Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

Recipe Search

Gluten Free French Bread

Gluten and wheat free bread baking is new to me, but there are so many people who have food allergies that I thought it would be a good idea to learn to bake bread so everyone around my table can enjoy. This recipe was suggested to me from a friend and I was delighted with the result both in looks and taste. I'm sure you could mix your own flour blend and keep the cost down, but I thought I'd start with a premixed flour. One day I'll venture out. Gluten free dough is not kneaded, just mixed. I was not sure what it was to look like but it was a thick batter.  I hope if you try it you will also have success and you will enjoy it too.

Ingredients:
  • 2 tbsp dry active yeast
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup very warm water
  • 3 tsp xanthan gum
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cups gluten free flour blend (I used Kinnikinnick)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • corn meal
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
Method:
  1. Stir sugar and yeast into warm water and allow to stand for 6-8 minutes. It will double in volume. 
  2. In a large mixing bowl combine and stir together very well the flour, salt and xanthan gum.
  3. Stir together the eggs, oil and apple cider vinegar, give the yeast a good stir and add all to the dry ingredients.
  4. Beat on low until ingredients are combined and then turn to medium and beat 3-4 minutes. The dough will be like a thick batter. 
  5. If you have french bread pans grease and sprinkle lightly with corn meal. I don't have those pans so I placed parchment on a baking sheet, lightly greased it and sprinkled it with corn meal. Which ever pans you use, now spoon batter into two french bread shaped loafs, smoothing out best you can with the back of a spoon. 
  6. Slash the top of each loaf with a sharp knife. Brush the tops and sides of each loaf with melted butter.
  7. Let rise in a draft free place for 30 minutes. (I let them rise in the oven with the interior light on)
  8. Pre heat oven to 400ยบ.  To give this bread the authentic crusty crust on the outside and soft crumb inside I placed a small pan of water in the oven to add steam. I left it in while the bread baked as well. I don't know if that made a difference but the bread turned out perfect.
  9. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to a cooling rack immediately.
Slice while still warm or allow to cool and bag for later. The next day this bread was still soft and fresh tasting. I did not freeze it but I'm sure you could. 



Enjoy a slice!

28 comments:

  1. That looks amazing! It is amazing what we can learn for those we love.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like a masterpiece to me.
    I'm pinning this one to try to make when I have more time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ohmygosh! That looks soooo good! Must give it try.

    Kay Johnson
    andtheniateit.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. looks great..I'll be using this recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've just been searching the site....what happened to the ziploc omelettes?!! I made them about a year ago and loved it, but didn't write down the instructions.

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMGosh!! This looks soooo good! I'm glad to have this recipe... so many to cook gluten-free for! Thank you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ohh .. good for you, Kathy !
    that turned out great !
    Looks delicious!
    I do like Kinnikinnick... good products and good company.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks fantastic! Finally a recipe that doedsn't call for so many different flours & starches, but uses an all purpose blend! I can't wait to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have this in the oven RIGHT NOW!! We are so excited - I sure hope it turns out as well as yours look. I haven't had bread that looks this good for QUITE a while! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Question: Is that 1/2 cup water or 1 1/2 cups? Mine is really really runny...

    ReplyDelete
  11. just a comment. I received your book for my birthday (yeah) I guess I had secretly hoped there would be more gluten free recipes...=( anyways I now use your website... One "problem " I seem to be having with the one bread recipe in your book is my bread does not rise as quick as you say it should and especially not to reach the plastic wrap. For my bean flour I am using fava/garbonzo blend could this be the culprit? I did realize second try around the yeast was not quite enough so I caught that but it still never rose so much and then quickly after cooling I got a sunken valley through the middle. I am determined to get it right as I have two daughters with wheat intolerance and have tried SO many recipes this one sounded like a challenge but I thought I had each step down pat...so now I will attempt this one above. Keeping my fingers crossed, the french bread looks like a go too. I have So many flours and ingredients bought for making different recipes I could open a store...=D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb...on the bread recipe in cook book...your bean flour should be fine .. if the rising is slow or not enough try a warmer rising place (like in the oven with light one) and make sure your yeast is active. (good rising in the proofing)
      Try substituting tapioca flour for half of the potato starch - I have discovered that potato starch is sometimes the culprit for bread falling.
      And make sure you bake long enough ... Also if you are at a higher altitude maybe add a little more millet flour. (If dough is too soft it will fall)
      julie

      Delete
  12. Do you know of anything I can use in place of cornmeal to sprinkle the pans. I am allergic to corn.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Marni ... just leave the cornmeal out- grease your pans lightly or line with parchment paper.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I just tried this and instead of rising it just spead on my baking sheet :( Tastes good though. Any idea of what I could have done wrong? Yours looks so fabulous. LOL...I have no luck with bread.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Julie,

    This recipe is DELICIOUS. I absolutely love it and bake it all the time. I have a question, how do I keep my bread from deflating after I take it out of the oven? It looks fabulous when I take it out and perfect - I can't wait. While it cools it looses all it's puffiness and looks very flat. It's cooked all the way through and tastes wonderful still.

    What can I change?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rachel... this is Kathy's recipe, not mine ... But looking at her recipe, I noticed something - 3 tsps xanthan gum -- that is way too much! It seems reasonable to think that if xanthan gum replaces gluten, more would be better.. but it isn't. The recommendations are now a fraction of what used to be recommended -- (which is what Kathy has gone by) I would cut it back to no more than 1 tsp. Try that and see if your bread doesn't hold up better and maybe try a little less water. (Humidity plays havoc with gluten-free recipes) But I have found using less xanthan gum has really eliminated bread falling after it comes out of the oven.

      Delete
    2. I was thinking the same thing. My hubby is Mr. Celiac and I had to learn this the hard way, especially with molasses cookies...they flatten out, parts of them a shiny and the taste just isn't there. Making this tonight to go with cabbage rolls.

      Delete
  16. I made this bread for dinner last night and was very pleased with it!! I didn't think I would ever bake bread again once I went gluten free. Thank you for posting this recipe!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Has anyone made this with Energ G and/or with earth balance butter? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I tried this recipe and it not only fell in the middle but it taste like there is too much of something. Is it yeast or what?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Donna, sorry to hear about the bread not turning out for you. That is always frustrating. I am not a gluten free cook expert, but Julie is and she recommends using only 1 tsp xanthan gum. I have made this recipe a number of times for guests and have success, but next time I'm going to try cutting back on that ingredient as well. Try just a few tablespoons less water as well. I hope these suggestions prove to give you good results.

      Delete
  19. This is my first attempt at baking GF bread, so maybe its ignorance. But I'm looking at the ingredients and notice you have 2 TABLESPOONS of yeast listed. A normal package of yeast is a mere 2 1/4 TEASPOONS. So the recipe as written would require just shy of 3 packets of yeast. Is this right? Does GF bread require 3x the amount of yeast?

    ReplyDelete
  20. UGH! I don't know what I did wrong! Someone please help me!! I used the 3 packages of yeast (little over 3 TBS) after reviewing a few other GF bread recipes that called for about the same amount. The batter spread out and covered the entire bottom of the cookie sheet while I was trying to let it rise. I transferred the batter to mini loaf pans and let it rise again (kinda). I baked them for 20 min (just a guess). They look like bread. But I had no idea why it spread the way it did any why I couldn't get a traditional french loaf shape.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I need to reduse the sugar and the yeast. 1. I'm not supposed to have sugar or sweeteners because of medical issues. I doubt stevia or apple sauce (about the only things I should have) will feed the yeast. 2. I'm also at 6,000' feet. 2T yeast will make a real mess.

    Ideas about how to adapt?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Made this bread for a family get together. Even the critics loved it. Thank you so much.
    I had just about given up on baking gf bread.
    Has anyone tried baking it in a loaf pan?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Made this today, using flax eggs (I'm vegan) and it was INCREDIBLE! I'd also just about given up on baking my own gluten free bread.. but this one is a keeper for sure! I also committed brushing on the butter prior to baking, and it came out beautifully. Very impressed. Adding this one to my notes for sure. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.