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An easy everyday gluten-free white bread can seem like an impossible ask. Well this Gluten-Free White Sandwich Loaf is the answer to all your bread cravings. It’s an incredibly easy bread made with instant yeast, no xanthan gum, it’s rice-free, there is no kneading and only requires one prove. The results are a deliciously tasty and soft loaf with a lovely golden crust. With a few simple swaps you can also make a delicious gluten-free vegan white bread.
Baking a Gluten-Free White Sandwich Loaf can seem complicated and daunting, even if you are a seasoned baker and especially if you are familiar with the regular bread making process.
In gluten-free bread recipes there may be the odd unfamiliar ingredient, you may think vital steps are being missed and the ingredient list may be slightly longer than you are used to.
Well, I am here to take you through the whole process. I will be breaking down each step and will introduce you to each ingredient to explain exactly why they have been chosen for this recipe and what their role is in the process.
My hope is that you will soon realise that baking a successful gluten-free white sandwich bread can be easy, foolproof and will give you deliciously tasty, soft and fluffy results that can be eaten everyday and at any time of day.
Table of contents
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- Watch the video to see how to make it
- Gum-Free Gluten-Free Bread
- What ingredients do we need?
- How to make it
- Tools you'll need
- Ingredients you'll need
- Troubleshooting: My bread won’t rise
- Gluten-Free Vegan White Bread
- How to store
- How to freeze
- More gluten-free bread recipes you’ll love
Why you’ll love this recipe
- The bread dough is quick to come together. You can use a stand mixer but it’s not necessary.
- There is no xanthan gum in this recipe so perfect if you are intolerant to gums.
- This is also a rice-free gluten-free bread.
- The dough only needs one rise and I’ll share my tips on guaranteeing a sky high loaf.
- This gluten-free soft sandwich loaf has a lovely open crumb and not too crusty crust.
- Delicious taste that is both neutral in flavour but not in any way bland.
- This recipe can easily be made vegan.
Watch the video to see how to make it
Gum-Free Gluten-Free Bread
The omnipresence of xanthan gum in gluten-free bread baking can be frustrating if you are intolerant or need to avoid gums.
READ MORE >>> Why I don't bake with xanthan gum
I’m here to tell you happily that you do not need xanthan gum to produce a delicious gluten-free white bread loaf with an elastic dough, lovely oven spring and a light soft fluffy crumb. So what do we use instead?
- Gluten-free flours. We choose starchy flours that are that will give great structure to our bread.
- Psyllium husk. This is an ingredient which you might not be as familiar with but it’s hugely popular in gluten-free baking as it creates a strong elastic gel when mixed with water which will give softness and bounce to you bread. It’s incredibly simple to use, easy to source and is an invaluable ingredient in this bread.
- Egg whites. Strengthens the bread and adds more elasticity to the dough.
What ingredients do we need?
Dry active yeast
This recipe uses a quick dry active yeast. Make sure it is gluten-free though, it’s surprising how many brands are not. Also, check the expiry date. The yeast should be from a freshly opened packet (or at least one that hasn’t been hanging around for a couple of months in your cupboard).
Milk
We mix our dry yeast initially with warm milk. Milk adds vital protein to the bread to help it rise and also softens the crust. Make sure the milk is at the right temperature to activate the yeast (between 100-115 F / 38-46C). Too cold and the yeast won’t wake up and too warm and it will kill it. I recommend using a digital thermometer if you have one.
Sugar
Sugar is mixed with the dry yeast to feed and activate it when you are initially adding it to the milk. It also keeps the bread soft and helps it to brown. Brown sugar is chosen for flavour.
Psyllium husk
This ingredient is high in fibre which you can source from health food shops. It works as an excellent binding agent in this recipe and gives the finished loaf a softness and elasticity. Do note, you want to buy the whole husk, not ground.
Sorghum flour
This is a wholegrain flour which will give our loaf a lovely fluffy light crumb and a gentle neutral taste.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Sorghum Flour
Potato starch
This starchy white flour has great binding properties which will give your bread a lovely structure. It is a very fine powdery flour and will give your sandwich loaf a great lightness. It’s great for breads as when added to water and heat the potato starch expands quickly so will make for a tall and fluffy loaf.
Tapioca starch
This is another starchy flour which will add a lightness to your bread and will help to bind the ingredients. It is especially useful as it browns well so will give an excellent golden crust to your loaf.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Tapioca Starch
Butter
We use a good unsalted butter. Fat is needed in the recipe to soften the loaf and butter is chosen for a deliciously rich flavour. You can substitute with a mild olive oil or a plant based butter.
Apple cider vinegar
The acidity of the vinegar helps to keep the bread soft and to preserve the loaf. Use a good brand of apple cider vinegar that includes the mother for delicious flavour complexity.
Egg whites
They add elasticity to the bread and help the ingredients to bind together. You can substitute for aquafaba for a vegan bread without any discernible differnce.
Ground ginger
Sounds a bit odd, right? But ginger helps to activate the yeast and aid in a sky-high loaf. You only need about ½ teaspoon so the flavour can’t be detected in the finished loaf.
Salt
Essential for a tasty bread. Don’t underestimate the amount the recipe requires, without it you could have a bland loaf.
How to make it
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
The steps are simple:
1&2) Yeast. Mix the yeast with warm milk and sugar and let stand for 10 minutes to activate.
TIP. Use a glass bowl and a wooden stirrer, like the end of a wooden spoon or a chopstick, to stir the yeast. Sometimes it can react to metal which will affect the yeast’s activation.
3&4) Psyllium husk. Mix with the water then let stand for 2-4 minutes to form a gel.
5) Dry ingredients. Mix the sorghum flour with the tapioca starch, potato starch, ground ginger and salt.
TIP. To make sure the dry ingredients are really well combined you can sift them together.
6) Mix. Beat together all the ingredients. Start with the dry ingredients then add the yeast mixture, psyllium gel, melted butter, apple cider vinegar and egg whites. Beat for at least 5 minutes to make sure everything is well combined.
7&8) Shape. With floured hands form the dough into a log shape and place in a greased loaf tin.
TIP. Make sure the surface of the dough is lovely and smooth in the tin, any lumps, bumps or cracks will show up in the baked bread. Now is the time to make it look good.
9&10) Prove. Place the loaf tin in a warm damp place for 1 hour to rise.
11&12) Bake. Brush the surface of the risen bread with melted butter then bake for 50 minutes.
13) Cool. Turn the bread out and cool on a wire rack.
TIP. Gently tip the bread out of the tin straightaway and allow to cool completely on a wire rack to avoid a gummy loaf.
Tools you'll need
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Ingredients you'll need
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Troubleshooting: My bread won’t rise
There are a couple of factors which may affect the rise of your loaf:
- Yeast. The first thing to do is to check expiry of your yeast. However, even if it is within its expiry it still could be dead. You will know your yeast is alive and well if once it has been added to the milk and sugar the surface is thick, frothy and bubbly. It’s active and ready to use. If the yeast just floats on top of the milk without any change to its appearance then you will need to open a new packet of yeast.
- The Prove. The other issue which might be preventing your bread from rising is how you are proving it.
How to prove your bread
Your yeast might be good and strong but it will only reach its full potential if your bread is given the right environment for proving. And this is:
Warm and slightly damp.
Great places to prove your bread are:
- Utility room – with the tumble dryer on.
- Kitchen counter – on a warm summer’s day with a damp cloth draped over the top of the bowl.
- Bread proving drawer of the oven.
- Boiler room
Ultimate Proving Tip
If you can’t find a decent place in your house then the following method gives consistent results every time:
Place your bread in the middle shelf of the oven (switched off). Slide a roasting dish filled with just boiled water onto the bottom of the oven, then shut the door. The steam of the water will help activate the yeast in the bread and the oven will provide a warm yet damp environment for a successful prove.
Gluten-Free Vegan White Bread
With a few simple switches you can easily make a vegan loaf using this recipe. There is no difference in the two versions at all.
- Whole milk - you can switch for your favourite non-dairy milk. Almond milk or cashew milk work best.
- Butter - you can use either a plant based butter or just olive oil, but if you use the latter you lose the rich buttery taste (it still has a lovely flavour though).
- Egg whites – swap the egg whites for 130g aquafaba.
How to store
This bread is really best eaten within 24 hours. Any longer it starts to harden. However it is still great for toast for up to 3 days.
You can store your bread in a bread tin with the cut side of the loaf facing down. The crust acts as a shield to the outside environment. Or you can store in aluminium foil or wrapped in baking parchment.
If you don’t eat all of the loaf within the first day then another option is to freeze it.
How to freeze
Allow the bread to cool completely. You can freeze the bread whole but I prefer to freeze in slices. Double wrap well in cling film and aluminium foil to avoid freezer burn.
You can use the frozen slices straight from the freezer into the toaster, or you can leave to defrost overnight on the kitchen counter.
More gluten-free bread recipes you’ll love
- Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread (vegan)
- Gluten-Free Naan Bread
- Gluten-Free Cheese Bread Rolls
- Happiness Bread
I urge you to give this Gluten-Free White Sandwich Loaf a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Gluten-Free White Sandwich Loaf
Ingredients
- 7 g active dried yeast
- 220 ml whole milk
- 25 g light soft brown sugar
- 30 g psyllium husk - not ground
- 200 ml water
- 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 240 g sorghum flour
- 160 g potato starch
- 160 g tapioca starch + a little extra for dusting
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 65 g unsalted butter - melted and cooled slightly + 15g extra (for brushing over the top)
- 4 egg whites - medium eggs
Instructions
- Warm the milk to between 100-115 F / 38-46°C . Then pour into a medium sized glass bowl and stir in the yeast and brown sugar. Rest for 10 minutes until the surface is looking thick and bubbly.
- Stir the water and psyllium husk together in a medium sized bowl until combined. Allow to stand for 2-4 minutes until it forms a gel.
- Whisk the sorghum flour together with the potato starch, tapioca starch, ground ginger and salt in a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer.
- Add the yeast and milk mixture, psyllium gel, apple cider vinegar, cooled melted butter and egg whites.
- Beat together for about 5 minutes until the dough is well combined but still a little sticky to the touch.
- Dust hands with extra tapioca starch and scrape the dough out of the mixer.
- Place on a work surface and roll and shape the dough together into a smooth log shape.
- Place the dough carefully into a lightly greased 3lb loaf tin.
- Place the tin somewhere damp and warm to prove for 1 hour (see notes on proving).
- After the dough has been proving for 50 minutes turn the oven onto 190°C /170°C fan assisted oven / gas mark 5.
- Melt the butter for brushing over the top of the loaf.
- Once the dough has been proving for an hour it should have risen by ⅓, just reaching the top of the tin. Brush the surface with the melted butter then place in the oven to bake for 50 minutes. The loaf is baked when golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and take the bread out of the tin straightaway to cool on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before cutting.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
- Flours. This recipe hasn’t been tested with any flour substitutions. However an alternative to the sorghum flour is oat flour. An alternative to the tapioca starch or potato starch is arrowroot (although both flours should not be substituted for arrowroot).
- Psyllium husk. This recipe has not been tested with any alternatives.
- Whole milk. Swap for almond milk or cashew milk for a vegan or dairy-free loaf.
- Egg whites. Swap for 130g aquafaba for a vegan loaf.
- Butter. Swap for olive oil for a vegan or dairy-free loaf.
So I took one for the team today and made this in my bread maker. It worked perfectly! Well, almost. There was a tiny bit of sinkage at the top, but not enough to spoil the loaf.
I started out to make this in the oven, but before I mixed the wet and dry ingredients, I decided to use the bread maker, put the wet ingredients in first, and the dry on top.
Next time I won't activate the yeast first, but will add it and the sugar on top of the dry ingredients and see if that makes a difference.
This is a lovely loaf of bread, and I love that I can make toast with it without the toast crumbling to bits.
Hi Louise - thank you for reporting back on your bread maker experience - I'm sure that will be so helpful for some bakers!!
I have made this in my bread machine several times now - it comes out beautifully. I put all the wet ingredients in (including the psyllium husk), then all the dry ingredients on top, and finally the yeast and sugar.
Today I made it vegan - I used all water instead of water and milk, and used 2 flax eggs. It still worked great, and my GF /vegan niece was delighted!
This is a lovely recipe. Great texture and taste! Thank you Georgina.
That's a pleasure - thank you for your feedback!
Hi, I just tried your recipe as it seemed promising for sandwiches, but I didn't have access to psyllium, just xanthan gum that i mixed in with dry ingredients. I used large eggs so i kept the water to 180 mL instead of 200. Tastes good, but more dense then what I see in your pictures, also the crumb has an almost fried quality--I don't know if it's because of temp ovens ( I used convection at 190C till the inside registered 98 C) or it's because of my changes from the recipe. I'm new to GF baking. Any thoughts? Thank you.
Hi Yves, I haven't tried the recipe using xanthan gum and I have to admit I'm not an expert at xanthan gum as I never use it in my baking due to my intolerance to it. However, psyllium husk is a different beast to xanthan and I expect the issues you encountered would be because of this change as they cannot be directly substituted. I would also think the issues with the eggs would have something to do with it. If you attempt this recipe again I would recommend to weigh your eggs. This recipe needs 240g (or 4 medium eggs at 60g each) and then keep the water content the same as the original recipe.
Second try, did exactly as recipe and now I have a sinking bread...
Crust is also rubbery, and interior gummy. So it doesn't looke like a water content vs atmospheric pressure/ambiant humidity thing. I weighed everything, listened to every detail and checked my oven's calibration.
Hi Yves, that does not sound very successful at all. Just checking you used psyllium husk and not psyllium powder? Also checking you used potato starch and not potato flour. And also whether your yeast is in date. And finally that your egg whites are from medium eggs - so that's a total of roughly 160g egg whites. A gummy interior will usually point towards the psyllium not working as it should, too much starch, too much liquid, overproofing and the oven running at a non-consistent temperature. I hope some of this helps to clarify why the recipe didn't work as it should for you.
thanks for the replies, yes whole psyllium husks, yes potato starch, yes date on yeast ok and proved, oven was calibrated, weighed everything including medium eggs as per previous comment. Still trying and toying with different recipes, I've gone off with the so called Tom Van Deman recipe and getting huge success with it, also using sorghum.
Hi,
What is the serving size of the nutritional information provided?
Thank you.
It's per slice assuming you cut the loaf into 12 slices.
Hi
Can you make this bread without the psyllium husk, it seems to affect me
Hi Rosemary, I'm afraid I haven't tried the recipe with a substitution for the psyllium husk but others have suggested flaxseed works well, stirred into water to create flax eggs. However, I cannot suggest an appropriate amount since I haven't tried this substitution myself.
Hi, this looks like a wonderful recipce! I was wondering if I could somehow replace the psyllium for xanthan gum or guargum, because I have a sensitivity to psyllium. I understand that you haven't tried making it that way, but I was wondering if you could maybe give me some advice on how many xanthan gum/guargum to use. Thanks in advance, I'm looking forward to making this recipe! 🙂
I am not much of an expert on xanthan gum I'm afraid as I have never used it in my baking. I'm sure you can google how to substitute one for the other. Sorry I can't be more help on this.
Yummm, I missed the white bread of childhood and with its chew and flavor I am home again. The most difficult part was finding the Psyllium husk. Once obtained it was into the oven with my loaf and the joy of warm bread with butter.
Hi Denise, I'm so happy you liked the bread - thank you for your feedback!
Amazing recipe! Came out great, though i feel my psyllium husk worked too strongly and jellyfied water into a tough ball of jelly. I had to put he dough into a blender to break down that jelly. Did i do anything wrong?
Hi Anna, I'm happy you liked the recipe. Did you use ground psyllium husk maybe?
Yes, indeed, I realised I used ground psyllum husk. For my next time I used 30% less and it worked out perfectly!
Also I used 2 eggs instead of 4 egg whites and it still did the job. I love this recipe so much.
Do you know if one can freeze this dough after proofing to have it at hand when needed? Or will the yeast lose its power?
The best gluten and rice free bread I have tasted, easy to follow recipe . once cooled sliced up for the freezer, 2 slices per a bag enough for beans on toast or just toast.
Many thanks x
An absolute pleasure! I'm so happy you enjoyed the bread!
I'm excited to try this as despise gluten-free bread with rice flour. Looking forward to checking out more of your recipes!
Hi Marcie - if you do try it I would love to hear back!
I was so excited to see a rice-flour free recipe and couldn’t wait to try it. I think I overworked the dough before proving as used whisk instead of dough implement on mixer. I then used dough one for 4 minutes. Anyway. It rose well during proving and tasted great. Even my husband who avoids all gluten free bread (along with myself) actually liked it and is ok with me just doing this bread and needing to buy any other. Thank you for this recipe
You are most welcome Sonia - thank you!
Hi, I want to try your recipe. My concern, 4 egg whites. Do you have a recipe for using the yolks. Or, do you use the egg whites you can buy in the store? I know I can put the yolks into scrambled eggs, what do you do with yours?
Thank you for your time.
Christine
Hi Christine, I understand as it's horrible wasting eggs. There are a number of options. I do actually use the cartons of egg whites you can buy (which I freeze in batches). I also have a lot of egg whites in my freezer from making ice cream and custards. If I use fresh eggs then I will cook the egg yolks up separately with a bit of butter and have egg yolks on toast - my children love it. As mentioned you can use the yolks for making any custard based dessert or you can make a lovely rich carbonara sauce. If you put the egg yolks in the fridge I find they are best used within a 24 hour period otherwise they get a bit of a skin on them. I hope that's helpful!
I made this bread today. It is really good! I've tried a lot of gluten free bread recipes and this is the first one I won't be throwing away. I'm in the US, so gs and mls were fun to figure out. Thank you for this great bread recipe!
I'm very happy to hear that! Thank you for pursuing even with the unfamiliar measurements!!
I am so happy for this recipe!! Thanks a lot!!! I would love to see more bakery goods like Croissants!!!! 🙂
I've tried many GF bread recipes and this is the 1st one that tastes like bread. An added bonus is that it's quick and easy. No kneading. I absolutely love it.
Thank you so much for developing this.
That's great to hear - I'm so happy you like the recipe!!
I am so excited to try this! I prefer to avoid baking with rice flour, as we eat a lot of rice already, and my celiac husband is allergic to nuts, so I'm delighted this doesn't call for almond flour. Thank you!
Thank you Janet - let me know if you give it a go!
Can you say what temperature the bread should be in the middle for it to be cooked? I’ve had some trouble with gluten free bakes telling when they are done. They always seem to take longer than the recipes say, and they are harder to judge than wheat bakes. I’ve started to make notes on the temperature my bakes reach, for a better guide.
Could you also describe the difference in results between ground and whole psyllium husk? Why use one rather than the other? I have ground, but not whole.
I’m looking forward to giving this a try, though so far my attempts with gf breads outside of a bread maker have all been disastrous. I’m hoping that your tip on proving will sort it for me as my last loaf looked great but had tunnelled horribly.
Please could you say what are the dimensions of a 3lb tin?
Would this work as rolls?
Thanks so much
Hi Yvette, I haven't taken the temperature so I really don't know! Every oven is different it's true but this recipe has been tested a lot (really, a lot!) so I'm quite confident of the baking times. Next time I bake this loaf I will take the temperature for sure! The reason I used whole psyllium husk is that it is what I normally buy. If you use ground you will need to use less (2 tbsp whole psyllium husk is the equivalent to 1 tbsp psyllium husk powder). The tin is 21.5 x 13cm (the link to the actual one I use is within the post). I'm testing this recipe as dinner rolls next so I hope so and will report back!
Hi Georgina
Thank you for this recipe.
I did make the loaf, and I checked my tin size against the link in your blog - the internal measurements of mine are 21.5 x 11.2, so a little smaller, unless the link lists external measurements. When I put the dough in the tin, it definitely came further up my tin than is shown in your pictures, and when I proved it (using your method), it muffined over the top! I feared it was going to be overproved, but actually it was very good.
I baked it to about 99 degrees.
I'm a wheat eater myself, but my son who can tolerate only a small amount of wheat in his diet, said it was the nearest to wheat bread of my recent bakes, though in common with even my most successful GF bakes, it's a bit crumbly compared with wheat. As there's no issue in this household with gums, I might give a spot of xanthan a try.
I bought psyllium husk (unground) to try in the recipe, and was struck by the fact that the husk is white, whilst my ground product is brown. Any ideas why?
I think I've seen on your site that you don't have a bread maker? Has anyone tried this out in a machine and can offer any advice? I'm a lazy baker, and would rather not have to hand make. I'm going to give it a go, but I'm not confident of success, so any tips would be useful.
Thanks again!
Yvette
Hi Yvette - thank you so much for your feedback. I'm surprised you found the bread crumbly as I don't have that experience at all. Yes, I can understand it muffining over the top in a slightly smaller pan. I have not tested this in a breadmaker. I'm happy you liked the recipe!!
Wonderful! Can I use all potato starch instead of tapioca starch Georgina? Not sure if you can substitute one for the other/ use each interchangeably? Thank you for your baking magic! xxx
It wouldn't be my recommendation to use just one starch in this recipe as it just doesn't give the best results. I would recommend swapping the tapioca starch for arrowroot if you can't have the tapioca.