Gluten Free French Bread Baguettes

French Bread. Gluten Free French Bread. Hold it. I don't even need to call it Gluten Free French Bread. This recipe is so much like the French Bread that I remember pre-gluten free that it needs no other name other than French Bread. Say no more. I am one happy dudette.

A great, big, huge, tremendous thank you to Sea at Book Of Yum. I subscribe to her blog and when I saw her recipe for Sorghum Rosemary French Bread, it was love at first sight. First I made it her way - it was fabulous. Then I decided to play with it. I added a bunch of different flours to the sorghum and millet in the original recipe. And I added pectin, an ingredient I've been using in all of my breads of late. After making it a few times, I wrote the recipe directions in a way that reflected my interpretation of Sea's recipe. But still, I have a huge debt of gratitude to Sea for bringing this bread into my life.

French Bread Baguettes
adapted from Book of Yum recipe for Sorghum Rosemary French Bread

Yeast mixture:
2 tbsp sugar (or alternative sweetener)
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp active dry yeast

Dry ingredients:
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup potato starch (not potato flour!)
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1 tbsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp flaxmeal
1 tsp pectin
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp egg replacer powder

Wet ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp egg replacer whisked with 6 tbsp warm water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Topping ingredients:
about 2 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
crushed dried rosemary (or other herbs)

Preheat oven to 400º. Grease french bread pan and dust with cornmeal.

Pour sugar into warm water. Add yeast and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside. The mixture will form a head of foam indicating that the yeast is proofed (fresh and usable).

Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (alternatively, use a free standing bowl and hand mixer). Mix on very low speed. Once the dry ingredients are blended together, add the proofed yeast mixture, keeping the mixer on low speed at first to avoid liquids splashing out of the bowl. Increase speed to medium high and add the olive oil, egg replacer mixture, and apple cider vinegar. Mix for 3 minutes.

Scoop the dough into prepared pan. If possible, use a greased ice cream scooper (I used a scoop that held approximately 1/4 cup). Each of my loaves consisted of 4 ice cream scooper scoops worth of dough, each scoop of dough hugging the one next to it. If you're like me, the first time I made this recipe, I was sure that I'd made a huge mistake. I mean, the dough was soft. I couldn't believe it could ultimately turn into French Bread. I'm very glad that I didn't throw in the towel.

Using a pastry brush (silicone brushes are EXCELLENT to use for this task), brush each loaf with olive oil. The brushing will not only allow you to coat the surface of the loaves with olive oil, but will also allow you to sculpt the dough into more of a french bread looking shape, the scoops of dough melding into each other. Sprinkle each loaf with kosher salt and dried, crushed rosemary.


Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes. This is what the three loaves looked like after they rose for 30 minutes:


Just before baking, spray the edge of a serrated knife and using a quick motion, make three diagnoal slits in the top of each loaf. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes (my loaves baked for 40 minutes). Periodically, spritz the inside of the oven with water. This will create steam that will help form a nice crust on the bread. Cover for last 10 minutes if crust is getting too well-done. When a thermometer stuck inside the bread reaches 205º, the loaves are done. As you can see, my thermometer rose to 209º.

Click here for printable recipe.


Here are two pictures of what the bread looked like when it was done.




I've had the bread for dinner a whole bunch of times in the last week. And I've toasted the leftovers for breakfast. It's sensational. French Bread. Like I said, one happy dudette.