In a rush? You can skip straight to the Rice Flour Bread Recipe at my Tumblr or you can jump to my Just the Basics section!
I love bread. I love the way it smells. I love the way the crust crackles when it comes out of the oven. And I especially love the way it tastes.
However, my favorite recipes come from wheat and wheat-based flours, and that means gluten. Many of my friends and family members have gluten sensitivities and intolerance. Some people I know even have Celiac disease, which makes baking bread a risky affair.
So for those friends and family members who can’t have gluten, I have a new recipe for you: rice flour bread.
Rice flour bread doesn’t use yeast to rise, and it’s completely gluten-free. Instead of yeast, it relies on baking powder to give it lift. And instead of gluten to hold it together, it uses eggs.
Although it’s not a vegan-friendly option, it is a great choice for those struggling to find a gluten-free bread alternative.
Rice flour bread has a texture and flavor similar to cornbread. It is a little dry and crumbly, but with a bit of butter or jam on top, it tastes heavenly. Better still, it comes together in about an hour, so you don’t have to wait to enjoy yummy bread.
Time
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Rise time: none
Cook time: 40-45 minutes
Total time: Approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour
Ingredients
Many rice flour breads rely on Xanthum gum to hold it together. However, I know this ingredient can be hard to come by in some stores, so I found a recipe that uses eggs:
- 260 Grams (2 Cups Rice) Flour
- 20 Grams (5 Teaspoons) Baking Powder
- 100 Grams (1/2 Cup) White Granulated Sugar
- 6 Grams (1 Teaspoon) Salt
- 4 Eggs
- 114 Grams (1/2 Cup) Melted Butter
I milled my rice flour myself using my Wondermill Electric Grain Grinder with the setting set to pastry flour rather than bread because rice flour can be a little gritty. If you mill your own flour, I suggest milling it on the finest setting possible, or grinding your flour twice so it’s extra fine.
If you don’t mill your own flour, that’s totally fine. Rice flour is readily available in a fine texture at Walmart for about $8 a pound.
Additional Equipment
Rice flour bread bakes like a quick bread, so you don’t need a lot of equipment to make it:
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Mixing Spoon
- 8-inch by 4-inch Bread Pan
- Oven Mitts
- Wire Cooling Rack
Keep in mind that the size of the bread pan is important. Although you could divide your dough into two smaller loaves, I do not recommend putting your dough in a slightly larger pan. The bigger the pan, the flatter your loaf in this case.
Instructions
Rice flour bread is easy to make, and even beginning bakers will find this recipe a breeze.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Fold in the eggs and melted butter. Stir until everything is incorporated.
Transfer the batter to your loaf pan and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Bake for 45 minutes and allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Use a knife to loosen the bread from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Allow it to finish cooling.
Once you’re bread is done cooling, feel free to slice and enjoy!
Rice flour bread tastes best the day that you bake it. Although you can store it in a plastic bag for a few days, it will be a little dense and hard the next day. Toasting it and warming it softens the bread nicely, however, so don’t feel obligated to eat it all at once.
Just the Basics
Rice Flour Bread
Ingredients
- 260 Grams Rice Flour (2 Cups)
- 20 Grams Baking Powder (5 Teaspoons)
- 100 Grams White Granulated Sugar (1/2 Cup)
- 6 Gram Salt (1 Teaspoon)
- 4 Large Eggs
- 114 Grams Butter – Melted (1/2 Cup)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Fold in the eggs and melted butter. Stir until everything is incorporated.
- Transfer the batter to your loaf pan and preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit (190° Celsius).
- Bake for 45 minutes and allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Use a knife to loosen the bread from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Allow it to finish cooling before slicing and serving.
Notes
Secrets to Success
The original recipe I had was all over the place. It didn’t specify a pan size, and it wasn’t consistent with the temperatures provided, ranging anywhere from 300 degrees Fahrenheit to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
I had to guess how to bake the bread, and I clearly guessed wrong the first time.
Yeesh.
Fortunately, my failure can now lead to your success. I did a little online research to see where I went wrong with the recipe and discovered a couple things about quick breads.
First, don’t use any kind of mixer for this recipe except for an old fashioned spoon. Overmixing quick breads results in the telltale sunken top that you see in my first bread attempt.
Second, use a proper pan size. If you use a pan that’s too big, the loaf will spread out rather than rise up in the oven.
Third, lightly grease the bottom of the pan, but don’t grease the sides. The sides of the pan give the dough something to cling to and provides the support the bread needs as it expands. If you worry about sticking, you can always loosen the edges with a knife after you bake.
But that’s about it! The second time I made this recipe, I nailed it – and included the proper measurements, temperatures, and timing to ensure your bread is a success.
Nutritional Information
Rice flour bread relies heavily on butter and sugar to give it flavor, and both of these ingredients are calorie dense.
Keep in mind that smaller or larger slices will affect your nutritional information per serving. When I made the bread, I was able to cut it into about 12 slices per loaf.
Did You Try It?
This was a fun recipe to try and I’m glad I could branch out into a new flour for this bread. I’d love to hear about your experience making rice flour bread, so feel free to write about it in the comment section below.
For a rice flour bread, this is pretty good. My loaf came out lovely, the texture and taste remind me of a more dense sweet cornbread. I can handle that.
YAY! That makes me so happy. Thank you so much for trying it.
I can’t have baking powder. What can I use instead?
Is it baking powder specifically? Or is it sodium bicarbonate in general? Baking powder is a combination of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and cream of tartar/cornstarch. If you can still use baking soda, you can use 1 1/4 teaspoon as a substitute. If you can’t use baking soda, I’ve heard club soda is a potential substitute because it contains carbon dioxide. Maybe swap out 1/4 cup of butter with 1/4 cup club soda However, I haven’t tried this myself so I’m not sure if that will work well with this particular recipe.
why so much sugar though
Hey Grace, rice flour can taste a bit stale on its own and leavening ingredients can taste overwhelmingly salty or even metallic without sugar to balance then out. Sugar also plays a role in giving the bread some color during baking. A few people have mentioned that they don’t prefer a loaf as sweet, however, and they cut back a bit on the sugar without too much fuss.
Can you substitute maple syrup or honey for the sugar in this recipe?? or any other healthier option??
I’m not sure! I haven’t tried either of those options with this recipe. From what I observed with the recipe, the sugar adds some bulk to the bread, not just flavor. Honey and maple syrup would add more liquid, so you’d need to cut back on the butter to compensate. I could play around with the recipe and see what happens 🙂
I used honey instead of sugar, at a ratio of 3/4 cup of honey to 1 cup of sugar. For this recipe, use 1/3cup plus 1 tablespoon of honey. It is delicious.
Thank you so much! That’s a great suggestion. 🙂
Did you cut back on the butter when you adjusted to the honey?
you said you rely on baking soda instead of yeast, but in the recipe you list baking powder, I am confused..
Sorry for the confusion. It is a typo. However, I have used baking soda and baking powder interchangeably and have gotten similar results. Happy baking!
Will this recipe work without the sugar or other sweetener altogether?
I’m not entirely sure. The sugar gives the bread flavor, and it would likely taste bland without it. Additionally, the sugar gives some bulk to the bread. You’re welcome to try it and see what happens! Let me know if you do and how it turns out.
Easiest recipe I’ve ever used. Bread is delicious. I greased the inside of my bread pan with Crisco shortening and the bread came right out.
The next time I might try adding walnuts or raisens.
Thanks so much for the feedback and the suggestion!
Hi. My son is allergic to eggs. What can i use instead?
Use Flax or Chia Seeds to make a healthy egg without using a real egg. The instructions is for making equal to 1 egg. So if recipe requires more increase the ingredients to do so. 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 2.5 Tbsp water = a chia egg. But then what? So many uses! You can use a chia egg (or flax egg) as an egg substitute in many dishes, like quick breads, waffles, cookies, and more!
Thank you! This is really helpful.
Hi JenniBee, sorry I would love to attempt this recipe and hoped you may confirm which agent is the one you preferred, the baking soda, or the baking powder. Thank you very much!
Hey Chelan, no problem at all. I personally prefer the recipe as it is written in the post (with the baking powder). Any other substitutions in the comments are just me trying to be helpful to those who might have different needs than mine.I am always open to suggestions for improvement, too.
I have an allergy to eggs. Will egg substitute work with this?
I’m not sure! I haven’t tried it with egg substitute before. The eggs in the bread help hold the loaf together. But let me know if you try it and if it works 🙂
Tastes similar to cornbread, which isn’t a bad thing! It is a little too dry, so next time I will add some oat milk so that it isn’t as dense. Overall, it was good and I will be making this again!
Thank you for your feedback and suggestions. I really appreciate it!
I don’t have a mixer can I do it without?
Thank you, hope to try it😀
Absolutely! I hope your loaf turns out lovely.
Oops, just saw the note: NOTES
Don’t use a hand mixer or standing mixer with this recipe. If you overmix, your bread will sink in the middle.
Thank you! I needed to read it all😄
I’m glad my notes helped 🙂 Happy baking!
Mine sunk in the middle. Don’t think I over-mixed but I guess I must have. I’m 0 for 2 with rice bread. All my flour bread comes out great.
Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Darn! I’m sorry, Keith. Overmixing can lead to a sunken loaf, but there are other factors, too. Pan size and pan texture can contribute to a sunken loaf. I hope the bread still turned out tasty despite a drooping middle. Good luck in your baking. Let me know if you have better results with a different recipe or if you make a few changes of your own that lead to success.
Flavor and texture was good. This was my second attempt with rice flour and it was better than the first try. This was also my first time using my new mill. I milled it twice so at least it wasn’t gritty like my first attempt.
Hey that’s great! I’m glad the flavor and texture were good. I hope your bread baking adventures continue to improve 🙂
Hi
I’m planning on trying out your recipe this weekend. Quick question: so the recipe does not require kneading the dough? I would just pour in pan and spread the dough out?
Just wanted to make sure I’m interpreting the instructions correctly.
Wheat flour bread has gluten in it that requires stretching, kneading, and working to develop the gluten that keeps it together and gives it shape and texture. Rice flour bread, in contrast, does not have any gluten at all. The eggs help hold the flour together and the baking powder gives it lift, so it acts like a quick bread (which is pretty close to cake as far as baking goes).
No need to knead on this one. In fact, you don’t want to overmix this recipe, or it might sink in the middle. Stir until everything is just barely incorporated and then you’re good to go.
Happy baking!
Thank you for the recipe! It turned out so well and it is delicious! 😊
You are so welcome! And thank you for the feedback. I’m so happy you tried it 🙂
Hi, I love this bread recipe, the flavor is delicious. I used 1/4 cup maple sugar. It came out delicious but on the crumbly side. Could just be my oven temperature. I just moved to a new place and am getting used to the oven temperature. What do you suggest adding liquid wise or other suggestion that might prevent the crumbling.
Hey Andie, I’m so glad you tried it and you enjoyed it. Your oven temperature is likely fine – this recipe is gluten free, and without gluten to hold it together, it leans more toward the crumbly side naturally. This recipe will have the same texture and consistency as cornbread when it’s baked. However, if you’re not a fan of crumbling, you could try adding an extra egg to the bread. I’ve seen similar recipes that also used an extra 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of sour cream or an extra tablespoon of butter, as these both introduce fats and proteins that could act as binding agents. If you have it available, 1/2 teaspoon of xantham or guar gum to your bread can help, too.
Hi! I tried your rice flour bread. It is is very easy to make and the texture is good but is wayyyy too sweet. It also sank in the middle. In vale making, one reason for the cake sinking in the middle is too much sugar. Will use half the amount of sugar the next time.
Thank you so much for your feedback. I’m glad you tried it!
Can this bread be frozen after baking?
Yes! You can store rice flour bread in the freezer. As rice flour bread can be a bit crumbly, it may be difficult to separate when frozen. I suggest letting your loaf cool completely and then slicing your loaf before freezing the individual slices by wrapping them in plastic wrap. An extra layer of aluminum foil around the loaf can also help protect your bread while it’s frozen.
Am I supposed to kneed this by hand? Mine came out all crumbly
Hey Lyn, this is a gluten-free recipe and a quick bread so you don’t need to knead it at all. Kneading bread helps to develop gluten and give bread strength – but that only works if there’s gluten to begin with. Rice flour bread is a bit crumbly by nature, and its texture will be a lot like cornbread.
Just out of oven ..smell good,…trying it for surprise to my daughter in law…wish I could send a picture..
I hope you and your daughter-in-law enjoy it 🙂 Thank you for your comment!
Very good and easy to make! It didn’t last long so I guess I’ll go make another one.
Wonderful! Thank you so much for your feedback. Happy baking!
I had fun making it but day 2 and it is dry leaves a bitter salty taste on the tongue and looking at your pics my batter was more runnier than yours so maybe a bit too much melted butter I used 1&1/2 cups of rice and 1/2 cup of corn cause thats all I had will try this again next shopping week thanks for an easy recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed making it! I have not tried making a mix of corn flour and rice flour, but I bet the flour substitution is the reason for the differing flavor and texture. Good luck with your next loaf. 🙂
I love this recipe I did add vanilla.
I tried many other, but this one is the best one!!!.
I am allergic to nickel which is high in wheat and others grains.
Wonderful! I think vanilla would be an excellent addition – thank you so much for the feedback. It’s really helpful.
Has anyone substituted olive oil for the butter? I have a very restricted diet and can’t do dairy or many processed foods with preservatives, gums, etc. Any other thoughts would be welcome! Would love to try this.
Hey Kendra, I think the oil should work just fine since the butter is melted and the consistency would be the same. My only concern would be the flavor, as olive oil has a different flavor than butter. If you pick something mild, however, the bread should still turn out fine! Vegetable oil might be a better option but I don’t know if that’s too processed for you.
Do I whisk the eggs first? I saw you said to fold them in, but would you fold them in without being whisked?
No need to whisk the eggs first! Just be gentle while mixing – overmixing your bread will result in a sunken loaf.
Thank you! I actually did it without whisking like you said before you replied and it turned out beautifully!
Oh I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for sharing your bread baking experience 🙂
I loved your recipe and I dont buy bread anymore in grocery store thank you.
Thank you! That’s such high praise 😀
I just want to say thank you very much, Just recently found out I can’t have wheat or yeast or dairy and I have tried twice now at making rice bread and both times I have failed.. but with your recipe it was a success.. and on a side note I did use brown rice flour because that was all I had and I substituted the butter with avocado oil and it still turned out great so once again thank you
Thank you for sharing your positive experience with this recipe William! I’m so glad your substitutions worked out beautifully – and I’m sure others will appreciate having more options thanks to your input. I’m so happy that this recipe still works with brown rice flour and avocado oil.
I followed the recipe exactly as written. My bread was done in 30 minutes and came out a nice golden brown. I think it tastes like sweet cornbread but my husband thinks it tastes like rice crispy treats. Overall very easy to make!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂
I loved it. It did reminded me of corn bread. My kids loved it. Thanks for your notes at the end. I followed it.
I’m so glad to hear that you and your family enjoyed my recipe. Thank you so much.
Thank you! I used this recipe as a starting point and modified it a bit for my needs: I did not want to use sugar and that much butter. Here is my mod:
* 2 cups of rice flour
* 5 teaspoons of baking powder
* 1 teaspoon of salt
* 4 large eggs
* 1/2 cup of kefir
* 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Baked at 375°F for 40 minutes. The result was great for my taste and needs
Oh I’ve never worked with kefir! That sounds like a great substitution. Thanks for sharing.
I used Andrey’s recipe because I didn’t want sugar. I did add a dribble of maple syrup to the kefir. Delicious. Thank you.
I’m a 40 year old man who has recently started with allergies to grains.
I have never baked in my life!
This receipe worked a treat. It is so simple, even I can do it! The bread is nice, better than the grain free ones I have bought from the shop, I end up having to bin those.
Because of the eggs it is also full of protein and has some nutritious value too unlike normal bread.
Very nice, very easy. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you very much!
Can’t wait to try this bread! However my question is can it be baked in a bread maker? Our kitchen is under construction and that is all that is available to me right now.
Hey Marybeth, I truly wish I could answer your question, but I have personally never used a bread maker. Different bread makers have different baking options, and some feature quick breads, so I’d like to say that this recipe should work just fine in one. If you do end up trying it, would you let me know? I’m curious to see how it would turn out.
We followed your recipe worked great but I used a no stick as spray on all sides. Waited for 10 Minutes and it came out of pan with ease.
Fantastic! I’m so glad that worked for you. 🙂
This recipe was pretty easy to make which was nice. I cooked mine in a black loaf pan and it took less than 30 minutes to cook at 190C. It came out very sweet, more like cake than bread I think. Tasted awesome with butter and jam, but very bizzare when used for savoury toast (like with avo and egg).
That’s a fair critique. Thank you.
What is the best way to store the bread? And for how long?
Rice flour bread stays fresh when stored in an air tight bag at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. If you need to keep it fresher for longer, I suggest slicing and freezing the bread.
I made this recipe today. It is delicious. I do have a question. Did you ever try using canola instead of butter?
Hey Mary, you can absolutely swap melted butter with canola or vegetable oil. The flavor will be a little bit different but not by much. Enjoy!
Thank you. Will try canola oil next time.
I am so grateful for this recipe: thank you! It’s challenging to find low fiber rice flour bread recipes without yeast, some sort of gum or psylium fiber. This loaf turned out perfectly, and was just what I’ve been searching for. I followed your recipe exactly, and couldn’t be happier with the delicious result!
You are most welcome! Thank you for your kind words and positive feedback. Happy baking!
Has anyone tried doing it with an egg substitution? My daughter can only do egg whites. We usually do flax seed plus water combination to substitute eggs.
I haven’t yet! Definitely worth a shot. This bread is pretty crumbly already, however. I wonder if flax is strong enough to hold it together in this case. If you do try it, could you share your experience? That would be super helpful to other bakers.
I can’t wait to try this bread! I was wondering if you can use brown rice flour, instead of white?
I personally haven’t tried it with brown rice flour but I bet it would work just fine. If you do try it, could you please share your baking experience so others can learn from you too? Thanks so much!
I just made this, it is very nice but it is definitely more a cake than a loaf of bread. My wife thought I had made a Madeira cake.
Very nice with some jam on though 😁
Thank you for the recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback!
Can I use sweet white rice flour? Or will that make it too sticky?
I’m not sure? I personally haven’t tried it. If you do try it, let me know how it turned out. Your baking experience can help us all.