Beginner 5 min Self-Rising Flour Mix
This Recipe is for Members Only Get access to this recipe and our entire cookbook & recipe collection for just $1 Get Instant Access Here …
Recipe Type
Bread Recipes
242 recipes
3 subcategories
Curated by Evelina Melnikova
Gluten free bread was the thing that almost made me quit. Seriously. I spent my first six months producing loaves that could double as doorstops, crumbly messes that fell apart when you looked at them wrong, and once a sourdough so dense my husband used it as a joke paperweight on his desk for a week. That was 2019. What I know now would have saved me a lot of frustration and a lot of wasted flour.
The turning point was understanding that gluten free bread is not wheat bread minus the gluten. It is a completely different craft that happens to produce a similar end product. The physics are different. Wheat bread dough is elastic and forgiving because gluten forms stretchy protein networks. Gluten free dough relies on a combination of starches, gums, and hydration to create structure that mimics those networks without actually being the same thing. Once I stopped trying to make gluten free dough behave like wheat dough, everything improved.
Psyllium husk is the single most important ingredient in my bread baking. Not xanthan gum, not flax eggs, not any of the other binders people suggest. Our xanthan gum calculator shows exact amounts and alternatives for every recipe type. Whole psyllium husk powder, ground fine, at about 2 tablespoons per cup of flour blend. It absorbs water and forms a gel that gives dough stretch and helps the crumb hold together after baking. Our artisanal bread collection uses this technique across dozens of recipes, from French baguettes to ciabatta to challah.
Hydration matters more in gluten free bread than almost anything else. Our sourdough calculator helps you nail the hydration percentage and fermentation timing. Most of our bread doughs run between 80 and 100 percent hydration, which means they are wet and sticky and look nothing like traditional bread dough. That is normal. If your dough looks like it could be kneaded and shaped by hand like a wheat dough, it probably needs more water. I know it feels wrong to pour what looks like pancake batter into a bread pan, but trust the process.
Sourdough deserves special mention because it changed everything about how I think about gluten free bread. A gluten free sourdough starter is easy to maintain and it does things that commercial yeast cannot. The long fermentation breaks down some of the starches that make gluten free bread gummy, develops complex flavor, and produces a better crust. Our starter guide walks you through the whole process, and once you have a healthy culture going, you will never want to go back to instant yeast for artisanal loaves.
These 250 recipes cover everything from a basic sandwich loaf you can make in an hour to weekend projects like croissants and babka. The baked goods section has 224 recipes alone, so if you cannot find what you are looking for, it probably does not exist yet.
Editor's Picks
Editor's Pick
Sourdough Focaccia
This Recipe is for Members Only Get access to this recipe and our entire cookbook & recipe collection for just $1 Get Instant Access Here …
Editor's Pick
Easy French Baguettes (Gluten-Free)
This Recipe is for Members Only Get access to this recipe and our entire cookbook & recipe collection for just $1 Get Instant Access Here …
Editor's Pick
Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread
This Recipe is for Members Only Get access to this recipe and our entire cookbook & recipe collection for just $1 Get Instant Access Here …
Beginner 5 min 
Beginner 5 min Gluten-Free Bread Flour Mix
This Recipe is for Members Only Get access to this recipe and our entire cookbook & recipe collection for just $1 Get Instant Access Here …
Frequently Asked Questions
-
The most common cause is not enough hydration. Gluten free bread dough needs to be much wetter than wheat dough, often more like a thick batter than a kneadable ball. Other factors include using too much heavy flour like brown rice flour, not letting the dough rise long enough, or opening the oven door too early during baking.
-
For everyday bread, a blend of white rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch works well. For sandwich bread, adding a small amount of oat flour improves flavor and texture. Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 is a decent shortcut, but for artisanal loaves and sourdough, a custom blend with psyllium husk produces noticeably better results.
-
Not at all. Most gluten free bread is actually easier to make by hand or with a stand mixer because the dough does not need kneading the way wheat dough does. You mix the ingredients, pour or scoop into a pan, let it rise, and bake. A bread machine can work but is not necessary.
-
Yes, and it is one of the best things you can do for flavor and texture. A gluten free sourdough starter takes about 5 to 7 days to establish using rice flour and water. Once active, it produces bread with complex tangy flavor and better crumb structure than yeast bread. We have a complete starter guide to walk you through it.
-
Psyllium husk is the best solution for crumbly bread. It creates a gel network that holds the crumb together. Make sure you are using whole psyllium husk powder, not psyllium capsules. Also let bread cool completely before slicing. Cutting into warm gluten free bread almost always results in a crumbly mess.
-
Gumminess usually means the bread is underbaked even if it looks done on the outside. Use an instant read thermometer and bake until the internal temperature reaches 205 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit. Gluten free bread browns faster than wheat bread, so the crust can look perfect while the inside is still raw.
-
At room temperature for a day or two, tightly wrapped. For longer storage, slice and freeze. Gluten free bread actually freezes and toasts beautifully. Pull out slices as needed and pop them in the toaster. Many readers say our bread recipes taste even better toasted from frozen.
-
Psyllium husk absorbs water and forms a gel that mimics some of the stretchy qualities of gluten. It gives the dough structure, helps trap gas bubbles during rising, and holds the crumb together after baking. Without it, most gluten free breads are either too dense or too crumbly. About 2 tablespoons per cup of flour is a good starting point.
-
Unfortunately, no. Gluten free bread requires different ratios of liquid, fat, eggs, and leavening compared to wheat bread. The mixing technique, rise time, and baking temperature are usually different too. You will get much better results starting with a recipe developed specifically for gluten free flour.
-
A simple sandwich loaf or focaccia. Both are forgiving, do not require shaping skills, and produce consistently good results. Our sourdough focaccia is one of the most popular recipes on the site because it is hard to mess up and tastes incredible.
Related: