Yeast-free gluten-free bread, v.1.0.
July 17, 2007ETA note: slightly modified, updated recipes in this post.
Since winter arrived in the southern hemisphere, the yeast bread wasn’t rising as well as it’s been a bit chilly! So I went back to making yeast-free bread, and have had quite a lot of success! I often double the quantity of ingredients and make 2 loaves at once to save time… Here’s the recipe. It looks long, but it’s easy!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups potato starch
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup besan (chickpea flour) OR maize flour (corn flour, not corn starch!)
1/2 cup tapioca starch (arrowroot)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons xantham gum (optional, but it really does help reduce crumbling in the final product)
2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons apple cidar vinegar
water, extra, as needed
Optional:
pepitas/pumpkin seeds
poppy seeds
sunflower seeds
sesame seeds
LSA meal
Method
1. Preheat oven to 210degC (400degF).
2. Sift together the flours, starch, salt, gum, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir with a whisk until well combined. (Most important step – make sure everything is sifted and well combined!).
3. Whisk together oil, 2 cups water, molasses, and apple cidar vinegar in a small bowl.
4. Quickly add wet ingredients to dry (so the oil stays evenly dispersed), stirring together with a big spoon. Add more water as required, until you get a very thick, evenly mixed batter. Do not overmix. (If you use maize flour instead of besan, you will require more water, and it will take a bit longer to combine).
5. Fold in some seeds/extras. I usually toss in about 2-5 tablespoons of pepitas, LSA, and sesame seeds. (Flax meal seems to impede rising, so avoid adding that. For rye-style bread, try adding caraway seeds.)
6. Pour mix into oiled bread pan. Sprinkle top of loaf with seeds (optional), and lightly spray with oil.
7. Cover bread pan with foil, and bake in a preheated oven for 60 minutes. Remove foil, and bake another 10 minutes, or until top is brown. Test loaf with a skewer or knife to make sure it’s done.
8. Cool in pan briefly, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. For best results, store in the refrigerator and slice off pieces as you need it.
Hi, just come across your blog when googling something for recipes ideas. I can’t believe I haven’t came across it earlier, the recipes look great will try one soon. Will add it to my list of aussie veg*n food blogs on my blog.
Hi, Kristy. Your site looks good and has some links I haven’t seen before… great! Thanks!
[...] our own Gluten Free Vegan posted an innovative and allergy friendly recipe for Gluten Free, Yeast Free Bread, a Gluten Free Vegan Pakora Recipe a Recipe for Indonesian Tofu Rendang and for the busy gluten [...]
Great to see some vegan gluten-free recipes. I have some gluten-free cookbooks, but they are very egg-heavy when it comes to bread. this is awesome!
You show using vinegar in your yeast free recipes. That is impossible, since vindegar is fermented, and that means that it contains yeast. Sorry!
Thanks, Susie. I’m well aware that vinegar is not suitable for a “yeast-free diet”. But the recipes here are for a gluten-free diet, I’m not catering to yeast-free. It’s to specify the difference between the two breads I make – one risen solely with “yeast” (not vinegar), and this one a combination of baking soda, baking powder, and vinegar. So I already know all that. Sorry!
I have borrowed your recipe and changed it a bit as I feel the chickpea flour or the corn flour have too strong of flavors.
I am gluten free & dairy free and brought some of the bread I made to a seminar and everyone was overwhelmed at how great the bread was.
I will do another post as soon as I finish adding my twists to the original!
Chef Markko, Personal Chef, San Diego, CA
I’m having a great time with this recipe! I am leaving out the baking powder because i can’t find it gluten free and having no problems.
Its a really versatile recipe, any flour mix is working out good for me, although some need more salt than others.
I have never managed to make a bread that can cope with being sandwiched before this recipe!
Thanks, your site has been a great help to me.
Actually, apple cider vinegar is given the all-clear by psoriasis foundation, so it’s unlikely to contain yeast. Further investigation by me showed that the process of fermentation in apple cider vinegar does not involve yeast. Actually, apple cider vinegar is widely used to prevent or help in the treatment of yeast infections. But please don’t take my word for it, and research it yourself.
Cheers
Toby
Baking powder’s not gluten-free?
Thanks for the info about the apple cider vinegar! I’ll look into it.
Baking powder mixes in Australia often contain wheat-derived flour as the filler (added to adjust the strength of the baking powder). Australia grows LOTS of wheat, so wheat is common. Countries growing more corn often use maize flour instead… or whatever’s going cheaper at the time. Some baking powders are labelled “gluten-free” for this reason… It’s a little irritating! =)
That’s ok, Renee.
I’m not quite sure what you mean, are you saying that some baking powders are labelled “gluten free” when they are not?
Chef Markko, how about that recipe ? !!!
I have been recently diagnosed gluten intolerant and live in San Diego. Do you have any recommendations of where I can buy some decent bread? Or other resources for bread? Appreciate it!
I also don’t understand wht there isn’t more Millet bread around. Comments anyone? Sammi’s Millet Bread is wonderful, too bad they are full of contaminants…
Thanks for the great site!
I made this recipe and was thrilled with the results. I made in the evening, sliced it the next day and put it in the freezer. The next day it was still great. Two days later we took it our of the freezer and it had a funny taste/smell and little green spots (looked like mold). I used sunflower seeds in it. Any thoughts as to why the change in flavor and green spots. It was in the freezer?
thanks
I’ve never had that happen… The bread needs to be kept in the fridge or freezer immediately after it’s cooled… I’ve had it last up to 2 weeks in the fridge, and much longer in the freezer without anything growing or discolouration… that’s odd! perhaps there’s something in the freezer causing it… or perhaps the freezer is on the fritz…
Hi Everyone,
Regarding the gluten-free baking powder. Did you know that you can make your own? The recipe is:
2 oz baking soda (Bicarb. of soda)
2 oz rice flour
4 oz cream of tartar
Sift all together and keep in an airtight jar
Oops! I forgot to mention that where a recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of baking powder, you need to use 3 of this gluten-free version.
Hi everyone,
If you would prefer completely yeast free than you could substitute the vinegar for yeast free dough enhancer and add about 2 tablespoons of extra water.
Home made dough enhancer:
One-third cup granular lecithin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ascorbic acid (Vitamin C powder)
Mix ingredients together. Store dough enhancer in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container. Omit other acids like vinegar in recipe. Use same amount as vinegar, aka in this recipe 2 tablespoons and add to dry ingredients.
OK. Some changes/tips for GF bread making.
For the best product I use Potato Starch (not Potato Flour). Instead of the chickpea flour, I use either 1c of buckwheat flour or 1/2 cup of soy flour and 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour.
I up the Baking Powder to 3 tablespoons and skip the salt as that quantity of baking powder has a lot of sodium.
Also, I always cook items to a temperature (takes all the guesswork out when you cook for a living, no suprises!). Anyhow, I use a digital thermometerand make sure the bread is cooked to 200-205 degrees farenheight.
Definitely use the xantham gum.
I am going to experiment further with this recipe. I would like to see more dietary fiber per serving. I will update again sometime soon as I try to find time to master the gluten diet!
THIS is a great great recipe! I like to grind up oatmeal for part of the flour.
My kids love this because it comes out with a sweet nutty taste…amazing with natural peanut butter!
Hi all,
Hopefully someone can give me some GF bread advice! Every time I attempt to make a GF loaf, it never cooks all the way through. I end up with a delicious crust, but that is all! I have tried decreasing the liquid; adding more flour; cooking for way longer than necessary; and have even tried cutting the recipe in half, and cooking in the same pan. Nothing works! Each time, the loaf looks great while it’s cooking, then when the loaf cools, it 1) sinks, and 2) when I slice it, the end slices are delish, but from there on in, it is a gummy, chewy, largely uncooked mass. Do you think it is my pan? I have a basic Chefmate non-stick pan that cooks regular gluten bread well, but not G-Free bread. Any help would be largely appreciated!
It could be the pan. You should try a quality steel loaf pan rather than a lighter nonstick pan – loaf pans are usually a heavier/thicker metal, and probably transfer/contain the heat better. Try looking around in a specialty kitchenware or chef shop (you might get some good advice there, too).
Thanks Renee – there is a Williams Sonoma kitchen store very close to my house, I’m sure they can steer me in the direction of a good pan! I’m still confused why (for example) I can cook a loaf of spelt bread (I’m not gluten intolerant, but I try to stay away from as much gluten as possible) in this pan, but not a gluten-free loaf. It’s perplexing! Do you think if I decreased the xanthan gum, that it would help? I’ll try the new loaf pan and see what I come up with first.
I think it has to do with the aeration of the bread. The gluten-free loaf is heavier, and less hot air circulates inside it to cook it… Not sure, though! I’ve found that when I’ve used different pans to my bigass steel one it doesn’t cook through as well… Don’t think it’s the xantham gum…
Hi,
I found at Whole Foods the chick pea flour, but it is 12 bucks for 8 ounces. Is there any way we can just use rice flour – i.e. cut out the potatoe and chickpea\maize? We also avoid potatoe and corn in our diets so i was wondering if these ingredients were crucial? Thanks so much.
You can use tapioca starch to replace potato starch, but the starch is essential to structure. If you only use rice flour, the bread will be low protein. Perhaps try buckwheat flour (not related to wheat, no gluten) instead. You’ll have to trial and error… Or for cheaper chickpea/besan flour, try an Indian or Asian grocery store, or search online.
hi,
is it possible to leave out the molasses? or use something else instead like xylitol or agave? is there something about molasses that is required? thanks for your help.
Molasses boosts the flavour (countering the raising agents) and boosts the mineral content, such as calcium. It’s also not a particularly sweet flavour, and it’s darker, making it ideal for flavouring and improving the look of the bread.
I don’t know about xylitol, but agave would be fine (although no bonus minerals, but low GI) – but as it’s sweeter and wetter, so try using about half as much as the molasses.
Hi,
I was so excited and made the recipe last night following it very carefully and it was a disaster; the loaf looked great but after cooking for 2 hours this inside was guey and sticky.
I also had to use more than 2 cups of water; does anyone know? do you mix everything by hand; otherwise the dough sticks to the whisk and it’s impossible to mix. Any tip would be appreciated;
Cooking for 2 hours? Doesn’t sound like you followed the recipe very carefully, actually…!
You had to use over 2 cups of water? Too much water = too gooey. Again, you didn’t follow the recipe closely.
Also: stir the DRY flours together with the whisk to aerate the mixture. Mix it with a wooden spoon or similar once the wet ingredients are added.
Otherwise… Was the oven hot enough? There’s Celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures, in case you missed that.
so, is it potato starch or potato flour? it seems like an awful lot for it to be potato starch, so i’m guessing it’s potato flour. but, i’ve been wrong before..
We have tried the recipe 3x and followed the instructions to the T. Where is says add more water to get a batter, I have had to add 3 more cups of water otherwise it is still very clumpy and dry. Even at that it is still not batter(like pancake batter?). Cooked for 1-1/2 hours and still not done.
Almost like too much flowers.
JU
Potato starch. Without gluten – a protein that binds & stretches – a new source of stickiness is required to hold the dough/bread together.
TRY THE UPDATED RECIPES:
http://glutenfreevegan.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/updated-recipes-for-gluten-freeyeast-free-pizza-bread/
Try sourcing your flours from a different place. Make sure you’re using potato starch. It’s squeaky & similar in texture to tapioca starch. It doesn’t need to be cooked that long. Unfortunately without seeing what you’re doing incorrectly I can’t diagnose the problem.
Hey, thanks for the bread recipe, it turned out great and it is moist. At first when I just removed the bread from the oven, the chickpea aroma was overpowering. I left the bread to cool overnight (I baked mine in the evening), the chickpea smell wasn’t that strong anymore. I don’t really smell it.
For those looking for inexpensive chickpea flour, try an Indian or Pakistani grocery. There you will find larger bags of the flour (besan) for much less than you would pay in an upscale supermarket.
Peter Reinhart, who is a breadbaking maestro and cookbook author and teaches at the Johnson & Wales Cooking School tells me that potato starch = potato flour, corn starch = corn flour, tapioca starch = tapioca flour.
Others in this thread contradict that.
Does anyone have facts to back up a difference?
Thanks, Carol, that’s what I thought initially, as I’ve not found different potato flours other than starch, etc, and thought it was the same. Very odd! However maize flour doesn’t have to be corn starch. I don’t use a corn starch in this one if I use corn, it’s more like a tortilla flour. Tapioca and potato is always a starch though, too, as far as I’ve ever seen, yes.