Gluten-Free Honey Whole Wheat Bread (obviously w/out wheat)

I have tried a lot (and I mean a lot) of gluten-free bread recipes and ready-made gluten-free breads.  Some are fairly good, but nothing quite measured up to what I was going for, until now! This version is awesome!  It tastes like the good old honey whole wheat breads I always enjoyed.  Don't worry, the honey flavor isn't too strong and this bread is great for sandwiches, toast, grilled cheese, french toast - well, let's just say anything you'd normally want to eat with bread. I love that it has plenty of fiber in it, too, which is ideal in bread you're using for sandwiches.  I, personally, prefer to make mini loaves of bread.  I find the dough (with gluten-free baking) far less temperamental when you make mini versions of things, such as my mini cinnamon raisin and mini blueberry bagel recipes.  Enjoy!!!

Gluten-Free Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Based on a recipe by gluten-free author Donna Washburn

Yes, you can double this recipe easily!

 

Grease 3 mini-loaf pans OR 1 regular loaf pan w/ butter.

 

In a large bowl, mix the following:

1 ¾ cup brown rice flour

½ cup sorghum flour

1/3 cup arrowroot starch (OR ½ cup cornstarch)

1 Tbsp. xanthan gum

1 Tbsp. instant yeast (rapid-rise yeast)

1 ¼ tsp salt

 

In a stand-mixer, mix the following on low speed (use the normal beater, not dough hook or whisk): 

1 cup water

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp liquid honey

2 Tbsp. molasses

3 eggs

 

Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (mix on low to do this).

Then, allow your dough to mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.   The dough should be nice and stretchy and have a nice sweet, doughy smell.

 

Add and mix in:

1 ½ Tbsp flaxseed meal (optional)

 

Put dough into prepared pan.  The dough should not fill the pan more than 2/3 full. 

Let stand and rise in a warm location for 30 min - 1 hr.  This really depends on how warm the location is that your bread is rising and whether or not you’re making mini loaves or a regular loaf.  Stay nearby so you can check on it regularly – particularly the first time you make the recipe.

 

Dough filled 2/3 full in mini loaf pans. (you still fill 2/3 full in a full-sized loaf pan)

 

Once dough has risen just to the top of the bread pan (*see note below), bake @ 350F for 25 minutes for mini-loaves, and ~35-45 for regular loaf.   The bread will be nicely browned.

 

Dough risen just to top of pan

 

Turn out of pan(s) onto a cooling rack once loaf is done. The loaf should be nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped on bottom. 

 

Bread puffs up while baking and gets nicely browned on top

 

Let cool; then slice thick or thin.  You can slice and freeze whatever you won't eat within 2-3 days.  It toasts fabulously!  Enjoy!

 

* Note: gluten-free bread isn’t quite as forgiving as normal bread during rising and baking. It will happily collapse or shrink in on itself.  If you let the dough rise too much (above the top of the edge of the bread pan before baking), the dough will puff up nicely when baking, but when it’s cooling, the sides will sink in.  The bread still tastes great, but it’s not quite the nice square loaf with rounded top you’ll be going for.

It's great as sandwich bread!