Gluten-Free French Bread (Baguette)

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Today’s recipe for this impressive loaf of Gluten-Free French Bread comes from my friend Iris Higgins. Iris is the author of the highly praised gluten-free cookbooks The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 1 and The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 2. She is graciously sharing several recipes on gfe that were on her previous gluten-free site, The Daily Dietribe.

Although Iris’ original site is no longer active, you can still get her most popular recipes for FREE by downloading her e-book, Gluten Free Fan Favorites RIGHT HERE. You can read more about Iris and her new focus at the very bottom of this post.

Iris has shared Paleo Zucchini Coconut Waffle Wraps and Lemon Bars previously on gfe. Today she’s sharing this beautiful and delicious gluten-free French Bread recipe. I will have several more wonderful recipes from her here on gfe in the near future.

Iris says: “This delicious bread comes the closest to French bread I’ve had since going gluten, egg and yeast free. It has a crispy outside with a soft and chewy inside. Note that I use white rice flour, which is NOT the same as sweet white rice flour. I don’t recommend changing the flour, so if you can’t have white rice flour, experiment at your own risk.”

This recipe is not only gluten free, but it’s also egg free, with a dairy-free option, which also means it’s easily made vegan. Plus, there’s no yeast–which means there’s no additional time needed for the dough to rise before baking. Are you amazed yet? I certainly am. As you can probably tell from the photo, this French bread is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. That’s just the way that French bread should be!

Oh, by the way, another bonus is that this recipe does not require a special French Bread pan. You only need to shape the dough into a French bread loaf before baking.

For more gluten-free French Bread recipes, see the Top 20 Best Gluten-Free Bread Recipes, part of A Bountiful Bread Basket series here on gfe. I love that we have all these wonderful gluten-free bread recipes from which to choose!

Gluten-Free French Bread Recipe

Gluten-Free French Bread

Author Shirley Braden of Gluten Free Easily

Iris says: “This delicious bread comes the closest to French bread I've had since going gluten, egg and yeast free. It has a crispy outside with a soft and chewy inside. Note that I use white rice flour, which is NOT the same as sweet white rice flour. I don't recommend changing the flour, so if you can't have white rice flour, experiment at your own risk.”

Ingredients

1 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy; see notes for another option)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons whole psyllium husks
1 tablespoon oil (canola, olive, etc.)
1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
1 3/4 cups white rice flour (254 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
Stir together milk and apple cider vinegar. Let sit for a minute, then stir in psyllium and let sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir in the oil and applesauce.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the middle, pour the wet mix in and stir. It will eventually get clumpy and you'll need to knead it until it comes together in a dough. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to mix them together.
Form into the shape of a French bread, about 8 inches long. Place on baking sheet and brush liberally with extra oil.
Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to rest at least 20 minutes before cutting.
Note: Make sure your oven is preheated so you can get the bread straight into the oven. It won't rise much but you want to make sure the baking soda and baking powder are working in the oven.

Notes

One reader substituted water for the milk and said the resulting bread was softer and kept longer.

Courses Bread

More About Iris

Iris Higgins, MA, is a certified hypnotherapist and the creator of The Goldilocks Movement, a virtual retreat where she teaches women to embrace their creativity and hone their intuition. She learned to follow her intuition by doing the opposite. For years, she ignored what her inner wisdom was telling her, and it affected her mental and physical health. After years of depression and mysterious headaches and fatigue, she decided to make a commitment to following her instincts and embracing the unknown. Now headache free and full of energy, she continues to happily embrace the unknown while living with her boyfriend and their young son in Prescott, AZ.