Gluten Free Easy, Easy, Easy! French Bread Recipe
Updated Jun 09, 2025, Published Nov 11, 2011
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Today is supposed to be a very lucky day – 11/11/11. And personally, I am inclined to believe it. It was lucky for me and I think lucky for you. I had a gluten free bread baking recipe breakthrough.
As a person who spends most of her time creating gluten free recipes you can imagine that I get my fair share of emails asking if I have a really good recipe for gluten free bread. Before going gluten free I made a few loaves of bread (with varying degrees of success) but I was by no means a bread baker. When I get these emails I think “Why ask me? Why not ask a bread baking expert?”
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, I am probably the perfect person to ask. Why? Because:
1. I went for probably 15 years without eating bread so I know I can live without it – I would rather not eat bread than eat yucky, grainy, crumbly bread.
2. I love great food but I am also kind of lazy so I am always looking for the easiest way to make something.
3. I am not a person who finds it “relaxing” to knead dough by hand for 15 minutes. I wish I was that kind of person, but sadly when I do menial tasks for any period of time, my mind starts to wander and that is never a good thing!
4. I am success driven, persistent and some might even say a little OCD – I will keep at something until I get it right.
So, I decided to put my mind to making great gluten free breads. I decided to start with gluten free French Bread. I did my homework, I studied first the traditional French Bread recipes and methods, then I looked at gluten free ingredients and studied how to make them work better and finally, I baked and baked and baked!
I played around with flours and baking times and methods until I got a gluten free French Bread recipe that was crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, beautifully browned, tastes like what French Bread should taste like and was easy to make. I threw away a lot of bread, enlisted everyone I came across (including a good number of whom are regular gluten-eaters) in blind taste testing and finally, I am pleased to say, came up with a recipe I am happy with! And I think YOU will love!
And you want to hear the very best thing? It is actually EASIER to make gluten free French Bread than it is to make the gluten-filled kind! Yes, you heard right – EASIER! No kneading, no double rising (I tried, better without) no hours until bread is ready. You can actually have lovely, perfect gluten free French Bread in about an hour and a half, start to finish!
Ok… so here are some tips I discovered:
Equipment
You are going to need a mixer – it is going to do pretty much all the work for you. You also need a French bread pan – gluten free bread needs support when it is rising and baking. Fortunately, you can get one for under $20.00 – considering the cost of decent gluten free bread, an investment so worth it! The pans come either perforated or solid, I used both in testing and it didn’t make a huge difference but I did like the results from the perforated pans slightly more. And finally, unless you are dead certain your oven is totally accurate, run over to the hardware or grocery store and grab an oven thermometer for about 4 bucks – you should have one anyway!
Kneading
Remember when the internet was all abuzz about no-knead bread? Ha! That’s old news to us gluten free bakers! 3 minutes in the mixer and that’s pretty much it, no kneading what-so-ever!
Yeast
I got the best result from Dry Active Yeast. It needs to be “active” so if you have had a jar sitting in your fridge since you can’t remember when, go get a new one – it lasts about 6 months refrigerated, after that it may not be good any longer. If you do store your yeast in the fridge then it will take longer for the yeast to “proof.” You want the yeast mixture to pretty much double in size and be all foamy.
Flours
After testing all sorts of different flour combinations, what worked best was a simple combo of white rice flour, sweet rice flour (also called glutinous flour) and tapioca starch. I used all Asian flours (Erawan Brand) which are more finely milled and cost a fraction of the flours you get in the health food store. I also tested this recipe using my own flour and it came out really great (well…dahaaa!) and the dough was a tad easier to work with.
Gum and Fat
I found that mixing the xanthan gum with the fat (olive oil) before adding it to the batter made it work better. I wish I could tell you why, just trust me on this.
Prep
Get all your ingredients out, mix your yeast, blend the xanthan gum with the oil and lightly beat your eggs before you start to mix, it makes it easier. Do the steps in order as I give you in the recipe.
The Dough
If you were used to bread making in a former pre-gluten-free life you will think there is not enough flour in the dough because it has a consistency more like a thick batter than dough. Resist with every fiber of your being from adding more flour! This is just the way gluten free bread dough is. You need to spoon the dough into the pans and shape it with a spatula – it won’t magically turn into pretty ovals unless you do this.
Slashing the Dough
Cutting 3 or 4 diagonal slashes into the top of the dough will help the steam escape while it is baking giving you a lovely, tender texture.
Prepping the Pans
Either spray your French Bread pans with gluten-free, non-stick cooking spray or brush with oil before putting the dough into the pans to rise. For a really authentic bottom, sprinkle a teaspoon of cornmeal on the bottom of the pans after you oil them up. It isn’t completely necessary but it does add that certain je ne se qua (fancy French term for “a certain something”). If using the perforated pans, place them on top of a baking sheet to oil and dust with cornmeal or you will have a mess to clean. Do not bake the bread on the baking sheet however, just put the French bread pan right on the oven rack.
Browning
I tested everything I could think of to get the perfect brown on the French Bread and what I found gave the best color came from brushing the loaves with melted butter just before baking. The good news is that they also came out beautifully browned with a brushing of melted Earth Balance as well – keeping the bread totally dairy free if need be.
Humidity
To get that crunchy crust and tender inside so characteristic of good French Bread it should bake in a humid environment. This is easily created by putting a pan of hot water into the oven while it preheats and just leaving it there while the bread is baking. You can also spritz the oven occasionally with water from a spray bottle but then you have to remember to do it whereas the pan of water just sits there and does its job.
Here’s how the whole thing goes:
Mix the yeast, sugar and warm water – whisk to dissolve.
Let the yeast “proof” until foamy and doubled in volume.
Get all your ingredients ready before mixing.
The dough will look more like batter than dough.
Grease the pan with oil and sprinkle with some cornmeal.
Spoon batter into pans, shape into ovals and slash the top 3 or 4 times.
Place a pan of hot water into the bottom of oven.
Gluten Free Easy, Easy, Easy! French Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Dry Active Yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1½ cups warm water, it should be pretty warm to the touch but not hot
- 3 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ cups super fine or Asian white rice flour*
- ½ cup superfine or Asian sweet rice flour*
- 1 cup tapioca starch*
- 1½ teaspoons kosher or fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornmeal, optional
- 2 tablespoons butter or Earth Balance, melted
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water in a bowl about twice the size of the mixture and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Let sit for 5-6 minutes (10 if the yeast has been in the fridge) or until it is foamy and doubled in size.
- In a small bowl stir the xanthan gum with the olive oil until the xanthan gum is dissolved.
- Combine the flours, tapioca starch (or gluten free flour blend) and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or just the regular beaters – don’t use a dough hook) and mix to combine. Add the yeast mixture, xanthan gum mixture, eggs and vinegar and mix on low to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once. Turn the mixer to high and mix for 3 minutes.
- Spray a French bread pan (with 2 forms) with gluten-free, non-stick cooking spray or brush with more olive oil and sprinkle a teaspoon of cornmeal onto the bottom of each pan.
- Spoon the batter into the forms and shape into an oval with a spatula. Using a razor blade or sharp knife cut 3 or 4 diagonal slashes on top of each loaf. Cover the loaves with a clean kitchen towel and set in a warm, draft-free place to rise. Let rise for 30 minutes or until the loaves have doubled in size.
- Place a baking pan on the floor of your oven (or on the bottom shelf) and fill it with about an inch of really hot water. Position the rack you are baking the bread on in the middle of the oven. Turn the oven on and preheat to 400 degrees.
- Brush the top of the loaves with the melted butter or Earth Balance and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- You can also make crusty rolls by scooping the dough into 2 standard sized muffin tins, letting them rise 30 minutes and baking for about 20 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Delicious!! Made this for lunch, but as free form rolls rather than a French loaf. It was absolutely fabulous. It was declared a success by everyone, with both the wheat and non-wheat eaters commenting that “you’d never know it was gluten free”. I topped a few rolls with garlic/rosemary and others with grated Parmesan and they were honestly to die for. Thanks for the recipe!
p.s I made mine in my Thermomix, am going to link to your site on the Thermomix recipe forum to share my tweaks specifically for that device, but also to spread the good news on such delicious bread.
Great, I will check it out!
hi do you have this recipe on thermomix?
Hi Magdalena,
No, unfortunately we don’t.
Thanks Sereyna – I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Coming from a family of bakers, my mom is well known for her wonderful pies, and my daughter is a pastry chef, and having made a name for myself with my breads I was devistated when I was told that I was highly gluten intolerant. I have always been VERY picky about my bread and so finding your recipe was wonderful! I invested in all the right ingredients and it turned out perfect. The crusty outside comes back with a few minutes in the toaster oven if you store the bread and it makes great rolls. I use my giant muffin pan and I purchased some Anchor Hocking oval glass dishes to make my rolls in. Now I can have hambergers again and crusty rolls for sub sandwitches. Thank you so much!
Thank you linda and I too find that this recipe is easy to modify into other things. I am so happy you are enjoying the recipe!
After reading Marni’s post I would suggest that she make her loaves shinnier and longer and not let them rise as long. My first attempt was in a warm kitchen as it was in the high ninety’s outside and mine rose too much. I corrected the problem suring high heat and humidity by doing the above.
Thanks Linda!
Found this today, giving it a try tonight.
Carol, Can I use a regular loaf pan or shape free hand? I really don’t want to buy another pan. Thanks Joanne
I made it in a loaf pan and it worked great – it takes a little longer to bake, make sure the loaf sounds hollow or it won’t be cooked through. The batter is too soft to hold up to free form shaping.
Fabulous Bread !!! I think that the yeast should be 2 tsp not tablespoons ? It was a little salty for my family, so I cut the salt in half. I was able to make the dough in my bread machine. I just did the prep on the yeast and the olive oil separately, then put it all together in the machine. I cooked it in the oven in a regular bread pan. Great recipe ! Thanks !!! Even my kids who aren’t gluten free LOVED it !
So glad you enjoyed it Emily.
Made this bread tonight and it is FABULOUS! Texture, perfect. Taste, exquisite. My gluten-eating family could not taste any difference between it and a traditional French loaf. BUT MY BREAD DIDN’T RISE. Twenty minutes in the (unheated) oven to be free from drafts — but no rise to speak of. Yeast was fresh (bought just today from a local health-food store) and at room temperature. Warm water was 100 degrees F by thermometer. My oven baked the bread precisely and evenly, so I doubt it was the oven temp. What could I be doing wrong?!? (Regardless, this bread is DELICIOUS!)
Hmmm. Did the yeast get foamy? That’s the first question. Let me know and we can go from there.
The yeast did foam, a little — not as much as in your photograph. But the yeast should have been fresh, bought from my local health-food store and showing a use-by date of April, 2014! I wonder if adding a little cream of tartar next time would help …?
I have never tried adding cream of tartar but it cold help. I am thinking maybe the water could be a little warmer and you let it stand a bit longer. Also did you add some sugar to the yeast mixture to help it “grow”. I have made this recipe a zillion times and never had any trouble with it rising. Sometimes when the yeast or my kitchen is cooler, I have to let the yeast proof longer first. Also I let the bread rise in a warm place. I put it right by the oven wile it is preheating. The only other time someone had trouble with rising was when their kitchen was cool (they kept their house pretty cool). Ideal it should be warm for bread to rise. Once they got the bread into a warmer place it rose just fine. I hope this helps but if not, let’s work on it some more!
My teenager has recently had to go gf due to a sensitivity. She was missing many staples since she LOVES bread. Just made this to go with our brown rice pasta for dinner and we sampled it…YUM! She approved and I love how simple it was to make. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe!
Oh Jill, so happy you and your daughter enjoyed the recipe! Always thrilled when a recipe is “teenager approved”!
I hope you know that you have found the holy grail of gluten-free :-) This turned out absolutely beautiful. I’m very picky about bread and had all but given it up. I can’t wait to try your cupcake recipe; if that turns out anything as well as the bread I’ll have to get your book :-)
Aww, thanks! I am picky too – I see no reason for us to eat anything that doesn’t taste great. So glad you approve :)
It seems that most GF people are GF & _______. Mine is corn. So I’m wondering if I can just dust the pans with rice flour instead of corn meal? I’m really looking forward to trying this. Thanks!
HI Kim,
I would just leave it out – all the corn meal does is give the bottom crust a little extra something. I am not sure the effect would be the same with rice flour. I have made the bread many times without doing the dusting of cornmeal and it is great! Enojy!