There is a Gluten-Free Italian Flatbread recipe on the Living Without website, but it wasn't quite what I wanted, so I made some changes (to make it corn, potato, and cane sugar free) and thought I would share the recipe with you.
Did I mention the bread is moist, soft, and spongy... like real bread should be??! I had a turkey sandwich today for lunch and it was SO GOOD.
2 TBSP ground flax meal + 6 TBSP hot boiling water
⅓ cup millet flour
¼ cup brown rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup arrowroot flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp sea salt
1 tsp guar gum
1 TBSP honey or agave nectar
2 TBSP olive oil
½ cup plain yogurt (dairy or non-dairy, there are soy and coconut milk yogurts at the grocery store in the organic section)
2 TBSP water
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Preheat your over to 375 degrees (F).
In a small mixing bowl, combine flax meal and boiling water. Set aside and let sit for 10 minutes.
Combine flours, baking powder, soda, salt, and guar gum. (Tip: to help eliminate clumping in your batter, make sure you sift your flours - especially if they are finely ground.)
In a separate bowl, stir the honey, oil, yogurt, water, and vinegar (or lemon juice) together. Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients and flax mixture in to the dry ingredients until just blended.
Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet or pizza stone. Separate your dough into two even rounds on opposite sides of the cookie tray. I think they look like speckled cow pies. 🙂 Your cow pies should be about 6 inches in diameter.
Bake cow pies for about 20 - 25 minutes. If you are unsure whether or not they are done, pierce the middle of the bread with a knife. When removed, the knife should be clean and free of dough.
Allow your baked cow pies time to cool on wire racks before slicing. Slice horizontally for sandwich bread.
Other ideas for this recipe (I haven't tried these yet, they are just ideas):
Pizza Crust - Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning and 1 clove of minced garlic (if you can tolerate garlic) to the dough. Use a wet spatula to spread the dough out as a pizza crust (as evenly as possible). Pre-bake for about 10 minutes, or more if needed (I'm really just guessing at the time). Remove from oven and top with your favorite pizza toppings. Bake for an additional 10 to 20 minutes.
Hamburger Buns - Divide dough in to 6 to 8 separate mini-cow pies and sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes. Allow the baked buns time to cool before slicing them horizontally.
Dinner rolls - Add a teaspoon of crushed rosemary to the dough, then separate in to 6 to 8 mini-cow pies. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes.
Don't be afraid to sprinkle the tops of these with your favorite dairy or non-dairy cheeses. My personal favorite would be sheep ramano!
Enjoy!
Megan
Toni says
One of our favorites! I think I make them at least 2x a week!
Tori says
These were the best! I made this recipe using my cast iron biscuit pan, large Pampered Chef scoop, and some bacon grease. The portions were perfect. My son thinks these are awesome and they are prefect for his school lunch. Thank you!
MAID in Alaska says
Awesome!! Thanks so much, Tori!
Hugs,
Megan
Cas says
Hi, I can't have yoghurt (allergy) is there anything I can use instead also can't use sour cream thanks
Megan says
Hi Cas,
I'm not sure - that's a hard one. I can see egg-free mayonnaise (like Veganaise) possibly working? But you'd have to give it a go and try it to know for sure.
Trish says
I made these yesterday from the original recipe and they are wonderful. I made them again tonight as biscuits and I am so delighted that I have found a great biscuit recipe! I made a few subs because we can't use potato or rice in addition to g/f. I subbed more sorghum for the rice and cornstarch for the potato starch. G/f biscuits were something that I had failed at numerous times and had pretty much given up on them and then I saw your recent post on this recipe. My husband said he likes them better than wheat biscuits. Thank you for everything you do to make it easier for the rest of us to cook "around" our allergies/sensitivities.
Pina says
Hi Megan
I finally made this bread tonight and we loved it. I didn't have millet flour, but grounded millet in a coffee grinder. I placed the dough in a bread pan instead of a baking sheet and it never made it on the cooling rack. The kids picked at it while waiting for supper. I think I took it out too soon, it was a little too moist. It's like white bread melting in your mouth. We loved it this way. THANK YOU so much! I'm definately making this bread several times a week.
Pina
Megan says
Hi Pina,
Thanks so much for leaving me a comment - and you are totally welcome! I'm glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe!
Hugs,
Megan
Roberta Stanley says
How can I adapt this without the flax seed flour? It sounds so yummy! I want to try it in my hamburger pans. I am hoping for a result similar to those nice flat rolls that are in the super market.
Megan says
Hi Roberta,
Try using 2 eggs to replace the flax egg mixture.
🙂 Megan
Roberta Stanley says
Thanks again! As you may have guessed, I am dealing with several diets just for the two of us.
anya says
i'm weary of using guar gum. what do you think of it? thanks!
Megan says
Hi Anya,
I think it is okay in moderation, but that is my personal opinion!
Megan
Amber says
Hi Megan,
Will this wonderful recipe double well as is, please? Also, no guar gum on hand. Should I wait until I can buy some, or is using xanthum gum okay?
Thanks! 🙂
Amber
Megan says
Hi Amber-
I haven't doubled this recipe myself, but I think it would do well doubled. Xanthan gum should work just fine! 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!
Hugs,
M
Amber says
Thanks, Megan. We've made this bread four times already - loaf of bread in the oven, loaf in the toaster oven, pizza, and I just pulled some sandwich buns out of the oven. It's very easy and my family loves it in every single way!
I'm so bummed b/c I'm forced to be grain-free so I can't try it. It's SOOOO hard not to take a bite! LOL
I occasionally buy hotdog-like minimally processed sausages and my family would love for me to make hotdog buns. Any idea if this bread would be suitable for that type of shape and slice? Or would it split apart? I'm just too inexperienced.
Thanks, again!!!!! 🙂
Amber
Megan says
Hey Amber!
It's been a while since I've made this bread, but (if memory serves me correctly) I think hot dog buns would split apart.
I think my hamburger recipe would work for hot dog buns though, can your family have eggs and yeast?
https://www.allergyfreealaska.com/2011/06/16/gluten-free-hamburger-buns/
🙂 Glad to hear the fam loves this recipe!! Hugs to you guys!
Megan
Amber says
Mmmmm. Looks perfectly yummy!! Can't wait to try the other recipe for hot dog buns. I'm looking around the kitchen for a makeshift mold already. LOL Thanks!
We used the yeast-free buns from the above recipe last night for my son's first ever Sloppy Joe's recipe. They were so easy to make and both he and my husband scarfed them down and asked for more! 🙂
Thank you for sharing what you've learned over the years to help all of us newbies now on the same journey as you. You're the best!!
XO
Amber
Tamsin Kurth says
Hi. I really want to try these but my daughter can't have brown rice or sorghum in addition to corn, soy, wheat and yeast. She can have eggs though, and dairy (thank goodness!!)...any suggestions how I might adapt this recipe to accommodate this?? Thanks so much!!
Megan says
Hi Tamsin,
I would try using more millet or teff flour in place of the brown rice flour. Good luck!! 🙂
Megan
Sylvie says
Wow this is what I've been wanting for the last 7years and their was always something wrong with the recipes BUT not this one, its amazing!!!! I made burger buns and fell in love. Tomorrow I'm trying the pizza crust, I'm so excited, finally something that I would even go as far as saying taste better than store bought bread. I substituted the flax with ground chia seed and used coconut nectar instead of honey or agave. Agave is super high in fructose so I stay away from it. I wanted to thank you for sharing this recipe, my search is finally over.
Megan says
Very glad I could help you end your search with this recipe! 🙂 thank you for the sweet comments!
Hugs, Megan
Cristina says
Hi Megan,
Just tried your flatbread recipe and it turned out fantastic! Thank you!
I did one minor change though. Since I am avoiding the gums (guar and xanthum), because I have read that many people don't tolerate them well, I used Dr. Jean Layton's Pixie Dust substitute. It really works perfectly and it is super healthy because it is a mixture os psyllium, flax and chia seed. The bread does'nt crumble at all. I am a fan!
I would love to see more yeast free and egg-free bread recipes and I will continue to check out your blog all the way from this side of the Ocean (Portugal).
Best wishes
Cristina
Jeannette says
I am so glad to have you! You make everything sound so easy! I can't wait to try the recipes!! I just found your web site this afternoon. I'm going to sign up on Facebook too.
I am gluten free but also I can't have dairy. In our small town grocery, we do not have dairy free yogurt, but we do have almond milk. Can I use that?
My sister lives in Anchorage and her boyfriend is from EagleRiver! Alaska is beautiful. I really really like it there!
Thank you again!
Megan says
Hi Jeannette,
And I'm so glad you're here! 🙂 Welcome to AFA!
Almond milk is so much thinner than yogurt, which is what makes this recipe so moist/soft. Full fat coconut milk might work (although I'm not sure how much it would effect the flavor). I'm wouldn't suggest using almond milk though.
Really?! How cool is that! And I agree... it's gorgeous here.
Hugs!
Megan
Stephanie says
Hi Megan, Just had some questions can I sub more tapioca flour for arrowroot flour? And can I use plain Greek yogurt for reg yogurt? Thank You for the help and hope you have a great Thanksgiving 🙂
Megan says
Hi Stephanie,
More tapioca starch should work just fine. As for Greek yogurt, you should be okay with it too, but just remember Greek yogurt is much thicker than regular yogurt. Your dough might be thicker than normal, and I don't know if you'll need to add more liquid to compensate. You'll just have to give it a go and test out the results. 😉
Megan
Sharon Luke says
Hello 🙂 I have tried this recipe and found it quite good and provided a great way for me to enjoy a "sandwich" when at work. Can you advise what the consistency of the dough should be? It is hard to tell from your pictures and I would like to know if I am doing it right 🙂 Thanks again for a great recipe!!
Megan says
Hi Sharon,
You're so welcome! Glad you enjoy it! It's honestly been a long time since I've made this recipe, but if I'm remembering correctly, the dough should just thick enough to hold it's shape, but wet enough to relax around the edge a bit. Hope that helps! 🙂
Megan
Sharon Luke says
Tried these again substituting the millet/rice flour with the new GF flour from Robin Hood. Worked great but gave a different type of bun...more like an English muffin...very springy and chewy. Poke slots along the sides all the way around an gently pull part and you have the equivalent of an English muffin...toast up nice after 2 rounds in the toaster too. I'm going to go out on an experimental limb and try this on the GF setting of my breadmaker...hmmm, might be a door stop and it might not!
Megan says
Thanks so much for letting us know, Sharon! 😉
Joy says
My new Fav gf, df, ef, nf bread!!
Gember88 says
Do you think I can substitute millet flour for buckwheat flour. I can find most of the other ingredients here in Malaysia except for the millet flour. So glad to have finally found a recipe that is gluten, egg & yeast free 🙂
Megan says
Hi there,
I'm not sure about buckwheat, but you should be able to use more brown rice flour in place of the millet. 😉
Joy says
I have made this delicious biscuit as we call them many times and have found some subs that work too. I have been using aquafaba (any kind of bean water) in place of flax egg and it actually makes the shelf life 3 days as opposed to one! I find doubling the recipe works well but I do half flax and half aquafaba. Also, the coconut milk that comes refrigerated works the same for me as coconut yogurt and is way cheaper. I usually add nutritional yeast, sometimes dill. I bake in muffin tins lately as I think the aquafaba makes the batter wetter-but not end result.
The drawbacks are the long ingredient list and the high starch content. But! They are so yummy that I can't stop making them. 🙂 Going to try sorghum or teff instead of br rice next time.
Thank you for your hard work!!
Rickilynn says
These were the BEST "BISCUITS " I have ever made since going gluten free! I subbed tofu thinned with rice milk for yoghourt and the lemon juice. 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1 cup tapioca flour. Thumbs up from both my boys!! You have made a believer out of me! ( I just had to try using what I had). Your work is awesome! Many thanks! By the way. Your oatmeal millet bread is spot on as well!
Alene says
I cannot eat rice at all anymore. Believe it or not, I ended up with arsenic poisoning. It was scary. All from all the rice I eat. So, even 1/4 cup is problematic for me. What can I substitute for it? I read through most of the comments but I wasn't sure there was an answer for substituting rice flour. Thank you.
Mēgan says
That is super scary, Alene! I'm glad you were able to figure out what the culprit was.
I would sub sorghum flour for the rice flour in this recipe. 🙂
Kari H. says
I’m excited to try this recipe and am wondering if I can substitute an egg(s) for the flax + water? We are able to eat eggs but some in the home cannot tolerate flax…what’s a cook to do? 🙃
Thank you in advance!
Mēgan says
Hi Kari, I haven't tried using egg in this recipe, but I think it will do just fine as a replacement for the flax egg!