This easy-to-do recipe makes a round flat loaf of amazing, lean, rustic bread. The crust is crisp and buttery and the crumb is tender and moist but not gummy. Great on its own, it’s fantastic with a bit of butter or margarine. Add jam or a slice of cheese and it’s out of this world. Because of the whey powder, this loaf is not dairy free. If you are looking for gluten and dairy free, try our recipe for crusty bread.

Looking for easy gluten free bread recipes? You might also like these:

gf and me’s original crusty bread

Rural Route Lupiac’s gluten free brioche

gluten free fruit bread

And while this recipe isn’t exactly easy, it’s certainly worth the effort:

Kim’s gluten free dairy free sandwich bread

What you’ll need:

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon quick rise instant yeast

1 ½ cups Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour

TIP: We found Cup 4 Cup at our local Save On Foods. If you can’t find it, try this copy cat flour blend recipe from rural route lupiac.

1 tablespoon Expandex modified tapioca starch

TIP: Expandex is difficult to get in Canada. We ordered it from www.qualifirst.com.

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon whey protein

TIP: Whey protein can help replace some of the gluten protein that’s missing in gf foods. You can purchase whey protein from any store that sells body building supplies. Be sure to purchase a brand that is unflavoured and not enhanced with vitamins and fibre which could affect your baking results. We use “100% Whey Protein,” distributed by The Winning Combination. We purchase it at London Drugs.

1 pat of cold butter

What you’ll do:

In small bowl, start the yeast by mixing together the warm water and sugar, and adding the yeast. Set the yeast mixture aside for at least 5 minutes.

While the yeast is starting, put the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together well.

After 5 minutes is up, add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and stir. The dough will be really wet and sticky – like a thick, sticky cake batter.

Cover and either set on the counter to rise until double in height (at least 2 hours – longer is better for the flavour) or place in fridge overnight.

When you are ready to bake your bread, heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place an ungreased Dutch oven or lidded casserole in the oven and heat for 30 minutes.

While the pot is heating, place a sheet of parchment paper on the counter. Give it a light sprinkle with gluten free flour.

Remove the dough from its bowl and place it onto the parchment. Shape into a discus shape.

TIP: The dough will still be wet and sticky – especially if you let it rise on the counter. Use the parchment to help you shape the dough into a ball by lifting up on the corners and forcing the dough into the centre.

Once the pot is hot, remove it from the oven and place the bread dough inside.

TIP: You can cut the parchment roughly to size and place both the dough and the parchment in the pot.

Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Bake for another 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool. While still warm, rub the entire surface with a pat of cold butter. This will soften the crust and add give it a wonderful buttery flavour.

TIP: This recipe makes a small loaf – about the size of 4 dinner buns. It can be doubled, but we recommend baking it in two pans. Making one large loaf alters the texture.

Photo credit: gfandme 2014