Cooking and Serving: 50 minutes | 10 slices
Ingredients
See recipe for ingredients
Description
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 10 slices
Instructions
How to make this versatile rice free bread recipe.
Ingredient substitutions.
Gluten Free Rice Free Bread Recipe.
Notes
* Storage instructions
* How to make this versatile rice free bread recipe
* Ingredient substitutions
* Gluten Free Rice Free Bread Recipe
I first published this recipe for Tom’s gluten free sandwich bread in August
2009, only a few months after I started this blog. Looking back on it, I can see
that it breaks every single rule I have come to embrace over the years about
As originally written, it calls for bean flour, makes a very wet batter that has
something of a tendency to overproof, and it isn’t even my recipe! But all the
same, it was a true beacon to me in those early years, when there was little to
hope for in gluten free baking.
I’ve left all of the original comments on this post from beginning in August
2009. There were no photos of the bread (literally, not one), and the
instructions were not very descriptive. But it was gluten free and dairy free,
it called for ingredients we could all find one way or another, and it worked.
Readers loved it as I did (and do).
I made this bread dough into every single possible form (a loaf of bread! a
weepy roll! a fluffy pizza dough!) and it truly felt heaven sent way back in
2005. But it is most decidedly not mine.
TOM’S CELIAC LIGHT BREAD
This recipe was created selflessly, to everyone who asked without asking for recognition or attribution.
For a time, it was sold as a mix called Tom’s Celiac Light Bread.
I first got the recipe from Tom in either 2004 or 2005 when I was part of an
early celiac message board. At the time I had been ordering expensive, spongy
bread from Canada that looked good but tasted bad. I was desperate.
Back then, there was essentially no good gluten free bread for sale that was any
good—or affordable. Today, thankfully, we have lots of packaged gluten free
bread options. But fresh is always better.
I could not believe that Tom’s recipe worked even when my measurements seemed a
tiny bit off. I used it for my kids’ school lunches and for French toast
used it for a pillow at night and had sweet, sweet dreams.
Tom’s Bread is actually quite easy to make, freezes beautifully, and can be
sliced as thin as you like. When it’s freshly made, you don’t need to toast it.
It is also naturally dairy free, and magically doesn’t call for any rice flour
though rice flour is at the heart of every well-performing all purpose gluten
If you don’t plan to eat it all in a day or two, slice the whole loaf, then
freeze it in a freezer-safe package. To defrost, just toast a couple slices and
it’ll come back to life.
Tom’s gluten free sandwich bread loaf shown in the loaf pan, just baked and
gluten free sandwich bread loaf shown in the loaf pan, just baked and mostly
HOW TO MAKE THIS VERSATILE RICE FREE BREAD RECIPE
This recipe is a batter bread recipe much like our best gluten free bread
more old school than that recipe, as it doesn’t call for a blend, but rather
specific individual gluten free flours—and it doesn’t call for any rice flour of
All you really need to do to make this bread is combine all the dry ingredients
except for the yeast, and whisk them together. Then, add the yeast and whisk to
combine (this keeps the yeast and salt from clumping together). Add the wet
ingredients, and beat really well.
The dough isn’t just a batter. It’s a very wet batter. I remember that I used to
“roll” it out and shape it into a rectangle in a sheet pan to make something
resembling gluten free pizza
. But it’s so soft that I
simply can’t picture how I did it successfully. I think I used a ton of garbanzo
bean flour to “shape” it.
A VERY FORGIVING GF BREAD RECIPE
For many years, to ensure reliable results in baking, I’ve measured nearly every
ingredient measurement) equals 1 weighted ounce. I do measure the ingredients in this
recipe single thing. So clearly it’s not essential!
You do need to include all of the ingredients as listed, or at least an
acceptable substitute as outlined in the “Ingredients and Substitutions” section
below. You do need to beat the batter/dough well, allow it to rise fully (but
hopefully not too much), and slice it in the center, so it doesn’t explode in a
million different directions as it rises.
But there really aren’t any secrets you need to know to be successful. When I
began making this recipe again recently, after years of developing more
gluten-like gluten free bread recipes, I was tempted to make dramatic changes to
I wanted to try replacing the oil with melted butter, for more flavor. I was
dying to reduce the water a bit so it didn’t rise quite as high.
I wanted to tinker with the balance of dry ingredients. But this isn’t the place
for that. This recipe is what it is, and it rescued me and my family in more
Thank you, Tom Van Deman. You always said that this recipe came to you fully
formed, from divine inspiration. It’s hard to believe it happened any other way.
Tom’s gluten free sandwich bread showing slices from the side.
gluten free sandwich bread showing slices from the side.
INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
This recipe is naturally gluten free and dairy free, as it was originally
written. I have made a few changes to the recipe method, but they’re slight and
This revolutionary recipe is unique among gluten free baking recipes since it’s
not made with any rice flour. Typically, when a reader asks about baking gluten
free without rice flour I steer them toward my Paleo recipes
grain free. But this recipe is also rice-free, and also quite adaptable.
The original recipe is made with garbanzo bean flour, or chickpea flour
of my earliest gluten free baking—even though I really didn’t like the taste or
the smell. But garbanzo bean flour worked in gluten free baking, and I was
grateful to be able to bake literally anything that worked.
These days, more than a decade later, I just won’t bake much of anything else
with garbanzo bean flour. Raw and baking, it just smells awful to me. It’s less
pungent once baked, but still, I refuse.
Luckily, this recipe has proven to be quite versatile. In place of garbanzo bean
flour, I use an equal amount (navy bean flour, which happily lacks the taste and smell of a typical bean
flour, would work well, too.
I have not replaced the cornstarch or the tapioca starch/flour. I like baking
with both of those starches, and never saw a reason to eliminate them.
If you need to try replacing tapioca starch, I recommend trying arrowroot. If
you’d like to eliminate the cornstarch, try potato starch. If you’re only
replacing the cornstarch, try replacing that, instead, with arrowroot.
This recipe relies heavily upon eggs, calling for 3 whole eggs. They provide
rise and structure. I’m afraid I don’t recommend making this bread egg-free. If
you need to be egg-free, my newer bread recipes made with gluten free bread
I’d recommend trying. You could also try our recipe for gluten free sourdough
is naturally egg-free.
The recipe calls for a “neutral oil,” which just refers to something neutral in
taste and aroma. Grapeseed, peanut, canola, vegetable, and avocado oils all work
I don’t like to specify which type of oil since they really are interchangeable.
Plus, so many readers seem to think that canola and vegetable oils will be
responsible for the demise of civilization.
Tom’s gluten free sandwich bread shown as it’s being sliced.
gluten free sandwich bread shown as it’s being sliced.
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GLUTEN FREE RICE FREE BREAD RECIPE
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 35 minutes mins
Rising time: 1 hour hr
loaf of gluten free rice free bread sliced in half on wire rack
of gluten free rice free bread sliced in half on wire rack
Tom’s Gluten Free Sandwich Bread was my first successful loaf of gluten free
rice free bread ever, and it couldn’t be easier!
* Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
* 1 ⅛ cup (105 g) garbanzo bean flour, or 3/4 cup (105 g) sweet white sorghum
* 1 cup (144 g) cornstarch
* 1 heaping cup (129 g) tapioca starch/flour
* 3 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
* 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
* 3 tablespoons (41 g) packed light brown sugar
* ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 ¾ teaspoons instant yeast, (or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast)
* 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature
* 1 ⅛ cups (9 fluid ounces) hot (not boiling) water
* 3 tablespoons (42 g) neutral oil, (like canola, vegetable, grapeseed,
peanut or avocado oil)
* Grease and line a standard 9-inch * In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large
bowl with a handheld mixer, place the garbanzo bean or sweet white sorghum
flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch/flour, xanthan gum, salt, brown sugar, and
cream of tartar, and whisk to combine well.
* Add the yeast, and whisk again to combine.
* Add the eggs, water, and oil, and beat on medium speed until well-combined
* Turn the mixer speed up to high and continue to beat for 1 minute more. The
mixture will be very soft and much thinner than even a typical gluten free
* Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and, using a moistened spatula,
spread it into an even layer in the pan.
* Spray the top of the dough with cooking oil spray, then cover the pan with
* Set the pan in a warm, draft-free location and allow it to rise until the
dough has nearly doubled in size. This will take less time in a warm, moist
environment, and more time in a cool, dry environment.
* Once the dough begins to rise unevenly (you’ll begin to see shallow craters
on top), it’s risen fully. Do not overproof.
* Near the end of the rise, preheat your oven to 375°F.
* Remove the plastic wrap and, using a moistened sharp knife, slice the top
about 1/4-inch deep from one short end to the other horizontally.
* Place the pan in the preheated oven with plenty of head room to rise.
* Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with a
spoon. The internal temperature will be about 200°F.
* Turn the loaf out onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.
Nutrition information is approximate, at best, and is based on using the
original, not alternative, ingredients. Please do not rely on it for any medical
Originally published on the blog in 2019. In 2021, all photos and video new;
text modified; recipe unchanged other than to offer an alternative ingredient.
In 2023, new text resources added.
Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 411mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 3g |
Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an
Tom’s gluten free sandwich bread shown raw, baked, and sliced so you can view
the center of the loaf.
gluten free sandwich bread shown raw, baked, and sliced so you can view the