Many Americans are saying goodbye to gluten. I am one of them. For years, I have made homemade whole-wheat flour for my family. Very rarely would I buy store bought bread. My husband and children would wow so much over the bread I made once a week, store bought bread just couldn’t compete! There’s nothing that can compare with hot bread coming out of the oven.

But then we came face-to-face with gluten intolerance. It first struck my husband, who would experience extreme fatigue when he ate any kind of wheat. I learned to make whole grain bread using spelt and we enjoyed this new grain together. But then my son and I followed in my husband’s tracks. Our symptoms were different but the sensitivity was still there.

After awhile, spelt wasn’t a friendly grain for us either. So we entered the journey of gluten-free living. We still ate lots of whole grains (mostly intact grains like brown rice, quinoa, sorghum, and gluten-free oats). But it took me a long while to learn how to make a tasty and light bread that my family could eat. And enjoy. I think it took about a year’s worth of experimenting. But we finally have a recipe that we all like. My husband loves it most of all, which makes it so worth it for me.

I’ve also learned some tricks of the trade as a gluten-free baker. Making bread requires different methods when you’re using whole grains that don’t have gluten. Grains like millet, buckwheat, and oats don’t have the ability to rise on their own without the help of gluten. So you have to do more than just add yeast to the recipe to have soft, light sandwich bread. Here’s a few tricks I have picked up along the way:

Gluten bakers frequently bake bread in metrics, using a food scale. It gives you more precise measurements, which is important in helping the bread to rise. So I measure my ingredients in grams using a digital scale I bought at Meijer. It works very well.
Another tip I have found is to use straight-sided non-stick bread pans, often referred to as Pullman or USA pans. They cost more than most bread pans but they are worth the investment if you’re going to make your own bread. The angle shape of most bread pans make it more difficult for non-gluten flours to rise. They have to expand out as well as up, so it works much better when you use a pan with straight sides. I bought about 3 pans on Amazon. And because they are nonstick, I don’t need to coat them with oil. Plus, they wash up like a breeze!
Quite often I will put a pyrex dish of hot water on the bottom of the oven, setting it in there while I preheat the oven. Or I will throw a cup of hot water into the preheated oven after I have put my loaves of bread in there. Both ways create more steam in the oven which aids the bread in rising.

I used to add vegetable oil to my loaves of bread. But since going oil-free, I use unsweetened applesauce instead. Oil is traditionally used in breads to add moisture. But you can do the same by adding equal amounts of applesauce or another fruit puree. Unsweetened applesauce is my ingredient of choice. It adds a little bit of natural sweetness, doesn’t overpower the bread with a strong flavor, plus it helps my bread to rise better than when I used to use oil!
You can also use a non-aluminum baking powder to get more height in your breads. But I like to use yeast as my only leavening when I make whole grain bread. And have found by using applesauce, steam, and Pullman pans, I can make a soft light bread that my family will love.

Is the bread as light as store-bought varieties? No, but that’s what we like best. Most breads in the store have added conditioners, making them extremely soft. Millet bread has more chew but also much more fiber and flavor. Which is why it is our favorite bread. If you have celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or gluten intolerance, I hope you’ll give this bread a try.

Print Recipe

Gluten-Free Millet Bread

A light gluten free bread made with millet flour.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1

Total Time2

Course: Bread

Servings: 1 loaf

Author: Sue Gilmore

Ingredients

300 gm millet flour 2 1/2 cups
120 gm tapioca flour 1 cup
80 gm flaxseed meal 1/2 cup
30 gm chia seed meal 3 tablespoons
22 gm psyllium husk powder 5 tablespoons
45 gm organic white sugar 3 tablespoons
6 gm salt 1 teaspoon
10 gm rapid yeast 4 1/2 teaspoon
1/4 cup thin unsweetened applesauce
500 mL water 75-80 degrees

Instructions

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, whisking after each is added (this adds air to the mix which also helps with rising).
Add applesauce and water quickly. It will be soupy but don’t add more flour. It will thicken to cake-like consistency in about 30 seconds.
Set aside 10-15 minutes in a warm place.I set my bread pans on the oven while it is preheating. This step will thicken the bread dough.
Gently knead 30-60 seconds—this is mainly for shaping purposes. You don’t need to knead the dough to develop the gluten like you do in making wheat bread since the flours in this recipe have no gluten. The dough should have a nice texture—not too sticky and easily moldable. If it’s sticky, add a couple of teaspoons of gluten-free all purpose flour.
Put into Pullman pans; let rise on top of the stove while it’s preheating (400 degrees)—about 15 to 25 minutes til it has doubled. Most of the bread rising happens during this part.
Put the bread pans into the oven. Throw a cup of hot water onto the bottom of the oven and close the oven door quickly. This step adds steam to the oven which will aid your bread in rising.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 60 minutes. Cool thoroughly before storing.