A delicious and easy gluten free “rye” bread that tastes just like the real thing! Soft and bendable, with the perfect “rye” flavor, but without the gluten (awesome for gluten-free Reuben sandwiches!).
The absolute best gluten free “rye” bread I’ve ever had.
Today I just HAD to share this recipe for gluten free “rye” bread.
Why the quotations for rye?
Well, because rye is actually glutenous.
So I make this bread that has similar flavor to a rye bread, but doesn’t actually contain an ounce of rye.
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My all-time favorite entree has GOT to be a reuben sandwich.
Seriously.
Growing up, my mom would make us our favorite meal for our birthday dinner. I always asked her to make a reuben loaf (like the sandwich, but more like a giant calzone) for mine.
When I was pregnant with my firstborn, I used the pregnant card to eat as many reuben sandwiches as I could get my hands on.
Once I figured out gluten was the cause of many of my problems (check out this post to learn more about my journey), I started looking for a gluten-free alternative to rye bread.
But I still wanted it to taste like rye.
This gluten free rye bread recipe comes from quite a few trials, and I’ve tweaked it so that it tastes as close to the real thing as you can possible get without actually using the real thing.
And it is quite possibly the easiest bread recipe I make.
If you’re hankering for a way to use up that corned beef from St Patrick’s day, or you bought corned beef just for reuben sandwiches like I did, give this recipe a go.
I’m pretty sure it will satisfy your rye craving!
Like, 99.9% sure.
Things to know about making mock rye bread:
- This gluten-free bread relies on xanthan gum to bind it together and add chewiness. To really help the gum do its job, you need to beat the “dough” for 3 minutes. This is an important step to not skip.
- This recipe calls for cocoa powder. I know it sounds crazy to add chocolate to rye bread, but it doesn’t make this taste like chocolate at all. It adds a deep color and depth of flavor.
- You’ll need to use a good gluten free flour blend. This should have a balance of whole grain (like rice) and starch (like tapioca). I make my own inexpensive blend, but you could also use King Arthur Measure for Measure or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1
Easy Gluten Free Rye Bread
A gluten-free "rye" bread that is easy to make, soft, and tastes like the real thing!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup warm water
- 1 packet active dry yeast, or 2 ½ tsp
- 1 T cane sugar
- 2 ½ cups gluten free flour blend
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 T cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 tsp dill
- Optional: 2 tsp orange zest
- Optional: 1 T finely minced onion
- ¼ cup oil
- 2 T molasses
- 2 eggs (you can also use flax eggs, but it will be a bit denser)
Instructions
- Prepare a bread pan by coating it in a very thin layer of oil and sprinkling a dusting of gluten free flour over it
- Stir sugar into warm water with a spatula until slightly dissolved and then add yeast to the mixture. Give it a quick stir and let it proof for 5 minutes until it’s good and foamy
- In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, add all of the dried ingredients and give a quick stir to combine
- Next add the oil, yeast mixture, molasses, eggs, and optional add ins, and turn the mixer on low
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat the batter for 3 minutes to activate the xanthan gum
- Pour batter into prepared bread pan, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place for 25-30 minutes
- While batter is rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
- Uncover and bake bread for 35-40 minutes, or until internal temperature is around 195 degrees F Because this is a dark bread, it’s harder to tell when it’s done. If it starts to look too dark, cover loosely with a tinfoil tent
- Allow to cool in bread pan before turning out and slicing
Notes
This bread lasts at room temperature for 2-3 days. After that it should either be refrigerated or sliced and frozen. It reheats beautifully.
Need some gluten-free sandwich bread? Check out my favorite recipe here
If using a gluten free flour blend that already contains xanthan gum, do you still need to add he 1 tsp listed? Thank you.
Hello Carol! The xanthan gum will make is extra chewy, but if your blend has it, you don’t HAVE to add more. As I’ve said in a couple comments, some blends contain more or less than others. SO if the bread isn’t very bendable, you might want to consider adding extra xanthan gum next time 🙂
If the 1-1 gluten free is used, is it necessary to add the xanthum gum?
Hi Carlyn, You don’t have to add xanthan gum if your flour blend already has it in it. Some blends have more or less, so it’s not a bad idea to add a little xanthan gum to the recipe to make sure you get a good soft texture.
Very good and easy to make. I added twice the caraway seeds and to bring out the flavor I ran the seeds through a small grinder. I also added twice as much dill weed because I like that flavor.
Thank you for some great tips and for your feed back. I’m excited to try this bread again with ground caraway! Brilliant.
I like a light rye. Can I reduce the amount of cocoa or just leave it out altogether so it isn’t a dark bread?
Hi Ruth, I have not experimented with this, but I would assume you could halve the cocoa without a problem! Maybe increase the flour by whatever amount of cocoa you take away.
I followed the recipe exactly (substituted maple syrup for molasses). Came out great!
Smelled great, tastes great except the baking time is too short. You almost have to add a 1/4 to 1/2 more baking time of it is mushy inside.
I was utterly shocked at how good this recipe and the bread were. It was amazing and so worth every bite. Whole family enjoyed it.
Ok, I have to leave a second comment. I bake a lot of gluten free bread because well, the stuff you buy is just not that great, and I find the prices very expensive. I am always disappointed too. Not with this recipe. As I said, it was just amazing. I followed the directions and it was so amazing. Thank you!
Annika, thank you so much for taking the time to comment and let me know this turned out well for you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
How long have you been gluten free?
Made this great bread, I doubt a anyone would know it is gluten free. Chewy and tasty, I doubt I will purchase bread from the store again.