While no gluten-free flours can mimic the flavor of wheat breads, the combination of sorghum and flax meal in this Almost Wheat Gluten-Free Bread gets us pretty close. This is a delightful bread that you and your family will love. It is one of my favorites and I relish the aroma of fresh bread baking.
If you are new to making gluten-free bread, be sure to read the entire article, especially the PRO Tips and Notes below. They will help answer some of your questions and guide you through the recipe.
This bread got its name because the flax meal adds texture that is very similar to that of whole wheat. Everyone who tries it tells me that I should be selling it. It is that good!
You will love this fresh bread for sandwiches that don’t require toasting! And if it is day-old, you can use it for French toast, croutons, or for making your own stuffing mix, literally anything you enjoy using bread for!
L: Mixed and ready for the loaf pan; Middle: plastic covered loaf pan with rising bread dough; R: Risen dough ready for the oven
When Shannon and I wrote The Gluten-Free Bread Machine Cookbook we created over 175 recipes for breads and more. But the first question most people asked us was how to make the bread without the bread machine. I developed these directions to help everyone convert the sandwich bread recipes to use a loaf pan and bake in your oven.
Whole loaf of Almost Wheat GF Bread, cooling on a wire rack before slicing.
This Almost Wheat bread is perfect for making the best turkey sandwiches the day after your holiday meals. Make it a day ahead, wrap tightly with plastic, refrigerate, and enjoy over the weekend!
Bake a loaf of this bread ahead to use for your stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving! Bake and cool it thoroughly, slice thinly, and cut those slices into cubes. Place on a baking sheet pan, drizzle lightly with olive oil, toss to coat the bread cubes and bake at 300°F (149°C) until crispy, lightly golden, and dried thoroughly. Then use in your regular stuffing/dressing recipe and enjoy!
Be aware, when working with gluten-free flours and doughs, there is no kneading required. The doughs tend to be more like heavy, sticky pancake or cake batter. You scoop it into the prepared pan and let it do its thing – no more hands-on!
Another way that gluten-free breads are different than traditional wheat breads is that there is no punch-down. You place the dough into the loaf pan and let it rise undisturbed. Then it goes directly into the oven to bake. Just one rise is all you need. Without gluten there isn’t enough structure to handle a punch-down and second rise. Just one and done!
If you want a chewier texture in your breads, use psyllium husk powder instead of xanthan gum. You will use double the amount called for the xanthan. I use this in our French baguettes for less delicate crumb in the bread. This is also a good alternative if you have people who are sensitive to xanthan and guar gums.
We love this bread and it is one of my go-to recipes from the cookbook. You can use these directions to make any of the sandwich-style breads from the book using your mixer and oven.
I hope you make this Almost Wheat Gluten-Free Bread and enjoy every bite. It is so wonderful to have delicious, amazing homemade bread again!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Almost Wheat Gluten-Free Bread:
- Dry Ingredients: Yeast, GF flour, sorghum flour, dry milk, flax meal, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt
- Liquids: Eggs, water, olive oil, apple cider vinegar
PRO Tip:
If you have forgotten to bring out your eggs and they are still cold, the easiest way to warm them is to place them (in their shells) in a bowl of hot tap water. Leave them for about 10 minutes and they will be warm enough to use in this recipe! Crack them into a bowl, add the rest of the liquids, whisk together, and continue with the recipe.
PRO Tip:
I have only made this bread with my favorite GF flour blend, if you use another brand, be sure to weigh your ingredients following the directions in the Notes section below the recipe. If you want more guidance, there is a lot of information under the Gluten Free tab at the top of the page!
PRO Tip:
If you are dairy-free and cannot have milk, you can use a dairy-free milk powder or just leave it out entirely. The loaf will still be delicious, but safe for you to consume.
How to make Almost Wheat Gluten-Free Bread:
- Weigh and combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer; whisk thoroughly. Add the yeast and whisk again.
- In another bowl, whisk the warmed eggs with the rest of the liquid ingredients. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until you have a smooth dough. Scrape the bowl.
- Continue beating until the dough is satiny and smooth but not shiny. Add flour 1 tbsp at a time if needed to get a dough that is fairly stiff and pulls strands as the beater moves around the bowl. When you stop the mixer and lift the beater, the dough should “break” and not flow back into the bowl. It will take 2 to 5 minutes with a strong stand mixer.
- Scoop the dough into an oiled loaf pan, cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap (oiled side down) and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough has risen to just below the rim of the pan. The warmer the room, the quicker the rise.
- Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted in the center registers 206°F to 210°F (97°C to 99°C). Timing will depend on the heat of your oven and size of the pan you use. Note how long it took to make future baking easier.
- Remove from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Let it rest a couple of minutes, then turn out of the pan and set it upright on the wire rack. Let cool at least 2 hours before slicing or wrapping.
PRO Tip:
To store, tightly wrap the loaf in plastic or a resealable plastic bag and then in foil. Store in the refrigerator for several days or freeze for longer storage. If you want, you can pre-slice the loaf before freezing and it will be easier to remove just a slice or two at a time.
PRO Tip:
The best flours for gluten-free baking come from a Southern California company called Authentic Foods. They sell superfine ground rice flours and more on their online shop. You get no grittiness in any of your baked goods. I use their rice flours to make my blend and am able to use the same flour for all my baking – cakes, muffins, cookies, brownies, breads, etc. No one can tell they are gluten-free!
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Gluten-Free Tips:
*You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of flour or regular flour, whisk it, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial gluten-free blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Almost Wheat Gluten Free Bread
While no gluten-free flours can mimic the flavor of wheat breads, the combination of sorghum and flax meal gets us pretty close. This is a delightful bread that you and your family will love. You will enjoy this fresh bread for sandwiches, toast, and day-old for French toast, croutons, or stuffing mix!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 240g* (2 cups) Light flour blend* (see the Gluten-Free tab at the top of the page for the recipe)
- 110g (1 cup) sorghum flour
- 62g (1/2 cup) dry milk powder or dairy-free milk powder
- 26g (4 tbsp) flax meal or ground flax seeds
- 3 tbsp granulated cane sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1-1/2 tsp kosher or fine sea salt
- 1/8 tsp ascorbic acid powder, optional
Liquids
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature * *
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp water, heated to about 80F
- 3 tbsp organic olive oil
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
1. Oil a loaf pan either 4x4x9-inches (10x10x23 cm) or 5x5x9-inches (13x13x23 cm). Measure the yeast into a small bowl and set aside.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, weigh and combine all the remaining dry ingredients. Whisk thoroughly. Add the yeast and whisk again until fully incorporated.
3. In a bowl, whisk the warmed eggs with the rest of the liquid ingredients. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients. Mix on low to combine then increase to medium speed and beat until you have a smooth dough. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure there are no hidden dry ingredients.
4. Continue beating until the dough is satiny and smooth but not shiny. Add more flour (1 tbsp at a time) if needed to get a dough that is fairly stiff and pulls strands that break as the beater moves around the bowl. When you stop the mixer and lift the beater, the dough should “break” and not flow back into the bowl. This will take about 2 to 5 minutes with a strong stand mixer. I added 2 extra tbsp of flour for today’s bread.
5. Scoop the dough into the prepared pan, smooth the top, cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap (oiled side down), and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until the dough has risen to just below the edge of the pan. Cooler rooms slow down the action of the yeast so it will take longer for the dough to rise. A warmer room will give you a shorter rise time. I turned the oven on low and set the bread pan on top of the stove to get it to rise – our house is cold today.
6. Once the dough has risen, set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F (180°C).
7. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted in the center registers 206F to 210F (97°C to 99°C). The timing will depend on the heat of your oven and the size of pan you use. Make a note of how long it takes, which will make it easier for future baking. If the top is getting too brown, tent loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for a couple of minutes on a cooling rack and then turn out of the pan and set it upright on the wire rack. Let cool at least 2 hours, being sure there is no residual heat remaining in the center, before slicing or wrapping..
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
* You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
* * The best way to warm eggs you’re pulling straight out of the refrigerator is to place them whole (still in their shells) in a bowl and filling it with very hot tap water. Leave the eggs in the water for about 10 minutes and they will be perfectly warmed to use in the recipe.
You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking, instead of using volume measurements.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Adapted from a recipe in “The Gluten-Free Bread Machine Cookbook” by Jane Bonacci and Shannon Kinsella
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 243Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 658mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 8g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
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