Golden brown, gluten free French Bread that tastes as good as it looks? Yes, please!
You’ve seen those loaves of French Bread at the grocery store – the ones that are right by the check-out and fresh baked so the smell just carries throughout the entire store?
Well these are those loaves! And they just happen to be gluten free AND dairy free. So that makes them even better.
These mouthwatering loaves are the real deal – they ARE traditional French Bread loaves. With a golden, crispy exterior and an interior you can just pull apart and enjoy, they have the absolute best texture of any French Bread. And that’s a strong statement, but I stand by it.
See that gorgeous crust? It gets that lovely shade from the baking process. These loaves are baked in French Bread pans. These pans have tiny holes throughout the curved bottom so they bake the loaves the way they are supposed to be baked…
French bread pans allow steam to escape through the tiny holes to allow the crust to get crispy and deep golden brown.
This is the pan I use and I highly recommend it: Commercial Non-Stick Perforated French Bread Pan
Besides the pans, here are a few tips to ensure the very best Gluten Free French Bread:
[icon type=”vector” icon=”fa-icon-arrow-right” size=”32″ hover_animation=”border_increase” ]No bumpy bread
When you spoon the dough onto the French Bread pan, make sure to smooth the tops with a spatula, as it will keep the exact same shape, even after rising. So if you leave it lumpy, the loaf will be lumpy when baked.
[icon type=”vector” icon=”fa-icon-arrow-right” size=”32″ hover_animation=”border_increase” ]Rising time
Make sure to let the loaves rise for the complete time. The bread needs the time to develop into a nicely shaped loaf.
[icon type=”vector” icon=”fa-icon-arrow-right” size=”32″ hover_animation=”border_increase” ]The dough / batter
I often call gluten free bread dough, batter, because it truly resembles more of a batter than a stretchy dough. After many years of baking gluten free breads, I’ve finally gotten over the temptation of wanting it to be stretchy. It’s not going to happen. But it does turn out to be a delicious loaf of bread!
Golden Gluten Free French Bread (Dairy Free Too!)

Golden Gluten Free French Bread (Dairy Free Too!)
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 2 Tbls. granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups water 70 – 80 F
- 2 Tbls. quick rise yeast
- 2 cups white rice flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 2 ½ tsp. xanthan gum
- 1 ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. psyllium husk powder
- 2 Tbls. Earth Balance butter substitute regular butter can be used, melted
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- Cornmeal for dusting the pan
Instructions
- Prepare a French Bread pan (this is the one that works really well) by spraying lightly with cooking spray and dusting it with cornmeal. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and water. Add in the yeast and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl for a hand held mixer, add the rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, salt and psyllium husk powder. Stir with a spoon or mix to combine.
- Add the melted Earth Balance, egg whites and vinegar to the dry ingredients. Add in the yeast mixture.
- Blend to mix. Stop the machine and scrape the sides down. Beat the mixture on high for 3 minutes.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the tops.
- Using a sharp knife, cut four, 2-inch diagonal cuts in the top of each loaf.
- Cover the pan with a light towel and let the loaves rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and bake the loaves for 45 minutes. (You might need to tent them with foil after 30 minutes)
- Cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Next check out: Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Gum Free Dinner Rolls
This bread looks wonderful but, I am allergic to Psyllium. What can I replace it with? So sad.
Hi Ann,
Thanks for asking – no worries, try some golden flax seed instead.
It’ll be a very similar result!
Hi can I please use only psyllium hush because I do not like xanthan gum and can I bake it into a normal bread tin because I do not have a perforated French bread tin.
Thank you for everything.
Mary
Hi Mary,
Thanks for asking.
I have not made it without the xanthan gum, so I can’t say for certain what the results will be.
You could use a different pan, but you’ll have to break it up into probably 4 loaf pans because the recipe makes a lot of batter!
Hope that helps.
Christine
bellevoir@ hotmail.com
Thank you very much
Mary
I asked a question earlier but it wasn’,t posted and has disappeared. Just wondering why the batter doesn’,t push through holes, had a problem with pizza using a pan with holes, thanks
Hi Linda,
Apologies – I did not see it the first time!
The batter is thick enough that it doesn’t seep through – plus the holes are really very small.
Not sure about the pizza, but this batter definitely won’t go through the holes.
Hope that helps!
Christine
What would you recommend to replace the corn meal? That’s a no-no for me, as is Flax. Doggone it. I LOVE corn and flaxseeds!
Hi Sharon,
Bummer!
Well, really you can leave off the cornmeal – it is characteristic of this style of loaf, but it’s ok if you just spray the pans with cooking spray.
Hope that helps!
Christine
I have used coarsely ground millet in place of the cornmeal and it works great!