Gluten Free Dairy Free Italian Bread
Want a bread that has an aroma that will carry throughout your house? One with a generous helping of Italian seasoning and a nice, tall rise?
This is your bread.
I think I’ve created a bread that both satisfies and indulges my love of bread. I didn’t think it could exist in one loaf, but this one sure is in the running.
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It’s tall, nicely seasoned and bakes up like a champ.
And I’ll tell you, when I was first working on this recipe and took it out of the oven, I remember thinking, wow this loaf turned out amazing and it smells like an Italian restaurant in here. Then, as it was cooling on the rack, out of the corner of my eye, I hear "Mmmm something smells like pizza over here." From that point on, it became a battle to prevent anyone cutting into it before dinner.
Some battles are not worth fighting.
So what did we do? We got out the rest of the Olive Oil Dipping Sauce I had left over from the Focaccia bread and dug in.
Get the recipe here: Gluten Free Focaccia Bread with Herb Infused Olive Oil
Before dinner.
So I’ll warn you with this bread – it may not last very long.
Especially when you pair it with the Dipping Sauce.
It’s a yeast bread that will melt in your mouth. And make anyone you serve it to swoon with delight.
The only downfall, if you can call it that, is that it has an hour rise time and then a long bake time. But it’s par for the course. Get out a good book while you wait.
Tips for Making the Best Gluten Free Dairy Free Italian Bread
Smooth the top
Gluten free bread keeps its shape well. This is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because there’s no guessing about how those biscuits or rolls will turn out. But it’s bad because in the case of loaves of bread, if you don’t smooth the top, it will turn out with all the lumps, bumps and crevice’s that you put it in there with. To get a nice smooth top, you have to get your fingers dirty. Well, not dirty, but doughy.
Just dip your fingers in a cup of water and smooth the top. Repeat as needed. Until it’s a nice smooth looking loaf of bread. If you don’t smooth it out, you might end up with loaves that look like this one (the second loaf was quite lumpy!).
Use a thermometer
Heating up any liquid ingredients can be tricky. Even a quick spin in the microwave can leave you with super hot water. The best way to gauge the temperature of water is just to use a thermometer. I know, you may be saying, I can tell just by sticking my finger in it, and I applaud you if this is you. But it’s definitely not me!
Let it mix
I really love gluten free bread batter. That’s kind of a surprising statement since there’s so many things that can throw gluten free bread batter for a loop. But yes, I really do love the batter. I love the fact that you can turn it to mix and then actually let it mix without fear of it overmixing.
So many reasons to love that. No tough bread, no tough cupcakes.
Mix it for 5 minutes and then bake it. Mix away!
And if those were reasons enough to love this bread, then you’ll just have to make it and find out for yourself.
Recipe
Gluten Free Dairy Free Italian Bread
Ingredients
Method
- Prepare a 9” x 5” baking pan by spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in water and add yeast. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to get foamy.
- While yeast is proofing, in a large bowl, add the flours, starch, sugar, xanthan gum, Italian seasoning and salt. Stir with a whisk until blended.
- When the yeast mixture is ready, add the eggs and oil. Mix on medium speed for a few seconds.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture, mixing on low speed until fully blended.
- Turn speed up to medium and beat for 5 minutes.
- Spoon batter into the baking pan and smooth the top of the bread.
- Cover and let rise for 1 hour, until the loaf has almost doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the loaf for 45 – 50 minutes or until toothpick tests done.
Notes
- Wait the full 5 minutes for the yeast to get foamy.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.
- The bread dough should double in size while rising.
- The bread needs to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Want more amazing gluten free breads? Check out:
Flaky Gluten Free Biscuits Recipe
Soft Gluten Free Sourdough Bread Rolls
Gluten Free Outback Steakhouse Bread (Copycat Recipe)
And ingredient substitutions are handy to have too:
Yeast did not work. Is it because the water a d yeast did not have suger?
Hi Diane,
So if the yeast didn't proof either it was not fresh or the water was too hot and killed the yeast. Try lowering the temp of the water to 105 F and see if it proofs.
Hope that helps!
Christine
Thanks so much for this recipe ❤️ it came out so well and is such a hit with my whole family!
Thanks for the feedback Zaytoon!
So happy everyone enjoyed it!
~Christine
Can I make this without the Italian seasoning to use it as a sandwich bread? Also I have a proofing setting on my oven. Should I use it for the 1 hour rise?
Hi Carol,
Thanks for asking!
So this recipe, https://zestforbaking.com/traditional-gluten-free-white-bread make a great sandwich bread. You can try just leaving the seasoning out, but I recommend the recipe link I shared if you want more of a sandwich bread style.
Thanks,
Christine
Can this be done in a bread machine.
Hi Patty,
Yep, very easily actually - use the basic cycle and just add the liquid ingredients first and then the dry ingredients (including yeast).
Hope that helps!
Christine
This sounds awesome.
Can it be made with something other than xanthan gum (which does not agree with me)?
Thank you for all you do.
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for the kind words! So I have some substitutions for it, actually quite a few. I have not tried it with a sub, but try using 4 tsp. of psyllium husk powder in sub for it and then also separate the eggs - use the yolks in with the liquids and then whip the egg whites a bit and then stir them in before adding the dry ingredients.
Here's the article about the subs for xanthan gum: https://zestforbaking.com/make-substitutions-xanthan-gum-baking
It won't be exact, but it'll mimic the stability that xanthan gives.
Christine