Gluten-Free Sorghum Bread

This is a gluten-free bread recipe that I make about once every 3 weeks. The prominent flavor is the sorghum, so I call it sorghum bread, but it also includes tapioca and brown rice flours. While it can be used as a sandwich bread, I think of it more as a toasting bread because it's so crusty and chewy. It's perfect as morning toast or topped with butter and served as a side bread at dinner.

No Eggs, Butter or Xanthan Gum

The recipe is a spin on one from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple, an excellent book for beginner gluten-free bakers. Gluten-free breads can be very tasty, but sometimes they're rich with eggs and butter. This loaf is made without any eggs or butter and only enough oil to grease the pan. What it does have is psyllium, a healthy fiber that helps the dough behave more like traditional wheat dough in that you can actually shape it. Most gluten-free yeast bread doughs tend to be like thick batters.

Baking Time and Temperature

You may question the very long baking time at 425 degrees F. Gluten-Free Sorghum Bread bakes for an hour at 425 degrees F., then you remove it from the loaf pan and bake it out of the pan for another 30 minutes. This does two things. It helps remove some of the excess moisture from the inside of the bread and gives you a dark brown and very chewy crust. I've seen comments from people on other sides who have had to reduce the baking time or temp after the first hour, but I've never had to do that.

Loaf Pan Size

If you are just getting into gluten-free baking or any kind of yeast bread baking, a Pullman pan is a great investment. The high sides of a typical 1 pound Pullman help support the dough as it rises, making for tall and stately loaves. Gluten-free breads like this one need all the help they can get.

Here's a picture of a loaf I baked in a standard 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan, but I did reduce the batter by ⅓ so of course it's shorter. In this case, I just wanted smaller slices.

Measurements for Smaller Loaf

If you don't have a tall Pullman and want to make a smaller loaf in an 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch pan, here are the measurements:

• 95 grams sorghum flour
• 140 grams superfine brown rice flour
• 80 grams tapioca starch
• 1 ½ tsp. salt (scant teaspoons)
• 2 teaspoons flaxseed meal 
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Wet Mixture

• 410 grams water
• 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 15-16 grams whole psyllium husk
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Sorghum Bread Variations

My favorite variation of this bread recipe is Sorghum Flaxseed Bread. It's easy. Before starting, soak 2 tablespoons of whole flaxseed in 2 tablespoons of very warm water. The flax should completely absorb the water. Add the plumped up flax to the bread right after you finish kneading with the dough hook. You can work it in a little more after you empty the dough onto the mat. Other variations include adding the plumped flaxseeds as mentioned above, using half quinoa flour in place of half the sorghum and adding a big handful of shredded, well-drained and dried carrots for Flax Quinoa Carrot Bread. There are lots of options! I recommend trying the recipe as written first, and feel free to leave a comment if you have a question.

Calories in Gluten-Free Sorghum Bread

As requested, I tried to estimate the calories per serving using a calorie counting app. This bread comes in around 52 calories per oz, which I figured out by adding up the ingredient calories (did not use milk powder) and dividing by the weight in ounces of the whole loaf. My last loaf weighed 35 oz so 1/16 would be a little over 2 oz. That would be a very generous slice or 2 thin ones and 113 calories. There's also only 1 gram of fat per slice.

• Sorghum Flour Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Scones
• Pumpkin Yeast Bread
• Five Layer Bars
• Tapioca Flour Brownies

Recipe