There’s just something incredibly comforting about a loaf of homemade bread fresh from the oven. This super soft flaxseed bread is rich in omega-3s and so delicious – no one will know it's gluten and dairy free! Enjoy a slice of this moist, fluffy gluten free flax seed bread for breakfast or an afternoon snack.
Made with ground flax meal, this loaf is packed with nutrients and a warm, nutty flavor. The versatility of this yeast bread makes it a great option for toast, sandwiches, and more! With a soft, chewy center and lightly browned crust, this easy flaxseed bread will quickly become a favorite in your house. Store an extra loaf in the freezer so you always have fluffy homemade bread on hand.
Looking for more yeast bread recipes? Check out this gluten free white bread, this millet flour bread and this gluten free French bread.
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Why this recipe is a must-make!
There are so many things to love about this soft flaxseed bread recipe! Besides being gluten and dairy free, this bread loaf is a tasty and healthy alternative to regular wheat bread. Like these flax muffins, this bread is made with flax meal and a variety of whole grains. Plus, it's is a great plant-based source of fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids. Here’s what else you’ll love about this recipe:
- The batter is super easy to prep using a stand mixer
- No kneading is required
- It makes the perfect everyday bread, just like this millet bread, buckwheat bread and sorghum bread
- It stores well in the freezer
Ingredients & substitutions
- Water - There is no alternative for the water in this recipe.
- Pure maple syrup - There is no substitute for the maple syrup.
- Active dry yeast - The yeast is essential in this recipe because it causes the bread to rise. There is no substitute for the active dry yeast in this flaxseed bread.
- Gluten free flour blend - This recipe was tested using the gluten free flour blend here. Other flour blends may work here but they have not been tested.
- Arrowroot starch - Same thing as arrowroot powder - I recommend using this brand of arrowroot starch in this recipe. Tapioca starch or cornstarch would make good alternatives if needed.
- Flaxseed meal - I use the Nuts.com brand of flaxseed meal (also known as flax meal or ground flaxseed) in this bread recipe. There are no substitutions for the flaxseed meal.
- Buckwheat flour - I tested this recipe using the Bouchard Farms brand of buckwheat flour. Millet flour is a good replacement for the buckwheat flour if needed.
- Xanthan gum - There is no substitute for the xanthan gum in this recipe.
- Salt - There is no substitute for salt in this bread.
- Baking powder - There is no substitute for the baking powder in this recipe.
- Eggs - Regular eggs work best in this bread recipe. I would not recommend using an egg alternative here.
- Egg whites - There is no replacement for the egg whites in this flaxseed bread.
- Olive oil - There is no substitute for the olive oil in this recipe.
- Apple cider vinegar - There is no substitute for the apple cider vinegar.
- Sesame seeds - There is no substitute for the sesame seeds but you can omit them if desired.
Flax seed bread step by step directions
This soft flaxseed bread batter takes just 25 minutes to prep. To get started, add the water, maple syrup, and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer and stir them together (step 1 above). Set it aside to proof for 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, arrowroot flour, flaxseed meal, buckwheat flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder (step 2). Once the yeast mixture is proofed (step 3), add in the eggs, egg whites, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar (step 4). Then, mix for 30 seconds. All at once, add the flour mixture (step 5) and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Then, mix on medium speed for 3 minutes (step 6).
Baking
Meanwhile, prepare a 9" x 5" baking pan by spraying the pan with cooking spray. Scrape the bread batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.
Slice a ¼" lengthwise slice down the middle of the bread. Then, cover the bread with a dry linen towel. Let it rise for an hour and a half or until the bread crests over the top of the pan. (This may happen in as little as 30 minutes.) Check it at the 30 minute mark.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Once the loaf is fully risen, bake it for 45 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reaches 205-210°F. Remove the bread loaf from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then, turn it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely before slicing.
Pro tips for the best bread
Making yeast bread from scratch can be a bit daunting, especially when it’s gluten free. There are some important steps to follow to make sure your bread comes out light and fluffy. These pro tips will guarantee your soft flaxseed bread is a success!
1. Use room temperature ingredients (except for the water)
Be sure to use room temperature ingredients for this bread recipe. The warm water is the only exception. It should be approximately 110°F to properly activate the yeast. Using room temperature ingredients allows them to easily combine during mixing.
Check out these 10 essential tips for gluten free baking to ensure you make the perfect loaf very time.
2. Measure the ingredients by weight
Use a digital scale to measure each of the flours by weight for the best results. This is more accurate than measuring by cup and is critical for the final outcome of this recipe.
3. The batter should rise until it crests over the top of the pan (time may vary)
The yeast produces carbon dioxide which causes the bread to rise. Allow the bread batter to rise just until it crests over the top of the pan. Keep in mind that this process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.
4. Helpful tools
Here are some tools that will help in prepping your soft flaxseed bread:
- Digital scale
- Stand mixer - this brand is excellent and will last forever!
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- 9”x5” loaf pan - I use pans like this for my yeast breads, with square corners, rather than curved corners.
- Knife
- Linen towel
- Instant-read thermometer
- Wire cooling rack
Flaxseed bread FAQs
Yes. You can purchase ready-to-use ground flaxseed meal here or easily make it yourself at home. For homemade flax meal, simply grind whole flax seeds in a high-speed blender, food processor, or coffee grinder.
This flaxseed bread is made with active dry yeast. Other types of yeast such as instant yeast or fresh yeast will not yield the same results in this recipe.
Active dry yeast (traditional yeast) must be activated with warm water before adding it to your recipe. This activation process is called proofing. Active dry yeast is partially dehydrated yeast that is ground into small granules.
Instant yeast (rapid rise or bread machine yeast) can be added directly to your recipe and does not need to be proofed with warm water beforehand. It is ground into smaller, finer grains than active dry yeast.
Fresh yeast (cake yeast or compressed yeast) is a less common type of yeast because of its very short shelf life. It is packaged in blocks or cubes and must be refrigerated. To use it in a recipe, it is crumbled into small pieces and proofed with warm water.
Once it’s baked and cooled, this soft flaxseed bread will stay soft on the counter for up to 2 days. For longer storage, you'll want to cut the loaf into slices and keep it in the freezer.
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Recipe
Soft Flaxseed Bread (Gluten & Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup water 110 F
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 165 grams gluten free flour blend about 1 ¼ cup
- 90 grams arrowroot starch about ¾ cup
- 45 grams flaxseed meal about ½ cup
- 21 grams buckwheat flour
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, maple syrup and yeast. Stir together. Set aside to proof for 3 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour blend, arrowroot, flaxseed meal, buckwheat flour, xanthan gum, salt and baking powder.
- To the proofed yeast mixture, add the eggs, egg whites, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Mix for 30 seconds.
- All at once, add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides.
- Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare a 9" x 5" baking pan by spraying the pan with cooking spray.
- Scrape bread batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Slice ¼" lengthwise slice down the middle of the bread.
- Cover the bread with a dry linen towel. Let rise for 1.5 hours or until the bread crests over the top of the pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake risen loaf for 45 minutes or until instant read thermometer reaches 205 - 210 F.
- Cool bread in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely before slicing.
Video
Notes
- Weigh ingredients with a digital scale for best results.
- The flour blend used in the recipe is here. Other blends may work, but they have not been tested.
- Mix the batter for the full 3 minutes on medium.
- Rise time may vary. Bread is ready to bake when it has crested the top of the baking pan. That may take 30 minutes or 1.5 hours.
- Baked loaf may sink a little - it's completely normal.
- Baked bread will stay soft on the counter for up to 2 days. Any longer than that and you'll want to slice and freeze it for longer storage.
Bill steggals
I have been striving to find a suitable GF loaf recipe that keeps moist as I am a lover of the classic breakfast bacon sandwich AND THIS IS BRILLIANT. It lasts at least three full days (I had bacon sandwiches using the same loaf for three consecutive days…and thoroughly enjoyed the experimentation!!!!!).
Thank you so much…you have contributed significantly to my enjoyment of breakfast again after many years since having to follow a GF diet.
Christine
Thank you so much Bill!
So glad you enjoy it 🙂
Christine
Nicole Gendron
Vous utilisez cuillère à café au lieu cuillère à thé cela fait-il une différence dans la recette si on confond les deux Merci
Christine
Hi Nicole,
So regarding teaspoons - I do sometimes abbreviate it as tsp. but they are the same thing. Tablespoon is different though - it is a larger amount.
Hope that helps!
Christine
CONNIE
There is no s on the abbreviation of minutes it is just min
Christine
Hi Connie,
Thank you, appreciate you!
Christine
Isa
Hi Christine,
Thank you so much for your great recipes. This bread looks delicious.
The problem is that I cannot have eggs. What could I use to substitute the eggs? I usually use flaxeggs, but this would probably not work in this case. It does make the bread more dense, but I do not really have a choice.
Thanks
Christine
Hi Isa,
Yeah this is a tough one to substitute the eggs in. You can try using an egg substitute like JUST egg liquid eggs, but it's been unreliable for me.
Let me know if you try it.
Christine
Dottie Odrosky
This rating is for your Millet Bread recipe that was offered last month. I used recipe as written, but baked in my USA Bun pans making 8 buns. The buns were great, not dry and firm enough to nicely hold a mushy sandwich. After first two days, I froze remainder and now thaw each bun in my tortilla warmer, using defrost feature for 20 seconds (900 W microwave oven), and then lightly toast. After toasting and buttered, the bun tastes much like a whole wheat English muffin.
Thank you for a great recipe.
Christine
Hi Dottie,
Oh I bet those were wonderful! Great idea, I'm so happy you are enjoying them 🙂
Christine
Dottie Odrosky
Monday, March 20th I made this bread and today March 23rd it is still soft and delicious! Absolutely an AMAZING bread recipe! Rise time was about 1 hr and 50 min, but my house is on the cool side. The bread smells and tastes so good. Easy to slice and no crumbling and makes sandwiches loaded with flavor. This recipe has just moved to first place in my many saved bread recipes. When I'm this excited about GF baked bread, I tell my friends that, "I'm on a bread high". Hope my photo will attach to this note. Dottie
Christine
Hi Dottie, oh that's wonderful to hear!
I didn't see the picture come through, but if you want to email it to me, I'd love to add it a 'GF baker review'!
christine@zestforbaking.com
Glad you enjoy it!
Christine
Johanne
I thought i had found the best ever GF bread in your Sorghum bread, but this one is even better. Lighter, fluffier. Makes the best toasts… divine with rhubarb and raspberry sauce. It was a challenge for my hand-held mixer but it managed. Thank you for another winning GF recipe.
Christine
Glad you enjoy it Johanne!
Christine 🙂