Gluten-Free Milk Bread Recipe by Kat Lieu

Hi friends! I’ve been testing a few batches of gluten-free milk bread and I think this is my favorite recipe so far. The exterior crisped up nicely and the inside is subtly sweet, soft, tender, with a mild chew. I love it when food is toothsome! This would explain why QQ boba, mochi, and gummy bears are so addictive to me! (Bet Freud would say this has something to do with me not being breastfed as a baby.)

I consulted Subtle Asian Baking members on Instagram as I was tweaking my recipe, and many members provided me with great tips and pointers. A few bakers mentioned how with gluten-free baking, you’d want to mix your g/f flour, like adding cassava, rice, or teff flour (used to make injera bread) to the dough. Gluten-free bread dough also does not have to be punched down or violently degassed. Gentle removal (with a spatula) from the mixing bowl will suffice after about 30 minutes of rising.

It’s also hard to shape and roll out the dough, like with gluten-ful milk bread, as the gluten structures are just not there. The dough will also not rise as dramatically, but it will rise. The addition of cream of tartar, vinegar, baking soda, or baking powder all help with rising.

Be sure to scroll all the way down for some great tips on how to make gluten-free milk bread.

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Yield - 1 loaf +

Author Kat Lieu

Prep time

35 Min

Cook time

35 Min

Inactive time

1 Hour

Total time

2 H & 10 M

Print

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Gluten-Free Milk Bread Recipe by Kat Lieu

( 0 reviews )

IngredientsUSMetric

For the roux

• 30 g gluten-free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 G/F Baking Flour)
• 120 g hot water (or milk)

For the gluten-free milk bread dough

• 200 g gluten-free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 G/F Baking Flour)
• 50 g Mochiko or glutenous rice flour
• 50 g coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• pinch of salt (or some miso is OK)
• 75 g granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 large egg (about 50 g)
• 30 g unsalted butter, softened
• 250 g milk (plant-based OK) plus a pinch of sugar, warmed to 110°F
• 7 to 8 g active dry yeast
• 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash, optional

Instructions

To make the roux

1. In a bowl, mix together the hot water (or milk) and gluten-free flour until a sticky and wet but cohesive roux-like dough forms. It should be a little translucent and resemble glue. Set aside for a few minutes.

To make the gluten-free milk bread

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand with a mixing bowl and spatula), add the gluten-free flour, glutenous rice flour, coconut flour, vinegar, sugar, salt or miso, xanthan gum, if needed, and the roux.
2. Add the yeast to a bowl with the warmed milk and a pinch of sugar. Let the yeast activate, bubble, and foam, for a few minutes, before adding this to the stand mixer bowl.
3. Mix on low speed for a few minutes, until a sticky, tacky, cohesive dough forms. You want a thick batter of a dough, not necessarily an elastic gum of a dough. Gluten-free bread dough is more like a thick batter (think banana bread). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes at warm room temperature (or use your oven's Proof function).
4. Grease a loaf pan. Some people swear by using the Pullman loaf pan. Transfer the dough batter to the loaf pan, using a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. There's no need to punch down or violently deflate the batter. Smooth out the top of the batter. You can do this by using a clean wet finger or a food brush. Cover and let proof for another 30 minutes.
5. Alternatively, you can make buns with this recipe. Grease or line a square baking pan, transfer the dough batter to a piping bag, and pipe 9 even rounds into the baking pan, in a 3-x-3 array. Cover and let proof for another 30 minutes.
6. About 20 minutes before you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center. Gently brush egg wash, cream, or milk over the top of the dough and bake for 15 minutes before lowering the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. You want the insides of the bread to be cooked thoroughly and not come out gummy, raw, or wet.
7. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. As the bread is cooling, brush with melted butter or a condensed milk buttery sauce. Enjoy as you would with any bread and let me know what you think!

Notes

• If the gluten-free flour you're using does not include xanthan gum, add about 1 teaspoon per cup of gluten-free flour.
• If you don't have coconut flour, you can use 50 g mochiko and 250 g gluten-free flour.
• A mix of flours will require you to test and experiment to get optimal results.
• To make this vegan, please use plant-based milk, vegan butter, and an egg replacement like 50 g of silken tofu or ripe banana, or some apple sauce

Recommended Products:

Modern Asian Baking at Home Cookbook

Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour

Monfish Pullman Loaf pan

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Tips and tricks from the Subtle Asian Baking Community

@cherrycindyy “I don’t think rolling and kneading help GF bread since the gluten isn’t there to develop. I’ve seen piped GF breadsticks and ‘pizza slices’. Maybe try piping the dough in rounds for rolls and avoid kneading?”

@keira_may_rise “Kneading and punching gf dough makes it more stodgy. Best to handle it as little as possible because there's no gluten to make it springy. I usually find a baking powder/soda to help it rise is best. But it's a real science experiment to get it all right!”

@simplewholepaleo “Try a smaller container to bake (gf stuff tends to be heavy and dense and not get that loft). Try subbing out some of the mochiko for cassava. You may also want to look into teff flour (used in Ethiopian injera bread which rolls nicely).”

@wil.lowtaylor “Cornstarch helps with the texture and structure I've found!”

@betty_eatz “I find baking GF yeast bread a challenge too! My advice is to make rolls rather than a loaf. GF yeasted dough doesn’t seem to rise as much and loaves seem to remain heavy and dense in the center. Smaller loaves or rolls seem to do much better for me!”

@owau.owau “experiment with different gluten-free flours! I really like the softness of quinoa flour, rice flour, and coconut flour. I recommend experimenting with different combinations of them together too!”

@bytheway.design "I’ve heard from my sister, who’s gluten intolerant, that it’s best to mix flours to get the right texture. I’ve heard the King Arthur gf flour is really good.

Maybe something similar to spud nuts? (For anyone that doesn’t know, donuts made with potato starch flour).

@bytheway.design “I’ve heard from my sister, who’s gluten intolerant, that it’s best to mix flours to get the right texture. I’ve heard the King Arthur gf flour is really good.

Maybe something similar to spud nuts? (For anyone that doesn’t know, donuts made with potato starch flour).”

@julie.butler.101 “I have read that when making gluten-free bread you don’t punch it down, you let it rise *once* and then bake. Other flours you may want to try are the gluten-free Robin Hood flour or Kinnikinnick flour! They are 1-to-1 and contain xanthan gum in them (or an alternative) so you shouldn’t need to add any more than what is in the flour! Also I’ve had pretty good success on the rise if the bread is more along the lines of a thick pancake batter before baking - too thick of a dough will not allow bubbles to form inside the bread evenly! I have been trying to make gluten-free bread for a while so I’m still trying to hammer out what to use myself 🥲

@pezzella.sara “most gf bread tend to be more like batters when raw. they also tend to rise less dramatically than gluten bread so longer rise in a nice cozy spot and not punching them down after helps. giving the flours time to absorb the liquid can really help as well. the bob's red mill website has a millet sourdough recipe that's worked well for me for shaping rolls, etc tho so maybe you could take some inspiration from that? I'm excited to see where this goes though because I've been wanting to try more non rice-based asian baked goods, but recipes are pretty scarce.”
@spic_n “I've read a gluten-free bread recipe from @ladanglima.id from Indonesia, they mix sticky rice flour and cassava flour, with additional of eggs but no xanthan gum. But I think in the west it is quite hard to find cassava flour, if any it would be quite expensive.”

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About the Baker

Kat Lieu is the founder of Subtle Asian Baking and this website modernasianbaking.com, and she is the author of Modern Asian Baking at Home. Currently, Kat is a full-time author and recipe developer. Follow her on instagram and check out her blog Phil and Mama.