This is the best homemade gluten-free vegan bread recipe which is egg-free, dairy-free, yeast-free, and nutritious! This German bread is actually healthy since it contains psyllium husk powder. It’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside!
Homemade Gluten-Free Vegan Bread
I cannot tell you how many times I tried making the perfect gluten-free vegan bread… Actually, I lost count how many times I ended up throwing the towel because it’s damn hard to create good gluten-free bread without eggs.
But since I can be quite stubborn (haha) I actually never gave up and continued with the recipe testing…
Psyllium Husk Powder
One day, I started experimenting with gluten-free pizza crust that contains psyllium husk powder. The recipe turned out so good, that I got intrigued.
To make a long story short, I made an online search about homemade gluten-free vegan bread + psyllium husk and found a couple of different recipes that were using huge amounts of psyllium husk powder in their bread recipes.
One recipe was from a German blogger, and she inspired me to give psyllium husk a try. I tweaked her recipe and used a different flour blend and the bread turned out amazing!
I was shocked by how great it turned out, especially since the bread is wheat-free (and therefore gluten-free), and egg-free (vegan)! It did rise, even though it doesn’t contain yeast and it actually looked like German bread from a bakery.
Conclusion: Psyllium husk powder is a godsend for gluten-free vegan baked goods. It’s also very healthy, especially for our gut! So please do yourself and favor and buy it or order it online. It’s cheap and absolutely amazing!
How To Make Gluten-Free Bread?
Check the video in the post to see how I made this amazing bread.
Step 1: Make the psyllium husk gel first. Mix the psyllium husk powder and water in a bowl. Try to be quick, because it gels instantly, within SECONDS. I always use a whisk, it works the best. Set aside and measure the dry bread ingredients in the meantime!
Step 2: It’s time to measure/weigh all dry ingredients and add them to a big bowl. You can also preheat your oven to 390 °F (ca. 200 °C) now.
Step 3: Mix it all together: Add the psyllium gel to the big bowl and mix all ingredients with a hand mixer (use the dough hooks). You can also knead the dough with your hands or use a Kitchen Aid. It will take about 5-10 minutes until the dough comes together.
Step 4: Shape the dough and bake the bread in the oven for about 55-60 minutes. That’s it!
Add Seeds Of Choice
I love adding pumpkin seeds but you can also use sunflower seeds, sesame seeds or nuts of choice (e.g. hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, almonds, etc).
The Ingredients
You can find all the ingredients with measurements below in the recipe card! Please also check the recipe notes below where I list different substitutes.
My favorite flour combo is this:
- Buckwheat flour
- Rice Flour
- Chickpea Flour
- Tapioca Flour
Recipe Notes & Substitutes
- Some readers replaced the buckwheat flour with oat flour or sorghum flour (or a combo) and the bread still turned out amazing.
- Rice flour works great in this bread recipe, but feel free to experiment with lentil flour, teff flour, sorghum flour, or quinoa flour.
- You can use arrowroot flour instead of tapioca flour/starch. Cornstarch or potato starch will most likely work as well.
- Chickpea flour is the same as garbanzo bean flour. It adds plant-based protein and I love adding it to bread. Some readers had success using oat flour instead.
- Psyllium husk powder is the most important ingredient in this recipe and cannot be subbed by any other ingredient. Make sure to use psyllium husk POWDER. If you have psyllium husk (not the powder), you can blend it in a blender or electric spice/coffee grinder until it’s a fine powder.
Can I Freeze Gluten-Free Bread?
You can definitely freeze this gluten-free bread! Slice it and wrap all individual slices in wax paper or parchment paper. Put in zip lock bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature and then toast the bread once you want to serve it.
Other Gluten-Free Bread Recipes
You can serve the bread with stews, soups and all kinds of comfort meals. Make sure to also check out my other vegan and gluten-free bread recipes:
- Gluten-Free Baguette
- Gluten-Free Pita
- Gluten Free Naan
- Gluten Free Buns
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Bread
- Moist Vegan Cornbread
- Marbled Banana Bread
Should you give this gluten-free German bread recipe a try, please leave a comment and rating below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your remakes! 🙂
Gluten-Free Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 100 g (3/4 heaped cup) buckwheat flour (see notes)
- 100 g (2/3 cup) white rice flour
- 100 g (1 cup) chickpea flour
- 40 g (5 Tbsp) tapioca flour/starch (see notes)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4-1 tsp sea salt
- 50 g (3/8 cup) pumpkin seeds (see notes)
Psyllium mixture:
- 450 ml (1.8 cup) water
- 30 g (3 Tbsp) psyllium husk powder (see notes)
Instructions
- I recommend using the metric measurements for this recipe (grams/ml). In a bowl, combine the water with the psyllium husk powder and whisk well. It will gel instantly and become thick. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, measure/weigh all the dry ingredients and add them to a large bowl. Preheat the oven to 390 °F (200 °C).
- Add the psyllium gel to the bowl and knead the ingredients with a hand/ stand mixer (use a dough hook). You can also knead the dough with your hands. It will take about 5-10 minutes for the dough to come together.
- If the dough appears too wet, sprinkle it with 1-2 Tbsp tapioca flour. If it feels too dry, add a little water.
- Shape the dough into a round or rectangular loaf and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I sprinkled the paper with a bit of tapioca flour).
- Bake for 50-60 minutes. Let the bread cool completely, then slice and enjoy. The bread freezes well, for up to 3 months!
Notes
Video Of The Recipe
- Psyllium husk powder is the most important ingredient in this recipe and cannot be substituted by any other ingredient. Make sure to use psyllium husk POWDER. If you have whole psyllium husk (not the powder), you can blend it in a blender or electric spice/coffee grinder until it's a fine powder.
- A few people mentioned a weird smell in the bread (I didn't, and most other people didn't either), however, I received a few helpful comments.
- You can use whole-grain buckwheat flour or regular, both are fine. Some people replaced the buckwheat flour with oat flour or sorghum flour (or a combo) and the bread still turned out amazing.
- Rice flour works great in this bread recipe, but feel free to experiment with lentil flour, teff flour, sorghum flour, or quinoa flour.
- You can use arrowroot flour instead of tapioca flour/starch. Cornstarch or potato starch will most likely work as well.
- Chickpea flour is the same as garbanzo bean flour. It adds plant-based protein and I love adding it to bread. Some readers had success using oat flour instead.
- Please don't compare this bread with wheat bread which contains gluten and yeast or a gluten-free bread which was made with eggs and yeast. It's hard to make a gluten-free, yeast-free, vegan bread, but this is the best recipe I have tried so far, and it turns out amazing every time! Depending on the flour mixture, the bread might end up more fluffy or dense.
- Pumpkin seeds: You can use sunflower seeds instead, however, they will turn green due to a chemical reaction with the baking soda/powder. This is perfectly fine and shouldn't concern you.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Equipment
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe!
I use Teff flour and add in toasted sesame seeds with it too. So yum!
I’ve made this 3 times already!
100 my new fave bread recipe!
Happy you love it, Jenilee! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! it was great! I used a scale to measure and I think it really helped. I made 3 recipes to be able to freeze a couple of loaves for later. I used quinoa flour instead of rice flour and it was very good. finally, a bread recipe that is simple, delicious, and has all my dietary requirements. Thank you!! and Happy New Year 2023!
Happy to hear that, Maria! Thanks for your feedback. Happy 2023! 🙂
Well hello recipe that actually works. Every soda bread recipe I’ve tried to make gluten free has ended up a brick. This has risen a bit. Good for me.
Happy to hear that, Charlotte! 🙂
This is absolutely amazing bread PERIOD – forget that it’s gluten, egg, dairy, and yeast free – because when you taste it, you will forget all of those things! It is somehow soft and chewy and flavorful, which I have never found in any gluten-free bread, store-bought or homemade. I’ve always been told that gluten is what makes bread so soft and chewy, but this recipe proves that is not true. I followed the recipe exactly as it is written and I could not be happier! The next time I make it, I am quadrupling the recipe so I can freeze three loaves and have them ready to eat. Thank you, Ella, I can be GF and happy now!!
Wow, thank you, Cindy! Love your feedback, and I am so glad you like the recipe. 🙂
Hi Ela, i tried to make this recipe, but it was super sticky. What can i do against that? I used wholegrain rice flour not white. Thanks, Elena
Hi Elena, did you use psyllium husk powder or whole psyllium husk? “Super sticky” sounds like there was too much liquid, and this would only happen if using whole psyllium husk.
I haven’t tried wholegrain rice flour, it might make the bread more dense also.
Can I use bread machine for this recipe?
Some readers used it, and it seems to work fine.
Hi. I’ve made this bread 4/5 times the crust is wonderful and the insides lovely and soft but every loaf is full of huge holes! What am I doing wrong? (I use a strand mixer with dough hook (I even kneaded it by hand afterwards – still huge holes. I also noticed that my loaf isn’t as dark as the video. It’s tastes amazing.
I am not sure, as it never happened to me. Have you tried it without using a stand mixer? Try less kneading next time, maybe.
So in my never-ending quest to reduce carbs, I tried adding lupin flour to this recipe. I substituted the 1 cup of garbanzo flour with 1/3 cup oat flour, one third cup almond flour and one third cup lupin flour. Texture came out very nice. In addition I added caraway seeds and dill weed. The final product tastes like a rye bread! Amazing and Delicious. Thank you Ela.
So happy to hear that, Sue. 🙂
Hello
l have tried this recipie 5 times so far and l love it . l have never made an easier bread.! We like to do a date and walnut loaf it is super yummy. How long do you think a loaf will last on the counter please?
Hi Bernadette, I am so glad you love this recipe! I think up to 3 days should be fine (maybe longer, but we always eat it faster or freeze leftovers). 🙂
I made this following the recipe with Sorghum, buckwheat, oat and arrowroot as flours. I also did the apple cider vinegar substitution. it was good. so I decided to modify it and make a version to use for my stuffing. I modified to add 1/2 cup Applesauce, 10G flaxseed meal, 2t of garlic and onion powder, 2TB of poultry seasoning herbs. Increased baking soda to 1 t and
baking powder to 1.5 t. I reduced water by about 50ml, and reduced psyllium powder to 20G. IT TURNED OUT AMAZING!!!!!! Thank for giving me a great jumping off point. I see endless possibilities like subbing applesauce for banana or avocado or adding pepperoni with Italian herbs.or replacing herbs and spices with cinnamon… This is my base GF vegan bread recipe for life! 😁
Not sure what happens. I meant to give 5 stars!
Thank you, Christy! 🙂
Sounds wonderful, Christy! I am so glad it turned out amazing with your subs. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hi,
Can I make this in a breadmaker? I have a gluten-free setting on my breadmaker. What is the weight of the bread once it’s baked?
Thanks,
Anita
Hey, Anita! Yes, that should be fine, many readers already did. I didn’t weigh the bread once it was baked.
Hello! Can I use brown rice flour instead of white rice flour? Thank you 🙂
It might work, but I haven’t tried it. 🙂
Hi there!
Is it possible to make this with only sorghum flour and rice flour? We’re working on a food sensitivity diet and buckwheat, tapioca, legume flours, and nut flours are a no go. Basically, for we can only have sorghum, rice, oat, and coconut flours.
Thanks for your help!.
Hi Be, I would try a mix of sorghum flour, rice flour, and oat flour. Hope this helps!
Hi Ela
Your recipes are my vegan and gluten free favourites. I have made this bread numerous times and it always turns out fantastic. This time I added a drop of a high quality Rosemary essential oil for added flavour. The smell and taste were out of this world yummy!
The rosemary essential oil sounds wonderful, Sandra! I am so glad you love my recipes! 🙂
I just made it today for the first time, and tbh I had my doubts that it would be good. But it was incredible, the whole family loved it.. I’ll definitely be making it often because one of my kids cannot have gluten anymore and he loves bread. Thank you so much for this super amazing recipe. It’s way better than any gf bread we’ve tried before.
Thanks for your great feedback, Maria. I am glad you love it! 🙂
I have tried this recipe five times so far…. I watched the video and am following the instructions very closely. It does rise during cooking but is not as dark a colour as shown in the photo above. The crust turns out well but the inside is always uncooked and wet or sticky to the touch. Should I be baking it for longer or at a temperature above 200 degrees C?
Hey, you can try cooking it longer.
This is an AMAZING and simple bread recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
You are very welcome, Miriam. 🙂
excellent recipe..I added the psyllium dry and then water minus two TBS and added two apple cider vinegar. easy and perfect
Sounds great, Deborah! 🙂
Hello,
I bought all the ingredients, so I am ready to go!
Just one quick question. How thick am I going to make the dough before putting it in the oven?
Hi, it’s quite thick. I think it’s best if you watch the video. 🙂
what video? where?
Hi Mikael, the video will appear within the post and stick to the screen once you scroll past it. You will only see it if you don’t use an ad blocker, though. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Ela, what kind of (brand) scale do you use?
Ela. you are a star!!
This bread is fantastic. I only substituted oat flour for buckwheat and it turned out great, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
It has become my to go recipe for gf bread. Thank you 😊
Yay, that’s so good to hear, Kasia. Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
Okay, so I just made this. It turned out amazing. I live at 3448ft elevation and baked it for the 50 minutes. I didn’t need to adjust the baking powder, it puffed up all cute in the oven! I’m definitely going to make a few loaves and freeze them to have on hand. A good loaf of bread like this sells for $12 CAD where I live, so thank you for saving me a fortune!
I do notice the flavors of the buckwheat and chickpea. However, I’m used to them because I frequently use them. One thing to note if you buy buckwheat flour is that it goes rancid pretty fast if it’s not store in a cool space. I keep mine in the freezer to keep it from going back faster. I usually buy small batch made so the oils are not removed during processing.
Thanks for sharing!
That’s so good to hear, Ashley! Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂