Yummy Sandwich Bread (Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free)

Jan 9th, 2008 by Mary Frances

Now that I’ve given you my new all-purpose gluten free, soy free flour mix, you need a recipe to try it in. Based on the questions and comments I’ve received I decided to start with bread. And I even found a new sous chef for this experimental baking. Please let me introduce Sous Chef David. (Check the end of the post for more pictures!)

Experiments in Bread Baking:
For the baking session, I decided to make enough dough for two loaves and cook one in the bread machine and one in the oven. I recently posted “conventional oven” directions in the comments to one of my posts and I wanted to make sure that they were correct. And I thought it would be fun to compare the two loaves. You know me; I like experiments.David and I made a double batch of the dough (see recipe below) and then scooped half of it into the bread machine. I’ve lost the paddle to my machine, so I just threw the dough in without it and set the bread to bake on the 80 minute “Express Bake” setting.The other half of the dough was scraped into a greased 10″ Calphalon loaf pan. The dough needed to rise in a warm place for 45 - 60 minutes and the only warm place that I could find was on the stovetop in front of the vent from the oven. I wasn’t sure if this would counteract the somewhat chilly temperatures of our house, but the bread was pushing at the top of the cloth within 45 minutes. After the bread rose I baked the loaf in a 375 degree oven for 60 minutes.

And here are the results:

Two Loaves of Gluten Free Soy Free Sandwich Bread

The bread machine bread is on the left and the oven bread is on the right. These loaves turned out pretty much as expected. My oven loaves have always been on the short side, but I think this is primarily because my loaf pan is longer and wider than my bread machine pan. There’s just more room to spread. To confirm this theory I cut the end off of each, and you can see in the pictures below that both loaves have the same density.

Again, due to some recent reader comments I drug out my measuring tape to determine the exact height to which my loaves had risen. The bread machine loaf topped out a little shy of 3″, while the oven loaf came in right at 2″.

The 3″ loaf is typical for our bread machine. I’ve made higher loaves with store-bought mixes but they always collapsed as they cooled. Even though this loaf is only 3″, it’s always 3″ and I can count on having slices of bread that will hold together for a sandwich. In fact, this is the bread that we use for sandwiches, and along with soup or a salad it is the perfect amount for a meal.

The 2″ loaf of bread is a bit small, but we’ll be eating sandwiches from it too. We may just eat two!

Final Thoughts:
While I am definitely in love with my bread machine, I think that you can bake a good gluten free loaf in the oven if you have the right pan. My bread machine pan measures 7.5″ x 5″ x 5″. I did some quick research on Amazon and a my 10″ loaf pan is technically a 1 1/2 pound pan. A 1 Pound Loaf Pan measures 8.5″ x 4.5″ and, if my theory is correct, should result in a higher loaf.

If you have any insights from your bread-baking experiments that you’d like to share with everyone, please tell me about them in the comments.

Yummy Sandwich Bread (Gluten Free, Soy Free, Casein Free)

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 ½ c. water (105 degrees or a little less than hot)

2 ½ cups Gluten Free, Soy Free All Purpose Flour Mix
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt

2 eggs
1 ½ Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. cider vinegar

1. First combined the yeast and sugar in a small bowl, Add the water while gently whisking the yeast and sugar. Let this mixture sit while you mix the rest of the ingredients. If your yeast is good then bubbles and foam should form on the top. (By the way, this step is what is commonly referred to as “proofing the yeast”)

2. Combine the flour mix, xanthan gum and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir well. If you have a sifter, then by all means sift the flour. I don’t, so I whisk and stir it really well.

3. In a third bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and vinegar until the eggs are a bit frothy.

4. By this point the yeast mixture should be foamy, so you can pour the two liquid mixtures into the flour mixture. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed and then
(a) dump the dough into your bread machine and bake on the 80 minute setting.
(b) or following the remaining instructions for a convention oven.

5. Grease a loaf pan with shortening, butter, or the appropriately allergen-free substance. Scoop the dough into the pan and smooth it out with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon. Cover the pan with a damp dishrag and place in warm area so that the dough can rise for the next 45 - 60 minutes. The dough should double in size or reach the top of the pan.

6. After the dough has risen, bake in in a 375 degree oven for 60 minutes. When the bread is done it will have a crisp brown crust and it will pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the oven, and the bread from the pan, and cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

Tags: bread

Posted in Gluten Free Casein Free Recipes, Recipes for Bread & Baked Goods

30 Responses to “Yummy Sandwich Bread (Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free)”

on 10 Jan 2008 at 10:34 am1carrie

I had to smile when I saw your stubby cute little bread machine loaf… that’s what all of my loaves look like too! The loaf from your oven looks very pretty! I don’t do many oven loaves because I’m never home long enough to let the bread rise and get it baked! I’m glad you like sorghum flour! I just wish they carried it at walmart! maybe we should make a petition!! I love your comparison posts! Very interesting stuff!!
on 21 Jan 2008 at 8:22 pm2Menu Plan Monday — January 20th « One Beggar’s Bread

[...] steak salad for me (no one else liked the arugula cheese), PB and J for kids (I’ll try the sandwich bread from Gluten Free Cooking School); raw veggies with [...]
on 04 Apr 2008 at 7:31 am3Mary Bryant

xantham gum is a soy product so your bread is not soy free.
on 27 Apr 2008 at 4:35 pm4Mary Frances

Mary,
I’ve done a bit of research and see that xanthan gum is a fermented corn sugar. I haven’t found anything about it being a soy product - where did you find this information? A number of my readers are have soy or corn allergies, so I want to make sure I have the full story. Thanks for your comment =)
on 15 May 2008 at 8:59 pm5Helen

Hi,
Thanx 4 the recipe. Will try it. By the way I’m not using a commercially packed gluten free flour so would be grateful if u could tell me the different proportion of flour 2 use.
Is shortening an important component in bread making?
Helen
on 15 May 2008 at 10:32 pm6Mary Frances

Helen, I hope you like that bread. You can click on “Gluten Free, Soy Free All Purpose Flour Mix” to go to the post that contains the recipe for that flour mix.
on 15 May 2008 at 10:36 pm7Mary Frances

Thank you all so much for sharing your experience and advice. I will probably be re-reading it for the next few weeks as I decide hot to proceed.

I can definitely tell a difference in nasal congestion, but my tummy is still not working properly. I may need to buckle down next week and go GFCF to let everything heal. And after that, we’ll just see.

I am still leaning towards not doing the shots. A few hours after the allergy testing I had what I would consider a “strong” reaction to having so many allergens in my body. I had a headache, nausea, hot and cold flashes, and really wanted to cry for my mommy. If the allergy testing was that bad, would my reaction to the shots be worse? I don’t think I want to find out.
on 03 Jul 2008 at 10:19 pm8John

This bread was easy to make and tastes great! I think my pan is the same size as yours, since it came out fairly short. I decided to slice it on a slight diagonal so that the slices would be taller.
on 07 Jul 2008 at 7:06 pm9Mary Frances

@John: That is such a clever idea!
on 26 Jul 2008 at 1:47 am10DC

xanthan gum
[ZAN-thuhn]
Produced from the fermentation of corn sugar, xanthan gum is used as a thickener, EMULSIFIER and STABILIZER in foods such as dairy products and salad dressings. See also GUAR GUM; GUM ARABIC; GUM TRAGACANTH.

© Copyright Barron’s Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER’S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.
on 12 Aug 2008 at 12:56 pm11Janice

I’m in the process of making this bread and, unfortunately, it’s not baking well in the middle. I have the same exact bread machine and followed your directions, except that I put the liquids in first and then the flour. I thought maybe you mixed them first because you didn’t have a paddle. Do you think that’s what happened? I put it on bake for longer to see if it works, but at the end of the 80 min. Expressbake cycle, it had hardly started to brown.

As a side note, from what I understand, Xanthan Gum can be grown on a number of plants, it’s not derived from a plant. It can be grown on soy or corn. I used Bob’s Red Mill’s. It doesn’t say on the package how it was grown…all it says is gluten free. I didn’t think about it either until I saw the above post. I guess I’ll call the company and look into it. We’re trying to stay soy free as well as gluten and casein free. Here’s a link about Xanthan Gum: http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/hyxan.html

Thanks for the recipe…I love your blog.
on 12 Aug 2008 at 1:13 pm12Janice

Hi,
I was really looking forward to trying this bread, but it’s not working very well. I followed your instructions, except that I put the liquids in first and then the dry ingredients. I have the same bread maker as you do and I used Expressbake 80 min.

At 80 min., it wasn’t brown yet and there was a big circle in the middle where it wasn’t cooked yet. Do you think it was because I put the ingredients in separately rather than mixing them? I thought you didn’t do that because you don’t have the paddle.

I have it baking for longer in the machine now, and after an additional 30 min., it’s browning, but still doughy and a little sunken in the middle. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Janice
on 15 Sep 2008 at 5:53 pm13Billie Jo

Hello, Has anyone had any success with a bread recipe that is gluten free, dairy free and yeast free. Yep I’m serious!. I realize that these are all major players for successful bread but I am allergic to them all. Thanks for any help! Billie Jo
on 24 Sep 2008 at 9:28 am14Melissa

It’s in the oven as we speak! Your sous chef is adorable! I’ll update later to let you know how it turns out.
on 24 Sep 2008 at 11:39 am15Melissa

It turned out really well! It looks beautiful. I used the 8.5 x 4.5 pan and it was almost too small. I think I’ll try it in the larger pan next time just to see the difference. Also, my kids didn’t like it quite as well as a packaged mix I made the other day. They liked the sweetness of the mix. Can I just add a bit more sugar to this recipe?

We just went GFCF on Monday and I’m so used to eyeballing my breads made with wheat. I can already tell that gluten-free baking is much different so I’m afraid to play around too much with the recipe just yet.

Thanks for the great blog!
on 26 Sep 2008 at 9:00 pm16Mary Frances

@Melissa: Definitely increase the sugar if you want. I can’t imagine that would cause a problem. Welcome to gluten free - I’m sure you’ll be back to eyeballing recipes in no time =)
on 01 Nov 2008 at 2:44 pm17Shari

What exactly is Xanthan gum. IS it like Xiolotol a sweetner. IF so I am very allergic too xiolotol. Could you use arrowroot instead?

Shari
on 04 Nov 2008 at 8:27 am18Melissa

Hi Mary Frances!

Just wanted to give you and update. I added more sugar and it was just fine. A friend of mine gave me a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix and I used that to make bread and my family hated it! As soon as I went back to your recipe, they were happy campers again! I feel very lucky to have found your recipe first instead of trying several different ones before finding the right one.

I ran out of cornstarch a couple of weeks ago and used potato starch instead and that was just fine.

I’ve been buying Bob’s Red Mill sorghum flour at the grocery store. I would love to find it a little less expensive. Where do you buy your sorghum flour?

Thanks a million for your website! I also made your cornbread and the family loved it!!!
on 11 Nov 2008 at 8:03 am19Mary Frances

@Melissa: Thanks for the update! I usually buy by Bob’s Red Mill directly through their site or through Amazon.
on 11 Nov 2008 at 11:37 pm20Donna Grinnell

I would like to try this recipe, but I have a child who cannot have cider vinegar because he doesn’t do well with apples or grapes…would vinegar from corn make a huge difference? Or can I substitute something else?

Thanks…
on 19 Nov 2008 at 7:24 pm21Mary Frances

@Donna Grinnell: You might want to add some additional sugar since the cidar vinegar is somewhat sweet.
on 30 Nov 2008 at 3:28 pm22Rachel

Thank you so much for your blog, and the cooking & experimentation that you do so that I don’t have to be so overwhelmed.

I have baked this great bread recipe a few times, and today I omitted the cider vinegar. I think today’s bread was lighter than it’s ever been. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence, but I think I’ll keep making it without the cider vinegar and see if I get the same good results!
on 09 Dec 2008 at 5:23 am23Angie B.

Billie Jo I’ll keep my eyes open for you! My boys and I (and my nieces and brother) can’t have gluten, eggs, or dairy. HAHA Trouble is that every gluten-free bread recipe I’ve found calls for eggs (and subs don’t seem to work well in breads). If anyone knows of a gluten and egg-free recipe for bread I’d be extremely grateful!
on 10 Dec 2008 at 10:53 pm24Jennifer O

Hi Mary,
I just made your recipe using the soy flour but I did not have corn flour so I used tapioca. It seemed fine until I took the loaf out of the machine and it started to collapse…the top, the sides Could it be the tapioca? It tastes really good though. Any ideas on what I did wrong?
on 10 Dec 2008 at 11:18 pm25Mary Frances

@Jennifer O: It may very well have been the tapioca. What you’ve described sounds exactly like what used to happen when I used the Bob’s Red Mill Wonderful Sandwich Bread mix.
on 12 Dec 2008 at 11:44 am26Jennifer O

Mary,
I also used a packet of breadmaker yeast and didn”t realize that you don’t have to “proof” it. I did anyway…it did foam, not a huge amount and the bread rose a lot while baking it just sank when I removed it from the pan. Do you think that could have been the culprit or do you still think it was the tapioca flour. It’s a shame if it is the flour because it tasres really good! Also I made a large batch of the flour mixture, do you think I could alter it by adding the corn flour and another liquid(not sure which)?
on 14 Dec 2008 at 8:44 pm27John

@Jennifer O: I’d try proofing the yeast again and make sure that it is within its expiration date. If the bread tasted good, I’d probably just keep using the flour mix until you run out, rather than trying to change it up even more.
on 01 Jan 2009 at 9:25 pm28Juanita

If you add egg free and soy free to the gluten free, dairy free, yeast free, you have hit on my problem, along with 16 other food sensitivities! Anyone know how to work with these problems? I get sooooo hungry for some bread!
Juanita

Hello, Has anyone had any success with a bread recipe that is gluten free, dairy free and yeast free. Yep I’m serious!. I realize that these are all major players for successful bread but I am allergic to them all. Thanks for any help! Billie Jo
on 01 Jan 2009 at 9:26 pm29Juanita

Thanks! I sure could use some help!

Juanita
on 04 Jan 2009 at 7:02 am30Chris

Thanks for the recipe. My daughter is milk and soy free and we are trying to make things as “normal” as possible! She loved the bread as did our family. I think I may add a bit of honey the next time since none of us are allergic!