Gluten-Free Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Video

GF boule from gluten-free artisan bread in five

(photo by Stephen Scott Gross)

(video by Sarah Kieffer)

Many of the folks who are baking from Gluten-Free Bread in Five Minutes a Day have asked:

  1. What’s the dough supposed to look like?
  2. How do you handle such unstructured dough?
  3. What’s it look like when baked?

Click on the “play” button in the video image above to play the video… it’s the Master Recipe from the book (the egg-white version, though you can make a version without egg). About stand mixers: We’ve had best results with our gluten-free recipes when we’ve used a stand mixer. Hand-mixing works too, but you really have to go a long time to make it nice and smooth. We have lots of experience with the 5-quart KitchenAid stand mixer. You can use the 6-quart or larger capacity, but we’ve found that those large models have a harder time mixing gluten-free dough.

You’ll notice that we used Red Star Quick-Rise yeast, which is gluten-free (so is Red Star’s Active Dry Yeast product). Gluten-free bakers can’t use the Red Star Platinum product, which has dough conditioners derived indirectly from a wheat protein–so it has a trace of gluten.

More on gluten-free bread-baking in Gluten-Free Bread in Five Minutes a Dayor on our Gluten-Free FAQs page.

65 thoughts to “Gluten-Free Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Video”

  1. I have your first 3 books … I am in the process of moving to grinding my own flour from whole grains… Wheat berries, corn etc … This is due to the less effect of glucose, hubby is type 2 diabetic & sprouted wheat does wonders for diabetics…. I am hoping you both will address home milling some time soon… Have you thought or discussed this … (Fingers crossed). Luvs Bin5

    1. Only indirectly, in a post I did a while ago, so check that out: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2009/11/11/using-fresh-ground-whole-wheat-flour-and-some-highlights-from-our-book-tour

      In general, our readers tell us that the wheat berries they can get are highly variable in their mosture content, density, or bran content, so the water has to be adjusted per batch of flour, or at least, by supplier. For most of our readers, that’s going to be a bit complicated. But I thought it was delicious. My guess is that Zoe and I will not be testing with home grinding equipment anytime soon.

  2. RE gluten-free bread. I read on my (british) active dry yeast instructions that the yeast should be reactivated before use. Is this not really necessary provided I follow the rest of your instructions? It has not risen much at all, as far as I can see, but I see that you say only some rising will take place before baking. I am not sure whether to throw this all away or bake it and see. I have never made a loaf of bread that didn’t taste downright disgusting (overpoweringly of yeast) and think I may have rumbled that it’s because I never follow the yeast instructions on the packet. What to do?

  3. I just read your book a little more carefully and now I have watched the wonderful video above, so I know that pre-mixing the yeast isn’t necessary and I can see that rising before baking really isn’t an issue. forget my previous email. thank you!

      1. I went ahead and baked and out came a beautiful baguette. When I stopped squealing I wrote a review for your book on amazon uk. I am very excited to have access this site and your book. I’m going to go an do another victory dance now. Thank you!

      2. So glad to hear this kmac, and thanks for the review. So when is that publisher of ours going to sponsor a trip to the UK? Haven’t been in 8 years, not happy.

        Wishful thinking, I’m afraid, publishers are having authors do less and less touring. But stop by anytime, we’re here. Dance indeed…

  4. I’d love to win a superpeel. I’m really enjoying playing with the dough. The more experience I have, the more fun I’m having.

  5. How wonderful that you have a gluten free book now. I have been using your original book for quite a few years for ALL my bread needs but my daughter has been reacting to something lately and it may be gluten. I am going to get this new book to try and help her but I am sure it won’t hurt the rest of the family either….

  6. Thanks for the video. It helped a lot. The first recipe I tried with the G.F. mix # 2 turned out quite thick & heavy. I used the recipe for the whole grain loaf on page 103. I threw it out. Today I am attempting the mix number 1 & the master recipe. My question is to size of loaf. When I measure out a pound of the dough mixture it is only the size of a small orange I would guess or the size of a roll. After watching your video it looks like your loaf is quite a bit larger so as you say it doesn’t rise much & I can see that for myself I made it larger but it is still smaller than what I envision a boule to look like if purchased from a bakery. Anyway, I have left it the somewhat larger size (a larger sized grapefruit) & it is resting at the moment. I am leaving it for 90 mins. Can you help me with the size it should be? Most of the pictures appear to be bigger but it is hard to tell. It states in your G>F> book that the dough mix should make up 4 loaves & it looks like mine will make more at this rate of size I am doing.
    Help me please. I so long for this to work!
    Elizabeth

    1. If you’re weighing, and you know your scale is accurate, then you have exactly what we have–though we find that 1 pound (on our scales) makes a ball about the size of a grapefruit. Sometimes the pictures exaggerate the size in your mind’s eye, because of the way the pictures are cropped (the way they cut out the visual background). If your final result has a texture you like, it’s working well–just make slightly larger loaves– if you want a bigger loaf, use 1.5 pounds.

      1. Hi Jeff
        Thanks for your speedy reply! My loaf turned out pretty good. It has a dense texture & a different taste. I can’t decide if it tastes sour or bitter or what. Also, even with the larger loaf that I made it still doesn’t make a full slice of bread that you could use for a sandwich. Is that what it is supposed to be like? My loaf ended up being approximately 6 inches in diameter & 1 3/4 inches high. Does that sound right? My oven didn’t register hot enough either on my thermometer so have to have it checked out. I couldn’t get it to register at 450 degrees. It got to 400 & then went back to 300 & I finally got it to 400 again. The bread tasted pretty good though.
        One more thing– How large can you make the loaf without ruining it?
        Thanks

      2. Sounds like you’re getting too much spreading rather than upward rise. You can try “drying out” the dough a little, in other words, use a little more of the flours next time. Just a little, a couple tablespoons or so. But if you’re trying to make sandwiches, I have a feeling that you’re going to be happier with a loaf-pan bread, which limits the sideways spreading. The loaf-pan method is on page 85, use the two pounds of dough that we specify and you should be able to make sandwiches out of that.

        We didn’t test super-large loaves with gluten-free, fearing that the limited rise you get with GF would be even more compromised when a lot of loaf is pressing down from above. Try two pounds and see what you think.

  7. Hi. I have all the ingredients and excited to make this bread. However, I don’t have a stand mixer. Is it possible t mix by hand and get the same results? Thank you

    1. Well, you won’t get the same results, but it’ll work, worth a try. The mixers really emulsify these ingredients better, which helps get a lighter result.

      1. Ok, so i got a stand mixer. I have done the recipe to the letter for both master mix and then the sandwich bread in the loaf pan. I’ve made 2 master mix batches and the only variation i’ve made is cutting the 2 TBS of sugar to 1. While my whole family really likes the flavor of this bread, the loaf bread doesn’t rise and comes out fully baked just as i put in in. So typically I fill a loaf pan half way and then bake and the bread rises to the top of the pan to create a nice bread. This goes in at half (the 2 lbs) recommended and comes out the same, at 1/2 a loaf. I’m very discouraged. I’ve proofed it for 2 hours, I’ve refrigerated, I’ve softly placed the dough in the pan, I’ve watered the top, cut the slit. Why isn’t this giving me sandwich bread …. the necessity in our house with 3 young boys. As you know all the above explained has taken waaaay more than 5 minutes a day. I look forward to your solution.

      2. Forgot the most important question: which of our GF recipes are you using (which book, which page number)?

      3. My apologies. I am writing on the gluten free bread in 5 minutes a day post. So i assumed you had appropriate context. To be exact, based on above post and resource, I purchased the Gluten free Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day book and secured a stand mixer based on your above recommendations. I made the master recipe on page 60 and then the Crusty White Sandwich Loaf on page 85.The loaf doesn’t rise and comes out dense. The only adjustment I am making from the recipe is 1 TBS sugar and 1TBS of salt vs the 2 TBS and 1 1/2 TBS salt in recipe. I am excited to hear your fix. Maybe baking powder or soda? Maybe more yeast? thanks

      4. When you say “doesn’t rise,” do you mean that you’re getting zero hole structure when you cut the loaf and look at the cut edge? I’m guessing you’re seeing hole-structure, but you’d like to see more. Here’s what we recommend:

        When you mix up your Master Recipe, do the variation on page 73, but use the egg-white version, not the whole eggs. That was definitely the best rise. So you may ask, why isn’t that the basic recipe? Well, we made an executive decision to keep the basic recipe vegan, because here on the site, there’s interest in that. But as we say on page 73 and 74, the egg versions (especially egg white) rise better. If you can eat eggs, I think you’ll be pleased.

        If not–stay away from big loaves in loaf pans, try the basic boule shape (page 69)–there’s less bulk weighing down the loaf.

        Hope this helps. While we’re at it, you could try to do the salt and sugar exactly as we do. I’m not guessing that’s going to make a lot of difference. Same for more yeast. Don’t know about soda/powder, we don’t use them.

        Oh, one more thing–are you using xanthan, or ground psyllium husk? They both work, just want to be sure you’re using one of them. And take a look at the paragraph at the bottom of page 53…

      5. Ok thanks. I’ll give this a go. I lowered the salt bc otherwise my family thought the bread was too salty. We don’t like sweet sandwich bread either. I’m using the Xanthan as well. … more to come. Thanks for your quick reply. I am on a mission to have tasty home made gluten free bread for our family.

  8. Hi there. We’re in round two of working on perfecting a round loaf. I tried this when the book first hit the shelves, wanting to go gluten free, not needing to, and failed big time, so I set it aside. I now realize after watching the video in the kitchen that I didn’t mix anywhere near well enough.

    Now our family has all been diagnosed with varying degrees of wheat/gluten/ allergies, so we’re trying again out of necessity. My 21 year old college kid is trying this time, and so far his first two attempts at the basic recipe have looked fantastic, but are wet in the middle (we’re ok with dense, but not so much on the gummy wet). He is fanatical about weighing ingredients, so we know that isn’t the issue. We’re thinking it might need to be mixed more yet (5qt KitchenAid), so we’re mixing a batch right now.

    We’re all allergic to egg, so we really appreciate the vegan version, but wish we could get the results of the egg version that you talk about. Any wild guess if the flax substitute for egg might help? Suspect that you haven’t tried it so you can’t say, but thinking you know a lot more about baking and might be able to speculate.

    And yes, we are using all products by Bob’s, having to use the Amaranth instead of the Sorghum as we haven’t found it at Target or Cub and haven’t had a chance to go to Whole Foods yet.

    Thanks, and looking forward to perfecting the loaf.

    1. We’ve advocated flax as a swap, but I really don’t think it’s going to lighten things in this case (you can try though).

      Sorghum might be a little better, but I don’t think that’s it. One thing you might try–some folks prefer the ground psyllium husk to the xanthan.

      Longer baking time at a lower temp (and have you checked the temp with something like https://ow.ly/8CVPU )?

    2. I’ve found that the addition of a flax egg really helped with the rise and slightly with the gummy consistency issue. I’ve been using 1 Tbsp. ground flax (golden or brown is fine, the brown ones will just be more noticeable in the final product) and 3 Tbsp. water before adding the rest of the water called for in the recipe per one pound loaf. I’ve yet to completely solve the gumminess (especially on the bottom crust of the loaf for some reason, even with a stone preheated for an hour) with the vegan version of this recipe but I’m going to keep trying at it!

      1. Hi Anthony,

        Do you have an oven thermometer? It is possible that your oven is not heating up to the temperature you are setting it to. If you are getting a soggy bottom crust, it generally means the stone is not hot enough, so I would raise the temperature a bit.

        If you are finding the bread to be gummy, perhaps use 3 tablespoons of the water called for to create the flax slurry, so you aren’t introducing additional water. Or maybe this is what you are doing and I misunderstood?

        Thanks, Zoë

  9. Is there a rule of thumb when using a loaf pan instead of a free form loaf on a baking stone? Different temperature, different bake time? For my last few loaves of gluten free recipes I have been mixing the dough, then scraping it directly into a greased Pullman loaf pan and letting it rise in the pan. I’m very happy with this as I get more rise and a taller loaf of bread (plus you also get uniform slices if you want sandwiches). Thanks

    1. Hi Darlene,

      I am so glad to know the quick rise method is working for you.

      The adjustments for baking in a loaf pan are determined by the amount of dough. If your loaf is larger than 1 pound you will need to increase the rising time and the baking time. I would say it is about 30 minutes per 1/2 pound of dough for resting and about 15 extra for baking per same amount. The temperature should not change, unless it is baking at a very hot temperature. If you are baking a large loaf for a longer amount of time, you may need to drop the temperature or the top will over color and the inside will be under baked. This will somewhat depend on the type of dough you are using.

      Hope that is helpful!?

      Thanks, Zoë

  10. Hello Zoë and Jeff!
    I’ve recently invested some time (and a little bit of money) into a gluten-free sourdough starter. Have you fiddled around with this is addition to the quickrise breads in the book made with commercial yeast? I’m going to look at adapting this recipe to work with a sourdough starter but am not entirely sure where to start.

  11. i bought flours from our local health food store and used the scale you recommended in your book to measure all the ingredients. I made the #1 Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour recipe on page 60. The dough was so sticky and did not raise and when cooked was heavy and very dense. I carefully added a bit more flour to the batch and tried another loaf, letting it raise for 2 hours. After cooking, it was hard as a rock, and I threw it out. I threw out the rest of the dough in the frig. I understand you used Bob’s flours and starches, which are quite a bit more expensive than my local store. Does Bob’s really make that much of a difference even when the ingredients are weighed perfectly as in the recipe?

    1. It’s not the weight–it’s the water-absorptive properties of the flour, and other properties, not all of which we understand. But we found that swapping, even one of the flours–made the recipe impossible to work with. Usually completely failed without major re-testing and changes in the formula.

      We standardized on Bob’s for one simple reason–it’s the only nationally-available GF line of flours in the U.S. Without standardizing, our book just doesn’t work…

      Meanwhile, I bet you can salvage what you have if you use it for flatbreads–which are much more forgiving.

      1. Jeff,

        I appreciate your answer. That makes sense, sadly. Local flour is much cheaper than Bob’s but that’s my next try.

        With the bread hard as a rock, I thought about flatbread but didn’t want to break any teeth. 🙂

      2. The thing about flatbread is that it’ll be done before it’s hard as a rock. If you have any of the dough left, give it a try.

  12. Hi Jeff and Zoe,

    I’m a huge fan – I have been making pizzas once a week for 7 years from your healthy breads book (the gf crusty boule recipe). I got your gf book for Christmas and have been making bread almost every day for the last month. I have two questions:

    1) my bread tastes great but doesn’t really rise. I have improved it by experimenting with water temperature, room temperature, and length of initial rise. My last boule was the best, but it didn’t really rise (during resting or in the oven) it just spread. Any suggestions with how I can tinker with my technique to improve the outcome?

    2) I’m excited to mix in seeds and herbs but I don’t understand if I have to mix them into the whole 4-pound batch at the beginning (before the initial rise) or if I can mix them into the one pound batches (after the initial rise but before the resting period). Or is there another way I haven’t thought of. I’m afraid to mix the dough after the initial rise (which is all the rise my bread currently enjoys).

    Thanks so much, for your writing and for answering questions here.

    1. Hi Kate,

      Tell me a little about the dough you are using.
      Is it the master recipe? If so, did you make any flour substitutions?
      What did you use as the binder, xanthan or Psyllium?
      Can you eat eggs? If so, did you try the recipe with egg whites? https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2014/11/03/master-recipe-from-gluten-free-abin5/ It tends to rise a bit more.
      Have you tried shaping the dough directly after mixing and baking right after the initial rise?

      Thanks, Zoë

      1. It’s the master recipe, no substitutions (except brown rice flour for white), xanthan gum, and no eggs (but I’d be happy to try them), haven’t tried shaping and baking immediately after initial rise.

      2. Hi Kate,

        Try the version I sent you the link to. Try shaping one loaf just after mixing and another after the dough is chilled and see which result you like better.

        Thanks, Zoë

  13. I am interested in using your 100% whole grain recipe for a sandwich loaf. What changes should I make in the recipe/directions. I live at 6500 feet, should I make it egg whites? I love the flavor of the recipe, but prefer a loaf shape. Can you help me?

    1. Hi Karen,

      The egg whites are going to help with your high altitude bread. I would also make smaller loaves. If you use 1 pound of dough in a smaller pan, then you can pretty much follow the same directions.

      I would also try mixing the dough and putting it directly into the pan, skip the 2 hour rise on the counter, just do it in the pan. Bake immediately after the rise. At that altitude it may not even take 2 hours.

      Thanks, Zoë

  14. Hi Jeff & Zoe,
    I made the Brötchen from your book with the egg-white version of the master dough. They came out beautifully but 1 day later were completely dried out and falls apart (i.e. very crumbly). I find that this is the case with all the gluten free goods I bake. Do you perhaps have any storage tips for gluten free baked goods or is it necessary to warm the bread up again in the oven before serving?

    1. Hi Nicole,

      Yes, this is quite typical of gluten-free breads, so we always recommend just baking what you can eat in a day or freeze the baked bread as soon as possible after it cools.

      Enjoy, Zoë

  15. If I’m baking the gluten free sourdough in a Wolf steam oven, are there special instructions? What’s the best way to bake in a steam oven.

  16. Page 62 in our gluten-free book is just a list of flours that make up Mixture #2, but which recipe are you using that in? I can’t see any of our other books with a GF recipe on page 62, so I’m confused.

  17. Hi Jeff, thank you for your reply. Yes, it is the Mix #2 that you mentioned. I need to find a whole grain flour blend to make pasta. I can no longer eat white flours, so I was hoping that this blend would work for pasta. Thoughts?
    Sincerely, Karen

    1. Ah, thank you. I missed the word pasta in your original question. We haven’t tested the gluten-free flour mixes to be used in pasta making, but my strong guess is that it won’t work. There just isn’t enough structure, and I fear that the pasta would fall apart in boiling water. You could try increasing the proportion of egg that is always found in traditional wheat-based pasta recipes. but this is going to take some major experimentation, with no guarantee of success. Good luck!

  18. Thanks Jeff, I have succeeded in making GF pasta with 1 2/3 c GF flour, 3 eggs and 1 t xanthan gum. It even worked great in my pasta machine without breaking. I just wondered if the whole grain flours were too heavy, so I will add another egg and let you know!

  19. I went straight to making a batch of gf brioche dough. It seemed REALLY wet compared to your video. I kept adding 1/8 cup al purpose flour mix until it looked more the video. I hope this is ok.

    1. Sounds like your measurement may have been off. Or you skipped the xanthan or psyllium? Or swapped for non-Bob’s Red Mill flours?

  20. I’ve gone through so much dough and no luck yet! I’m just not getting a rise after refrigeration. I’m using all your recommended products, weighing my ingredients, using a thermometer to test my yeast, thermometer in the oven, bought a second batch of yeast and pre-proofed a sample to make sure it was active….and I’m just getting rock hard loafs with no rise. What am I doing wrong??

    1. Hi Rachelle,

      Are you getting a rise before refrigeration? Which dough are you making? Are you baking from the Gluten-Free Book? If so, you may want to check out the instructions on page 68 for No rise, Just bake method, which may help your rise.

      Thanks, Zoë

  21. I’ve found that the bread is really good the first day and then gets really dry and crumbly the next day.
    What is the best way to store it?

    1. Well, fresh bread made without dough conditioners or preservatives really doesn’t store all that well. Consider making smaller loves that you can finish in one day, or try these two options. One is to store it cut side down on a non-porous surface. The other is just to put it in a plastic bag.

  22. I’m having trouble with the dough texture. The measurements given in the recipe make the dough very dry. Like a pastry dough. I’ve added some water to get it the texture of your dough in the video, but then in the rising process it gets very wet. So it collapses when baked. Should I just leave it at the dry phase, knowing it will get wetter when rising? I live in Canada so perhaps the flour I’m using is different in absorbing moisture? Though generally I use most Bob’s for most of the GF flours which is from he US.

  23. In reference to my question above, the bread I’m trying to make is Gluten Free. I’m using the All purpose mix from page 60 and am using psyllium.

    1. , not sure. The key is, the recipes were tested with 100% Bob’s Red Mill flours. If you make any changes, the water requirement changes. And the likelihood that it will hold a good shape changes. It sounds like you’re going to have to do some experimenting with different moisture levels. The other thing is…. Are you making any other substitutions? Omitting anything?

  24. Can you add more sugar to get a sweeter bread? Maybe add more salt also? I am using the recipe on p 64 of Gluten Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

    1. Sure can, but go easy, maybe a couple tablespoons of sugar at a time in the next batch. Increase it if you wanted still sweeter. It shouldn’t change the recipe significantly. As for the salt, you shouldn’t increase it by much more than 15 or 20%, or it will start to inhibit the yeast

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