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 (optional - 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
Clare Chippendale
I just made a loaf in the bread maker and while the texture was good the shape was very irregular. Next time I will knead in the machine and cook in the oven.
it is delecious tho! Great recipe.
Eliza
Does hydrating the psyllium powder this way help with the grittiness? I might be overly sensitive to it but I really haven’t liked any bread with psyllium powder so far. 🙁
Kelly
Okay, say i wanted to use a premade gluten free flour blend, like Bobs Red Mill 1-1 gf flour, how much flour would I use? Thanks!
Chelsea
Hi Ela, we cannot do chickpea flour, or beans/legumes. Is it ok to leave this out? Do I just 100g of another flour like Teff? Also, I’m going to replace the buckwheat for Millet. Hope you can help me. Thank you
Ela
Yes, Teff flour and Millet should be fine.
Clare Chippendale
I subbed the chickpea flour with millet and it turned out great and didn’t really change the taste.
Diana
Great bread.
First time I made it following the
recipe and it turned out delicious.
Second time I thought I’d save some time by adding the psylium husk to the flour mix and add water to the whole thing, since somebody commented that it worked for them.
Well, a giant air bubble formed, so it’s basically hollow and it pushed the top up so much that it burned.
Lesson learned. I’m only following the recipe from now on.
Kasia
Hi, this recipe is amazing! Many thanks for other ingredients suggestion. I have a question though – if I don’t need it necessary to be yeast free – can I add some into the dough or it will ruin it? The consistency is amazing, but I would like to experiment more on the taste. Could you please advise?
Ela
You can certainly try it, it shouldn’t ruin the recipe.
Catherine Nguyen Huy
I made this for the first time today. It is delicious! Moist, nutty, and great crust! Thank you!
Lana L
Amazing!!! I am finally able to make a bread for my family that they like. I toast very well and makes great sandwiches Thank you so much. You have given us a wonderful gift. God bless you..
Doreen
I stumbled upon your recipe when searching for easy gluten free bread recipes. I am trying to improve gut health and this is wonderful. I have shared with many family members and friends!
Ashley
Does this bread take 5-10 mins to form when using the dough hook/kitchenaid? I let it knead for 10 mins but after the first few mins it seemed to completely lose form. Thanks!!
Ela
A few minutes is enough, I sometimes only use my hands to knead it for a few minutes, and it still turns out great.
Amy
Hi! Does this recipe make the bread taste like chickpea flour? Because it has quite a strong taste in other stuff :/
Ela
No it doesn’t.
Michelle Coates
Do you know what I could use instead of psyllium husk? I have a food sensitivity to it.
Ela
You can try the double amount of ground chia seeds but it won’t rise as much.
JenW
I am gluten sensitive and I made this bread today exactly as directed and it turned out amazing. Now I’m going to experiment with other flour combinations and see how it turns out. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Ela
You are very welcome, Jen. 🙂
Agskell
I have had a good handful or two of failed attempts on making bread that my half can eat (which is vegan and gluten and yeast free), …This is the first time that he actually found it edible and even enjoyed it. Thank yuu
Tam
I have Celiac Disease and an intolerance to both eggs and yeast. OMG, Finding this bread recipe has been a game changer. Absolutely wonderful in taste, texture and nutrition. I follow the recipe exactly as presented and add chopped walnuts. THANK YOU for developing this wonderful recipe AND for sharing it!!
Ela
You are very welcome, Tam! I am glad you like it. 🙂
Premdana
hello i dont understand the water amount
450 ml is mor than 1.8 cup.
its almost 3 cups.
what i am doing rong?
thank you
Ela
1 cup = 240 ml
2 cups = 480 ml
Diana Potyok
Of coarse I meant to say I added 2 Tbls of apple cider vinegar, not 2 Ibs!😂
Diana Potyok
I just tried this and it turned out great! I dont have any buckwheat flour or chickpea flour so I used oat and quinoa instead. I added 2lbs of apple cider vinegar which seemed like it would be a good addition. It turned out nice and fluffy! Im not sure why you suggested to cool completely before cutting but I couldnt wait😊Whats better than fresh warm bread!?! I did notice a smell but its the same smell as when I make quinoa wraps so I think its the quinoa Im smelling but thats not in the recipe. Definitely this recipe is a keeper! Thanks!
Ela
So glad you liked it, Diana. 🙂
Chris
I read the directions, my question is: does this bread need to rise? I don’t see that stated anywhere. And could I add in some dried cherries? I’ll hydrate before hand. Thank you!
Ela
Hi Chris, if it doesn’t rise, it might end up quite dense. Dried cherries should be fine.
Helga
Hi, I baked the bread today and I had to use 50-60g of Tapioca flour because the mixture was wet enough to stick to the hands or is that normal?. My thinking is that I can reduce the water or not? my 1st attempt my dad distracted me so the bread baked for 1:30 but it tasted alright when I put it in a ziploc bag overnight to soften 🤣
C.Richard
Love, love, love this bread recipe! Crunchy crust & soft inside.
One loaf lasts me about 5 days.
When I’m weighing out the ingredients for 1 loaf, I also prep a 2nd loaf with only the dry ingredients and when needing to mix & bake, 1/2 the work is already done.
Ela
So happy you like it. 🙂
Anne
Hands down best and easiest GF bread recipe! So delicious. Thank you for sharing 😊
Ela
You are very welcome, Anne. 🙂
Donna
hi I made this bread, it tastes great, it had a good rise in the oven but when I took it out it shrunk, the only changes I made were I used Sorghum flour instead of buckwheat flour, I only had psyllium husk, not the powder, but added one more tablespoon to make up and mixed it in with the dry ingredients. all was going well till the end. would those changes of caused it to shrink?
Ela
Hi, I guess you didn’t use enough psyllium husk, since you didn’t weigh the ingredients (you only used one more Tbsp). It should have worked if using metric measurements.