Rice Flour Bread

Rice flour bread with rice in measuring cup and bread knife

In a rush? You can skip straight to the Rice Flour Bread Recipe at my Tumblr!

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.

Three slices of rice flour bread next to bread knife and butter

Rice flour bread doesn’t use yeast to rise, and it’s completely gluten-free. Instead of yeast, it relies on baking soda 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.

slice of buttered rice flour bread on tea towel next to butter on a plate

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) Sugar
6 Grams (1 Teaspoon) Salt
4 Eggs
113.4 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:

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 on tea towel next to bread knife and butter on plate

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.

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.

rice in measuring cup with bread and butter

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.