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Gluten Free Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Gluten Free Sourdough Sandwich Bread |Sourdough Discard Recipes

4.73 from 11 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Rising Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf of bread
Soft, fluffy, and moist gluten-free sourdough sandwich bread that's crisp and golden brown on the outside. It uses gluten-free all purpose flour for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In addition, it uses a combination of gluten-free sourdough discard and yeast instead of active starter, making this recipe super easy, fast, and great for beginners.
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Equipment

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

  • 435 g (about 3 cups) high quality gluten-free all purpose flour containing xanthan gum *See more about types of flours in the Recipe Notes section below
  • 1 packet (7g) instant rapid rise yeast I use Fleischmann's
  • 1 teaspoon (2g) baking powder
  • 1 ¾ teaspoon (10g) salt

Wet Ingredients:

  • ½ cup (128g) gluten-free sourdough discard I used a brown rice starter
  • 1 ¼ cup (276g) water or milk warmed between 110-115 F You can use a combination. I used ¼ cup warm milk and 1 cup water
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup (74g) honey
  • ¼ cup (48g) neutral oil I used vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tablespoon ground flax-seed + 1 tablespoon hot water or substitute ½ tablespoon xanthan gum or ½ tablespoon cornstarch added to the dry ingredients - no water

Instructions

  • Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan by greasing the bottom and halfway up the sides with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, add the ground flax-seed and hot water, and stir. Set aside.
  • Using the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (GF flour, yeast, baking powder, and salt.) I use a handheld electric mixer.
  • Add in the wet ingredients (discard, eggs, vegetable oil, honey, vinegar, flax-seed mixture, and warm water and/or milk.) Mix on low until just combined. Turn the speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl every so often. This helps air bubbles get into the dough, making for a soft crumb. The batter should be a little thicker than a cake batter consistency.
  • Pour the bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Use a silicone spatula to smooth the top of the bread until even.
  • Cover the loaf pan in plastic wrap. Tip: You can spray the underside of the plastic wrap with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
  • Set the loaf pan in a warm place (best between 70-85 F) to rise for 40-45 minutes.
  • Around the 30-minute mark, preheat the oven to 350 F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
  • Remove plastic wrap and bake the bread for a total of 45-55 minutes, until the bread is golden brown, slightly hard to the touch, and the internal temperature reads 205 degrees. Tip: If around the halfway mark the bread is already golden, tent a piece of foil loosely around the top of the bread to stop it from browning. In addition, you may want to place a tray underneath the loaf pan when baking to catch any potential spills.
  • Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before removing it to a wire cooling rack. The crust will soften as it cools.
  • Cool the bread completely, about 3 hours, before slicing with a bread knife. Serve. Tip: You can slice the bread at any thickness you prefer. I like to keep my slices relatively thick, about 1 inch. I got 16 1-inch slices from one loaf.

Notes

Best Gluten Free All Purpose Flours to Use in Yeast Recipes:
The GF flours I tend to use are Bob's Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour (the blue bag) and King Arthur GF Measure for Measure, which both aren't recommended for yeast recipes. This is due to not having enough protein in their make-up of flours and starches to create robust, tall, and strong bread. However, the photographed bread is made with Bob's Red Mill. 
The typically recommended GF flours for yeast recipes are:

How to Store Homemade Gluten Free Bread:

Gluten-free bread loaves dry out/become stale much faster than wheat loaves because of the lack of gluten. Gluten adds structure to bread and helps keep it moist and tender.
Since gluten-free bread dries out fast, I recommend making one loaf at a time. Or, a max of two if you have a medium-to-large family. Only make what you can eat within a few days. Since baking bread is already a process anyway, I recommend planning to eat the homemade gluten-free bread in a certain order. This helps optimize the freshness of the bread.
First of all, never store homemade gluten-free bread in the refrigerator. The slices will become dry and may even become crumbly.
I recommend two different orders of methods for using/storing this bread:
Method One: Rolling With It
  • On Day 1/Baking Day: Plan a meal here you can enjoy the freshly baked bread after it has had time to cool down completely (usually around 5-6 hours after you started mixing the ingredients). It would be a shame to miss out on the bread's best texture and softness, which is at its peak on the first day. To make the most of it, only slice what you and your family plan to eat on that day, and keep the rest of the bread as a whole loaf. Store the unsliced part of the loaf in a bread box or an airtight container at room temperature. The first day is ideal for making cold sandwiches with the freshly baked bread.
  • On Day 2, you'll notice that the bread has become firmer and a bit drier compared to Day 1, especially the outer slices that were exposed to the air. While you can still make cold sandwiches with it, today, the best way to use this bread is for toasted sandwiches, grilled cheese, and similar dishes. Here's a tip: I prefer to use a frying pan or a panini press for toasting. To prevent the bread from becoming overly dry, make sure to generously spread butter on the outside of the bread when toasting it. This adds moisture back to the bread's interior, making any dryness virtually undetectable. If you find yourself with more than half a loaf remaining, consider slicing and freezing some of it for later use.
  • By Day 3, you'll probably notice that the bread has become noticeably firmer compared to Day 2. This day is perfect for making French toast or French toast sticks. Toasted sandwiches should still turn out well. It's a good idea to aim to consume most of the bread on this day. If you happen to have any bread left on Day 4, you can give French toast another shot. However, to avoid potential waste in the future, I suggest freezing slices on Day 1 when the bread is fresh
Method Two: Freeze & eat as you Please
  • On Day 1/Baking Day: Plan a meal where you can enjoy the bread after it has fully cooled, usually about 5-6 hours after you started making it. It would be a shame to miss out on the bread's optimal softness and texture on the first day. This is when it's perfect for making cold sandwiches. Slice all of the bread, and if you have leftovers that you won't use on the first day, freeze them in a gallon bag. I recommend freezing the slices individually so that you can easily grab the number you need when you want them. To prevent the slices from sticking together, try not to stack them directly on top of each other; instead, slightly overlap them in the bag
  • When you want to enjoy a slice or slices of frozen homemade bread, follow these steps: Take the bread out of the freezer and place it on a plate to thaw at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. It's important to note that frozen and thawed homemade bread has a slightly different texture compared to when it's fresh. Similar to store-bought bread, it can be a bit drier and crumbly. In my experience, the best way to use frozen and thawed homemade bread is by toasting it. I prefer making pan-fried sandwiches, similar to grilled cheese, rather than having them cold. When toasting, I always generously spread butter on the outside of the bread to reintroduce moisture, making it tender. While cold sandwiches with this bread still taste good and better than store-bought, they can sometimes crumble in a few spots as you eat. This issue is eliminated when you toast the bread in a frying pan with butter.
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