This best ever gluten free white sandwich bread is so soft and delicious, just like that Wonder-ful bread we used to love!
Oh, how I've wanted a great peanut butter and jelly sandwich for so long. Do you remember a regular 'ole pb&j? The one on that super soft bread that all those gluten-eating people take for granted? It's the one my son (and possibly yours) ate almost every day of his young life because he was too picky to eat anything else, haha!
This new bread can be the canvas for the classic peanut butter & jelly. Or a perfect grilled cheese. Or a homegrown tomato sandwich with mayonnaise that gets slightly squished when you bite into it. Who's hungry for a sandwich now? I know I am!!
Creating the Best Ever Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread
After many failed attempts at trying to create this bread (at least 40) I went back to the drawing board. I researched and researched and found that what I wanted was a tighter crumb. In other words, not a lot of holes in the bread.
To get that, I had to use less liquid than normal. But in gluten free baking, especially breads, using less liquid usually means the end result is like a brick. Nobody wants that. So how in the world can we make a gluten free bread that's not only soft, but has a tight crumb and a tall rise?
Using a Tangzhong
First of all, what is a tangzhong? A tangzhong is just a mixture of a small amount of the flour and liquid from the recipe that's cooked into a paste. Kinda like a roux. In fact, it's often called a water roux. What this does is pre-gelatinizes the starches in the flour so they can absorb more liquid.
But what does that mean for our bread? Well, for starters it means the bread will be softer because it will retain more moisture. And retaining more moisture also means it will stay soft longer. And it may even rise higher because there will be more moisture to create steam! If you've ever made my Gluten Free Olive Garden Style Breadsticks or the Softest Gluten Free Rolls Ever, you've already had experience with a tangzhong.
To make the tangzhong, simply heat a small percentage of the flour with a small percentage of the liquid (in this case milk) over a low flame until it thickens and becomes paste-like. Let it cool while preparing the rest of the ingredients, and then add it to the dough when it's being mixed together.
Adding Psyllium Husk Powder
If you've been following me recently, you know how obsessed I've become with psyllium husk powder! I know it's been around a while, but it's rather new to my gluten free baking repertoire and I just love the results it offers!! Extensibility, softness, and a great rise are the attributes I find so appealing when using psyllium husk powder.
What Size Pan is Best?
For the tallest loaf, I would suggest using an 8.5 by 4.5-inch one pound loaf pan. Any bigger of a pan size and the loaf will be squat and dense. You can find this pan size here (affiliate link).
Substitutions
For dairy free--substitute the milk with dairy-free milk (almond, soy, etc) and, as always, see my gluten free flour blends page for subs in the blend itself.
If you have an allergy to coconuts, sub the coconut oil with another type of oil, such as vegetable or canola. I've tried this bread with butter (which you know I'm a fan of), but it didn't stay soft for long enough and I think it had a lot to do with the butter.
I have to say that I really love the flavor the coconut oil imparts in this bread. And when my son, who is my taste tester as he's a gluten eater, said it was the best tasting loaf I'd made, I definitely stuck with the coconut oil.
Tips for Storing the Bread
Like any good bakery bread that's not made with a bunch of chemicals to keep it fresh, a few days after baking it becomes stale. There are a couple ways to keep this bread still at its peak:
After the bread has cooled, slice it into individual slices (about ½ inch thick), place the slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet in one layer, and allow them to freeze (no more than an hour). Once frozen, you can put groups of 2 or 4 together (however many you think you'll need at a time) and wrap them in plastic wrap. Then place them in a ziptop freezer bag, sucking out as much air as possible. Freeze the bread for 2-3 months, removing slices as needed.
Trick for Removing Air from Ziptop Bags
This isn't my trick (I saw Tyler Florence do it a long time ago on the Food Network), but it's a great idea that totally works! I call my mom the Freezer Queen (she freezes everything) and she uses this method all the time.
Close the bag almost fully, leaving just about an inch still unzipped. Stick a straw in that opening and suck out as much air as possible. You may have to do this a couple times to compress the bread and make a nice seal. This is like the redneck version of one of those food saver machines, haha!
Defrosting or Refreshing a Slice (or Two)
Remove however many slices you need from the freezer and leave them wrapped in plastic wrap on the counter until room temp. This won't take long at all.
You can also go straight from the freezer to the toaster if you want to toast your bread. Just add a few more minutes to the toast cycle.
Bake a loaf of this best ever gluten free white sandwich bread and then make yourself a pb&j. Or how about a tomato and mayo sandwich? Those homegrown tomatoes we're all growing should now be ripe for the pickin' 🍅
Best Ever Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- ¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
- ¼ cup (35g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
Dough
- tangzhong
- 3 cups (420 g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend***
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
- 2 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon (30 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon rapid rise (instant) yeast
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼ cups (300 ml) whole milk
- 4 tbsp (56 g) coconut oil, solid but soft
Instructions
Make the Tangzhong
- Put the milk and flour in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat and whisk until thickened and paste like, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly while making the rest of the dough.
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour blend, psyllium husk powder, sugar, yeast, and salt and whisk to combine. Slowly add the milk and coconut oil and mix to combine using the dough hook. Add the tangzhong and continue mixing, increasing the speed to medium high and kneading for 5 minutes.
- Scrape the dough into a large mound in the middle of the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap (or try a shower cap or silicone lid). Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours. Refrigerate the dough until firm and easier to handle. This could take anywhere from 4 hours to overnight. To make the bread the same day, place the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes, which should firm it up enough to shape.
- On baking day, remove the dough from the fridge and knead until smooth on a well-floured surface, adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking. Shape the dough into a loaf shape long enough to fit into an 8.5 by 4.5-inch loaf pan. Spray loaf pan with nonstick spray and place the dough in the pan. Cover and let rise until the dough crests above the top of the pan about one inch. This could take 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Be patient.*
- Preheat the oven to 450° F. When the dough has fully risen, slide the loaf pan into the oven and carefully throw a few ice cubes onto the bottom floor of the oven. Shut the door quickly. Bake the bread for 10 minutes and then decrease the temperature to 350° F. Continue baking for another 30 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 200° F. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Tip the bread out of the pan and allow it to cool completely before slicing.
- Serve bread within 24 hours for softest results. After 24 hours, slice bread and place individual slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet until frozen. Wrap the slices in plastic wrap and place them in a ziptop baggie. Suck out as much air as possible from the baggie before placing it in the freezer. Bread will keep in the freezer for about 3 months.
Jessica
So Google tells me that flaxseed is a good replacement for psyllium in recipes. However, the only thing I was able to find locally was flaxseed meal. I'm thinking if I put this through a coffee grinder that should be a little closer to the psyllium powder? I don't necessarily want to exclude it, but at the same time I have a violent violent reaction to psyllium. Or should I just change the measurement, such as in your dinner roll recipe?
Kim
I would either change the measurement or leave it out altogether. If you leave it out, you'll need to adjust the milk in the dough to 1 cup (240ml).
Meghan
Your recipes are always a smash success for me! My kids favorite gf sandwich bread (and the most affordable where I live) has always been Trader Joe’s but they’ve been having supply chain issues and I haven’t been able to get it for weeks so I finally tried this recipe and they LOVE it! Guess I’m going to have to bake a few loaves a week :). Does doubling the recipe work ok? My kids eat a lot of bread lol!
Kim
That's awesome, Meghan!!! I think you could totally double the recipe 🥰
Meghan
Also, update if anyones interested, I made this sourdough yesterday using Kim’s advice to convert her breads to sourdough and it was AMAZING!!!
DeeAnn Uhlarik
Hi, Kim. I am making your brioche recipe tonight and will be trying this white bread recipe tomorrow. I'm wondering how many ice cubes is a few ice cubes? Thanks very much!
Kim
Hi, DeeAnn! Just a handful or so, 3-4. It doesn't need to be precise. 🥰
Brenda Leonard
Hi Kim, I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you for your amazing bread recipes. I have only done your artisan bread but look forward to some others. I have one question though. Whenever I place the proofed dough in the refrigerator it shrinks back to pre-proofing size. Is this normal? I can never get it to stay at double it's size.
Kim
Thank you, Brenda! I appreciate your support.
Yes, it is totally normal for the dough to shrink in the fridge overnight. It will spring back into action once it's been kneaded and shaped, however 😊
Nosheen Ausaf Kidwai
Hi. I live in Pakistan and whey protein isolate is not easily available. Can you suggest a substitute for it?
Thanks
Kim
There are several substitution suggestions right on the flour blends page (listed right in the flour blends table). Are you unable to find any of those either?
Claudette Zimney
Regarding the soft pillowy dinner rolls ... can they ever be made mini loaf size or will it collapse or not bake properly with larger dough size. Also I may have missed it, but can you place phsyllium husks in coffee grinder to create powder? Thanks
Kim
Good question about the psyllium husks. I'm assuming it would probably work great in a coffee grinder!
I haven't tried it, but I bet this dough would work great as a mini loaf! You'd definitely need to adjust the baking time.
Ayesha
Hi Kim, I can’t remember how I stumbled across your recipe but I’ve made this a few times now and each time has been a success. I omit the psyllium husk and opt for softened butter instead of coconut oil and it turns out great and still super fluffy. I have noticed the dough sticks to my fingers a bit as others have mentioned, but I can deal with it. My parents say I just haven’t learned how to show it who’s boss yet. Lol 😭
I’m allergic to wheat, eggs, and nuts so finding a plain sandwich bread recipe (that doesn’t have a weird taste or use a ton of fancy ingredients) has always been a challenge (and I’ve gone through a lot of recipes!) but it’s always been something I’ve craved. Now that I have your recipe, I could cry. Lol. Thank you so much! 🙂
Kim
Awe, that's so awesome, Ayesha!! I'm so glad you're loving this bread. The psyllium husks would help with the consistency of the dough and make it less sticky, but if you don't use it, you can reduce the milk to one cup, which will make the dough less sticky as well. 🥰
Arly
and here is the sandwich bread i’ve been looking for 🙂 Thank you, I will try it out next, but I think i will have to sub the coconut oil with something else.
Do you think shortening would be okay? OR maybe grapeseed oil ? I’m trying to avoid the coconut flavour:P
I’ve used grape seed oil for baking and it works great to keep moisture and have a neutral non flavour.
This tangzhong technique is fascinating! I’ve seen recipes for asian dumplings (like gyoza) made with this same technique using rice flour, nice one 😉 Thank you for sharing your hard work!
Kim
Yes, I think it would work fabulously with shortening or grapeseed oil!
Thanks so much for your kind words!!
Steve Titolo
Just tried out your recipe. Just one comment: Wowwwwwww.
Kim Garrett
Hello, I was so excited to come across your recipe and try it! I am in the process of making my first batch and my question has to do with after it has risen the first time, then I placed in the fridge overnight, pulled it out and it is SO STICKY that I feel I could have used 3 cups of flour easy to keep it from sticking to my hands. I worked with it some and although it was still very sticky(I was afraid to keep adding flour and then making it dry) I placed in in the bread pan and its rising in the oven. Can you talk about the sticky part and about how much of your flour mixture to use to make it not sticky when kneading it with your hands and how much is to much to use? Thanks so much for all your effort you have put into making this amazing bread recipe and all your other recipes!!!
Kim
Hi, Kim! I'm not sure why your dough was so sticky because it's not usually very sticky. Did you happen to watch my video? You'll see in the video about how much extra flour I add when kneading. It may be about 1/4 cup total, but it's really not as sticky as you're describing so I'm thinking something went awry. Did you use my flour blend or substitute anything within my flour blend? That is definitely crucial to getting the proper texture of both the dough and the baked bread. Also, sometimes it's the quality of the ingredients within the flour blend itself. For instance, I haven't been able to get my usual brand of tapioca starch and instead found an inferior brand that was very gritty and just didn't work in either of my flour blends, so much so that my pie crust was awful when it's usually very tender and flaky.
Stephanie
I had this exact issue with 2 loaves I made this morning. I probably added between 1/2 - 1/4 cup of flour before just putting it into a loaf pan to rise and spent probably 5 min getting the glue dough off my fingers. I'm almost ready to bake them but I'm hoping they turn out OK! I didn't substitute anything in the flour mix or recipe so I'm not sure what happened?
Sandra Duke
Hi there!. Can I sub the whole milk for coconut milk?
Kim
You might be able to, but I haven't tried it.
Sarah
This is honestly the best bread I've made. I have tried A LOT of recipes over the years, and this one is at the top. Never before have a found a recipe for bread that allowed me to actually make a DOUGH and not a batter!!! Thank you for creating this genius recipe! I have three loaves on the go right now. Two for stuffing for our Canadian Thanksgiving, and one for sandwiches for my daughter's birthday. One difference for me is that I use active dry yeast and proof it with the sugar first. I also add 1/8 tsp ascorbic acid (not citric) since that is also present in instant yeast (which I don't use because it's more expensive for me).
May I make a suggestion for cheaper superfine rice flour, though? Erawan makes excellent white rice flour, sweet rice flour (it's called glutINous rice flour; not gluTENous), and tapioca starch. They can be found in Asian grocery stores, or sometimes the international aisle at a regular grocery store. For example, it's $1.29 at my local grocery store for a lb! I checked with the company, and they are definitely gluten free flours (no contamination). This is what they look like: https://www.amazon.com/ESSENTIALS-Flour-Dried-Glutinous-Tapioca/dp/B08C6XLD2X/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?crid=NOJO1T3R26KD&dchild=1&keywords=erawan+rice+flour&qid=1633467170&sprefix=erawan+&sr=8-14
Kim
So glad you liked the bread!!!
I've tried Erawan before and didn't care for the texture of it. I found it too grainy. The superfine flour I use is silky smooth without a bit of graininess. But if Erawan worked for you, then by all means continue to use it. Thanks, Sarah 🙂
Angi Maust
This was so good that it actually made me cry! I haven’t been able to make soft “normal” sandwich bread since my celiac diagnosis until now. This is truly life changing and I’m grateful for this recipe.Thank you for sharing your talents and God bless you!
Kim
Awe, thank you so much for your kind words, Angi! It's my pleasure to share my findings with anyone who wants them!! God bless you, too 😍
Sarah
Do you think this recipe would work for making perogie dough? I would just leave out the yeast and sugar, and probably sub the milk for water. Then leave it in the fridge for a few hours to firm up. My thinking is that perogies have some chew, and are not delicate, so your bread flour mix should work for something like this.
Kim
I honestly don't know, but you could give it a try. I've actually never had perogies, but they are on my list of many things to try to make gluten free.
Carlee
Is Potato Starch the same as potato flour? I ordered tapioca starch & received pkg labeled flour, are they one and the sa me starch vs flour? Also, want to make wontons/pot stickers but wonder if you need to use expandex,for stretchability but that seems to be just tapioca starch on the label(Judee's brand) does not list any other ingreds. The baking steel you link to on Amazon is no longer available, can I use the pans with all the little holes in them to make Italian bread & baguettes instead? Could not find another steel remotely close to the one you had recommended. Thanks for all the great recipes!!.
Kim
Tapioca starch and flour are the same thing. Potato starch and potato flour, however, are totally different and will produce drastically different results. I haven't yet perfected my recipe for wonton wrappers yet, but expandex is a modified tapioca starch and isn't exactly the same as regular tapioca starch.
Thanks for alerting me to the pizza steel problem. I don't know if pans with holes in it would work or not, but you could try it. This is the new baking steel I purchased a few months ago and it's amazing: https://amzn.to/3x5eJ0y 😍
Cara Snover
Hi Kim, I feel like my bread has a squeakiness to it. Have you ever experienced that? Any tips to prevent it? Thank you! Cara
Kim
No, I can't say I have. That's a description I've never heard of for a bread before. I wish I knew what to tell you as I've never experienced that before (and no one else has told me that either).