my husband has so many hereditary allergies that I have to stay off of those foods, too, until the baby's weaned. Now I finally think I found a bread that will taste and feel like BREAD!!! But I can't find Teff flour anywhere. Will brown rice flour substitute?
This bread is amazing and easy to make - reminds me of when I was a kid too! Making bread with my Sicilian grandma - what a great memory to evoke! The flavor and texture are perfect! I normally hate psyllium seed/powder - those colon cleanse drinks are awful - but this is definitely an awesome way to get fiber! As usual, Ali, you and your recipes ROCK!
Thanks everyone for the great comments, and thanks to Evaline for posting the nutritional breakdown.
Laura - yes you certainly need to grind the chia seeds to make this bread. Your new Vita-Mix will do the job once it finally arrives! ;-)
Holy. Cow. I CANNOT wait to try this! I thought bread dipping was a thing of the past, but no more! This is a beautiful looking peasant loaf :)
I made this! It was amazing! The flavor was unsurpassed in GF breads, in my opinion. Love Teff!
I did use honey, and would recommend people decrease it to 1 - 1.5 Tb unless you like your bread slightly sweet tasting. I also used almond meal and it worked great.
REALLY looking forward to trying some of the suggested variations!
If anyone, is curious I did run the nutrition info and assuming 1 loaf is 15 slices, It is 161 calories/6 g fat/200 mg sodium/24 g carbs/5.5 g fiber/4 g prot. 5% calcium, 6% each of iron and selenium.
I guess it's a bit hefty per slice... which explains why I felt so full after gobbling down 3 slices!! Will make a great breakfast bread with peanut butter and bananas.
Ali-A beautiful crusty bread! Wow! I am sure this will fill a big need in many gluten-free kitchens! Great job!
Hi - Just found your site yesterday!! Love looking through all the recipes. I do have a question on this recipe - is it crucial to grind the chia seeds? I don't have a coffee grinder (and I'm still waiting patiently for my vitamix!) Looking forward to making this bread soon!
Wow - this is one of the best gluten free recipes I have ever seen! Love that you use chia seeds!!
Karen - I don't think this would work without the psyllium. I found this to be the key ingredient. If you can think of another fiber similar to psyllium please let me know! :)
This looks absolutely amazing. I'm stocking up on ingredients tomorrow so that I can make this. I can't wait!!! Thanks for sharing!
I am always looking for whole grain GF breads and this looks perfect. Only trouble, I can't tolerate psyllium - could I use flax?
Wow. This looks absolutely fabulous!
This is absolutely heavenly. It seems to be a very flexible, even forgiving recipe. I've tried to learn to like tedd but I just couldn't do it, so I substituted millet flour which is available in Kuwait, where we live. I don't have chia seeds, so I used flax instead. Despite my many modifications, I was thrilled with the deep, rich flavour and the bread-like texture that I often crave. Oh my! I think I shall be able to make a real stay-together sandwich. This is my ULTIMATE favourite.
So, tonight I was able to enjoy a truly rustic meal of potato and leek soup, with some oh-so-delicious bread and crisp salad. What a treat!
Interestingly, I previously slipped some psyllium into my husband's bran muffins when there wasn't quite enough bran for the recipe. He didn't seem to notice.
Thanks again.
Bonnie
Thanks everyone! I have not made this without a stone so your best bet would be to try using a good quality stainless steel cookie sheet. As for the corn, I mentioned in the recipe headnotes that you could try replacing it with almond flour. I've also made this bread a number of different ways using different flour combos. Start with 3 cups of your favorite gluten-free flours and knead more in as necessary. It can also be baked in a 9 x 5-inch bread loaf pan (I use glass). Hope you enjoy it as much as we do! -Ali :)
Beautiful rustic loaf! Gorgeous color.
I can't have corn. Is there a flour you would suggest using in place of cornmeal?
could you use something in place of cornmeal. We don't eat corn. Thanks
Jenn
Wow! I am super impressed with this bread! I've been trying to make a vegan gluten free bread but I've never been brave enough to try without xathan gum. If I don't have a pizza stone, will a normal pan work?
YAY!!! I cannot WAIT to try this ALI!! Thank you SOOOOO much!!
What an amazing and beautiful loaf of bread! I can not wait to try it!! Thanks for everything you do to make living gluten free easier, Ali!
I am SO excited to try this recipe. THANK you!
I remember you telling me about this bread, Ali. I'm so happy that you're sharing it today. It's gorgeous. :-)
xo,
Shirley
Ali you always have wonderful recipes but this looks truly amazing. I do not have much bread making experience but this looks too good to pass up. I'll just have to give it a try.
I would love to try this recipe! I can't get teff flour in Australia (at least not that I know of), is there anything I could use instead of that?
Just beautiful! Seriously! I am making this THIS weekend! Our friend was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease and he literally had tears in his eyes when he told me how much he would miss bread! LOL I told him I would make him some that would forget about his gluten-filled breads of the past! Guess what I will be making him this weekend? Thanks for sharing this, Ali! So excited about it!
xo
k
I absolutely cannot wait to try this, Ali! I'm out of my kitchen right now visiting my sister, but the minute I'm home this bread's on the menu. :)