Gluten Free Bread
Ok – here it is….my secret recipe to the yummiest gluten free bread you can eat !
This delicious bread is just one of many loaves I’ve been designing for my baking section on this web site and my new book. The most important steps would be to soak and rinse your quinoa and chia seperately overnight before starting the recipe and mix it for at least 3 minutes in your food processor. Once you have that sorted, it’s smooth sailing from there. Don’t expect this bread to resemble traditional loaves – it’s a very nutrient rich, dense and moist bread that is best eaten lightly toasted in a pan.
What I love about the raw batter before I cook it is that it also lends itself to a variety of dishes. You can bake it as a thin flat bread and use it for a pizza base and top it with sun-dried tomato, roasted pumpkin chunks and ricotta or you can cook spoonfuls in your cast iron pan just like pancakes or crumpets and drizzle with pure maple syrup and sliced banana.
What’s good about it:
Well to start is really delicious. Made simply from quinoa which is gluten free and has a low GI of 53. Quinoa is also a complete protein which means that it contains all the essential amino acids that the body needs for repair and a healthy immune system.The chia seed pumps up the omega 3 in the bread plus it helps hold it together when it’s baked. The lemon activates the baking soda (bicarb) + helps to alkaline the loaf.
Makes 1 loaf – The size I used was: 10 1/2 cm wide and 26 cm long…. T 
300 g (10 1/2 oz / 1 3/4 cups) whole uncooked quinoa
60 g (2 fl oz / 1/4 cup) whole chia seed
250 ml / 1 cup water (use half to soak chia seeds and the other half to combine in the food processor)
60 ml ( 2 fl oz / ¼ cup ) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
juice from ½ lemon
Preheat oven to 160 C / 320 F. fan forced oven.
Soak quinoa in plenty of cold water overnight in the fridge.
Soak chia seed in 1/2 cup water until gell like – this can be done overnight as well, but just give it a few stirs at the beginning.
Drain the quinoa and rinse really well through a sieve. Make sure the water is fully drained from your sieve.
Place the quinoa into a food processor.
Add chia gell, 1/2 cup of water, olive oil, bicarb soda, sea salt and lemon juice.
Mix in a food processor for 3 minutes. The bread mix should resemble a batter consistency with some whole quinoa still left in the mix.
Spoon into a loaf tin lined with baking paper on all sides and the base.
Bake for 1 ½ hours until firm to touch and bounces back when pressed with your fingers. Mine took 1 1/2 hours – oven temps can vary slightly – but the bread needs the time to cook and for the quinoa to become tender.
Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes in the tin…then remove from the tin and cool completely on a rack or board. The bread should be slightly moist in the middle and crisp on the outside. Cool completely before eating.
Serve delicate slices only when cold with a serrated knife.
Store wrapped in the fridge for up to 1 week.(yes this can be frozen for upto 3 months)
Delicious lightly toasted on a pan.
Serves 12 – and best served lightly toasted in a pan until golden on both sides.
Serving suggestions:
Top with fresh sliced avocado and tomato.
Serve lightly toasted with your favourite soup.
Serve topped with cottage cheese and a little honey.
Serve topped with nut butter.
NOTES:
Use as a healthy pizza base – just bake as a flat bread and not loaf in the oven.
Sprinkle with sunflower seeds before baking.
The whole seed must be used – please don’t use rolled quinoa or the flour.
Any colour quinoa seed will work – I’ve used white in this recipe.
Store wrapped in an airtight container or glad wrap in the fridge to keep it fresh and yummy.
Can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Hulled millet can be used in place of quinoa in this recipe
Don’t use rolled quinoa for this recipe
Nutrition per slice
Protein: 2.5 g
Total Fat: 7 g
Saturated: 0.9 g
Carbs: 7.4 g
Kilojoules: 452
Calories: 108
Fibre: 3 g
Contact Teresa Cutter
Looks great …. if you consider quinoa a seed then it could be considered Paleo though
I’m sure some may object.
Is the chia gel an egg alternative?
Hey Alison…you could say that Yes ! but it won’t apply to all recipes. Chia gell wll help it bind, but it won’t give the lightness you would get from using egg. Saying that, don’t use egg in this recipe – it’s better with the gell. And Yes I would consider this Paleo.
wow! this looks sooo good… only last week i was wondering if you could post a healthy garlic bread!
could i make this a garlic and herb bread with parsley in it too?
& can i use flaxseeds as an alternative to the chia? ( i dont have any chia but have the flaxseed )
thank you heaps! and good luck with your new book cant wait to buy it!
Cailtin – Chia works better in this recipe. you could add more herbs, but no garlic..Spread your toasted bread with a roasted garlic + olive oil spread instead.
thanks for the fast reply!
looks like im going to be buying chia seeds tomorrow! …that means i can make your jam too!!
thanks heaps!
Hi Teresa,
got my quinoa soaking.. just wanted to know what size tin to use?
im making this tomorrow and it just dawned on me haha
cheers x
Are whole quinoa and white quinoa the same thing?
Hi Teresa, I have baked with quinoa flour before and found it always to be very bitter. Does soaking the actual seed itself and then processing it take the bitterness away?
Yes the whole quinoa seeds, once soaked are lovely and smooth. This will not be bitter but a delicious nutty loaf of GF bread. I agree with you on the flour
My God Teresa, how do you even come up with such amazing ideas?! It looks divine.
I hope you won’t keep us waiting very long for your new book.
Hi- is there an alternative to the food processor (mine fizzed out a while ago)?
Hi Teresa
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Just wondering if you need to use a certain kind of quinoa?
Would a tri-colour mix work equally as well as the plain white seeds?
Hi Teresa
How does this store in the fridge? It sounds yummy, will be trying this on the weekend
Hi, just wondering you say remove from tin then cool. Do you remove straight away or leave cool in tin for awhile first mine rose quite a bit don’t want it to sink as its cracked on top
Ok cooked loaf as per instructions cooked for 1 1/2 hrs at 160 top cooked but all gooey and runny at bottom
. Not sure where I went wrong…cooked in pyrex loaf cause my tin one was not big enough
Hi Teresa, could you mix/kneed this by hand if you do not have a food processor?
Looks amazing!
No Michelle – this method will not work.
Terese, I want to thank you for the delicious healthy recipes that you create… everything I have tried has been really yummy, and the best thing is that they are healthy!!! My husband is totally Gluten Free, so I cant wait to try this bread… it looks like something my mother used to make when we were kids on the farm… she used to make everything wholesome and from scratch, even with 5 kids and a farm to run!!! I’ll let you know how I go!! X
Hi Teresa,
I have a bread maker that has a gluten free setting. Would you recommend trying to cook this bread in it?
Hey Judy – won’t work in the bread maker…
Hi Teresa x thanks for this. I made it last night for Jessica!
for the dummies, well me! when you say cook as a flat bread, do you mean roll it out to a certain thickness and then put it on a round pizza pan??? I’ve never cooked a pizza base, usually use pita bread!!
Shauna – the mix is more like a batter – not a dough as such so if making a pizza base, just spread it out onto a piece of grease proof baking paper – round shape….and bake it until firm and cooked through..top with your toppings and bake again. T:)
Hi Teresa, I dont have any way to weigh my quinoa, what would the 600g equate to in Cups?
Thanks
Hi Teresa,
Can the quinoa be substituted for millet in this recipe? If not, do you have any other gluten free bread recipes?
Hiya, this bread looks great and I want to make it but have 1 (probably silly) question! Is quinoa seed what you buy in the shops as quinoa (I usually use as a GF replacement for cous cous)? Or something different. I have not heard or seen it labelled as quinoa seed before (I live in NZ).
Thanks
Hannah
I made a loaf this morning and it’s turned out perfectly! What a fantastic bread, nice crunchy outside (esp with sunflower seeds) and soft inside texture very much like a standard bread. I don’t have a food processor so made my batter in my Blendtec, blended for less time keeping an eye on the consistency so it was batter like but still with some whole quinoa. Thanks Teresa! Another great recipe
Hi Teresa, I was wondering what sized loaf tin you used, was it a regular loaf tin?
Hi Teresa
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. Quite a few are staples on our weekly menu and I can’t get through the day without my green smoothie. (I think about it like I used to think about coffee. Need it, need it, need it!)
I was wondering if ground chia would work or does it need to be the whole seed?
Made this bread last night and had it toasted in pan today with avocado and fresh tomato – yummy!! Looked exactly like the picture and tasted fantastic.
Thanks again Teresa …
Hi Teresa,
I have just made the Gluten Free Bread and it is no where near as high as yours in the picture, can you please let me know what the dimensions are of the loaf tin you used.
It tastes delicious…..thanks
Robin
I’m hoping it still worked out for you Robin ? Such a lovely bread. The size i used was: 10 1/2 cm wide and 26 cm long…. T
Hi Teresa, is this bread meant to rise? Mine didn’t and came out very flat, I think my loaf tin was too big. Still tastes good though. The chia gel was also very thick and I felt the mix needed a bit more water to get the better going when processing. Also 1- 1.5 hours baking is a big variation. Can you do it on 180 for a shorter time? I really hope to master this as I am really want a GF bread without yeast. Cheers Kristine
Doesn’t rise much Kristine – Chia gell needs to be thick – don’t add more water. Bake 1 1/2 hours. Tin size is on the post.
oven temp needs to be 160. 
Hi Teresa, I love the look of this recipe but I don’t have a food processor. Can I make it without a processor? Thanks!
Hi Teresa,
This recipe is SUCH a winner! I’ll be making it For the 3rd time tomorrow. The first time I didn’t add
Rosemary and was delicious with coconut oil and cinnamon on top or with avo and eggs! The second time I added chopped rosemary and it was DELICIOUS I used un-hulled tahini which tastes like peanut butter!
So happy with this bread! Looking fwd to adding black olives next time
You think it is OK to mix the batter in my Vitamix? I’m very excited to make this
Hi Melissa – nice to meet you. I would not blend the batter until smooth in your vitamix – recipe is not designed for this one.
Hi Teresa,
I LOVE this recipe. Although my bread turned out an odd shape (my own fault), it is delicious and tastes so nutritious. My batter was a bit runny (my quinoa may not have been adequately drained), however I added 2 tablespoons coconut flour. I can’t wait to make any another batch, which I will make as pizza base to freeze. Thank you so much for sharing.
Such a yummy bread thanks Theresa! Sooooo difficult to control portion size!!
Hi Teresa,
Any suggestions on how to increase the fibre content of this receipe?
Thanks
Vaso
Hi Teresa,
Tried out the quinoa recipe and loved it, thanks!
Just one question re. the chia seeds, does cooking them at the temp you suggested de-value their goodness as an Omega 3 source and make them rancid as it does with other Omega 3′s when cooking at high temps?
I have tried to research this but can’t find anything conclusive
Thanks so much,
Chloe
Just had a slice of that Gluten Free Bread, its absolutely delicious.
Thanks for sharing such a great recipe
Forgot to add the water to the mix and it still turned out great. (Won’t forget next time).
Can you make without lemon as I have a citus alergy too or what could you replace it with as I cant use vinegar either
Anita use a spoonful of natural yoghurt with live cultures or even buttermilk. This should activate the bicarb. you can also substitute for 2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder – where by bicarb is combined with cream of tartar for activation and stability. T:)
Btw I love your recipes, its making life bit easier
Thankyou so very much for sharing your wonderful recipe Teresa. The bread turned our perfect and looks just like your picture. Probably one of the most economical wheat and yeast free loaves I have made, yet definitely the best. Finally something to have with my scrambled eggs. I don’t have a food processed so I see my blender. Xxx
Hi Teresa!
Like many of your followers, I LOVE this website. I made the Naked Chocolate Cake in an intricate butterfly baking mould for her first birthday party and was so thrilled that I could still let her and her little bubba friends have cake and not worry about refined rubbish. I have two autoimmune conditions and need to kick gluten properly. Its hard. But this bread looks amazing.
I know some of your readers have said they have used a blender – I have a blender and food processor on my wish list (Santa?!) but its not likely at this stage!
I’m desperate to cook some of your recipes which require one and am wondering if you think a Kenwood stick blender with a bit of grunt would cut the mustard. Or the chia and quinoa, in this case 
I just don’t want to break it as then I’d be in real trouble!
Please let me know.
Thank you so much for this website – I have purchased all your books in the hope that you can continue to share your wonderful recipes with us. I love being able to cook healthy, uncomplicated, nourishing food for my family and your website and books are now my go to for my baby and husband.
In good health,
Beck.
I made this and just finished the taste test. I didn’t have the right quantities so I used 1 cup quinoa and 3/4 cup millet. In my eagerness I forgot to add the extra 1/2 cup water but it turned out anyway and I absolutely LOVE IT. It tastes amazing. Great recipe, a zillion thanks!
What a great recipe! Tastes great fried in butter till golden. Will put with eggs for breakfast in the morning.
I baked this last night and tried it in the morning and it was amazing!!! I just cut out 2 slices and put it in my toaster and ate them without putting anything on top!! It just tastes sooooo lovely!
Hi Teresa,
Looks like a great recipe, but I’m wondering what I could use instead of Quinoa? I’m Paleo but can’t use Quinoa either.
Thanks so much in advance! Your website is saving me from food frustration during my transition!
Love this recipe! It tastes amazing! We are cutting out citrus as well, so I subbed the lemon juice for 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. It worked great! Thanks for sharing!
Delicious bread! Mine came out a bit flat and very pale. Not sure if I should have used a hotter oven. Any tips? Thanks
I made this last night, really pleased with it,only one problem, I sprayed the tin then put the baking paper but it stuck to the bread and would not come off, not sure what I did wrong there – any help would be really appreciated. Thanks and happy Easter
The best baking paper to use is a silicone based one such as glad bake. No sticking.
x
Thanks Teresa, it was GladBake so maybe the spray is my problem, Earth Burgers are next on my list
Have a great week.
I brush my pan with coconut oil and then line with parchment paper. Nothing ever stick!
Just made this there, and i tell you it won’t be the last time! Dense and chewy- just the way i like it!!! It will be gone in no time at all.
Hi there,
I was wondering if you can also make this with cooked quinoa. What is the difference in having it uncooked?
Also do you use white quinoa or can you use red or black quinoa?
Thank you so much, can’t wait to try this out !
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe! I made this bread this morning and although I did not have Chia seeds, it still turned out absolutely perfect – crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside! Thanks again
this recipe has literally made my life. have been experimenting with gluten free flours for over a year now and never got such a great loaf. Either too crumbly, dried out too quickly, went bitter quickly. This however is just PERFECT and would have lasted the week had it not been so yummy. Thank you!