The Best Teff Sandwich Bread Recipe
October 30, 2011
After countless batches of teff bread that sagged, deflated, or didn't rise, I finally came up with the perfect recipe for a gluten-free whole grain sandwich bread. I learned quite a few things about bread making in the process of developing this recipe that I'd like to share with you. The success of a gluten-free bread depends on these essential baking elements:
- the correct ratio of salt, yeast, and sugar to flour
- the correct ratio of xanthan gum to liquid and flours
- accurate measurements, including temperature
and the most important thing, and the one it took me longest to discover, is:
- a hefty amount of acid in the mix.
I learned about the ratios of salt and sugar to yeast from reading the Joy of Cooking and other reference books. What I didn't learn until now is the role of acid in bread making. It turns out that yeast performs better in an acidic environment. All the commercially-available bread mixes that I've been trying out have had vinegar and ascorbic acid in them. Adding a lot more apple cider to my existing recipe made it a whole lot better. The acid not only gives the bread quite a bit more volume but it also acts as a dough conditioner to give the bread a sturdy yet flexible structure and a better crust.
You can use this as a template to create your own recipe. Just substitute your flours by weight and keep the ratios the same. I measure the weights in metric because it's a little more straight-forward. Weighing the flour is much more accurate, but if you must use dry measures then all the flours together should be about three cups.
If you're looking for a more traditional teff bread recipe, see my Artisan Teff Bread Recipeor the Vegan, gum-free teff bread recipe. Check out my Bread Page for more recipes and a new GF Bread Flour Blend.
The Best Teff Sandwich Bread
In a small bowl or large measuring cup mix:
345g (1.5 cups) water at 110 degrees F
6g (1 Tbsp) yeast
Set aside in a warm place while you mix the other ingredients. It should sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast is dissolved and the water becomes opaque.
Mix in a large bowl:
200g (1 1/4 C) Teff flour
100g (3/4C) Sorghum flour
75g (1/2 C) Tapioca flour
75g (1/2 C) Potato Starch
24g (2Tbsp) sugar
1.5 tsp xanthan gum
6g (1.5) tsp salt
Whisk together:
3 eggs
Add the eggs and the water mixture to the dry ingredients with:
35g (4 Tbsp) oil or melted butter
18g (1 Tbsp + 1 tsp.) apple cider vinegar
Beat the dough until smooth and completely mixed. Oil or grease a sandwich bread pan. Pullman loaf pans with really high sides give you bigger slices.
Cover the pan with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for 60 minutes. In the meantime, heat the oven to 375. Once the bread has risen, bake in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour. The internal temperature should reach 200 degrees. Let cool on a drying rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy your teff bread with butter or use it as a sandwich. Either way it's delicious!
gluten-free bakingsandwich breadteff
Location:Portland, OR, USA
Comments
l'actrice said…
OMG! That looks delicious and even crispy! I will try it out! Just one question. What is Teff flour? Is it just gluten free flour?
October 30, 2011 at 12:08 PM
Jennifer said…
I have tried SO many bread recipes and finally gave up! Will def be trying this
October 30, 2011 at 3:26 PM
Gina said…
L'actrice, a natural foods store should have it. Find a place that sells a good selection of Bob's Red Mill flours and you should be able to find a certified GF teff flour. You can also buy it online here: http://www.bobsredmill.com/teff-flour.html
October 30, 2011 at 8:40 PM
FooFooBerry said…
This looks divine. Wonder if I can sub out the eggs for egg replacer and switch the butter with vegan marg to make it vegan friendly?
November 4, 2011 at 9:25 AM
Gina said…
FooFooBerry - The butter can definitely be subbed out for regular vegetable oil. I actually used olive oil in making the loaf that's pictured. As for the egg replacer, I'm not sure yet. I haven't started trying to create my vegan version of this teff bread yet. Let me know if you try something that works!
November 5, 2011 at 11:56 AM
Nancy said…
This looks like a perfect texture. I've tried many bread recipes, but never get something that rises up this well--they tend to be fairly heavy. I'll definitely be giving this a try. Thanks!
November 7, 2011 at 2:53 PM
Thank you thank you for describing your process! I've been wanting to come up with my own bread recipe with the types of flours we like at home, but I couldn't think of the first place to start.
I appreciate understanding the ratios, some of the chemistry involved, using weight over cup measurements, etc. Already has me wondering about how I could tweak a few recipes I use now.
Again, thanks! And that bread does look great :)
November 30, 2011 at 7:19 AM
Gina said…
Nancy - Thanks for the comments! I like how the texture turned out. I hope you like it! Let me know how it turns out.
Erika K - You're welcome! I also tried looking up a bunch of recipes before trying my own, but it took a long time to get all the information I needed to make the loaf rise properly. I'd love it if you got back to me with what you came up with. Thanks for the comments!
November 30, 2011 at 3:02 PM
jUUggernaut said…
I'll try this today using whey left over from making German quark instead of water. For my regular wheat and rye baking it has always made a difference.
January 6, 2012 at 11:35 AM
Kate said…
Though water is mentioned several times, it is not listed in the recipe - when, where and how much???? (and I love the idea of using whey instead of water!)
March 11, 2012 at 6:22 AM
Gina said…
Kate - Water is the first ingredient in the recipe! Use 1.5 cups as listed, or sub out milk (or whey!).
March 13, 2012 at 9:35 PM
Gloria said…
I have a great recipe that contains teff flour as well. I love using teff flour, it's so healthy I even put it in peanut butter cookies to give a little extra fiber. Here is a link to my recipe http://troysnewstart.blogspot.com/2012/04/delicious-whole-grain-gluten-free.html
Thank you for sharing!!
April 16, 2012 at 5:29 AM
Gina said…
Gloria - Teff flour in peanut butter cookies sounds delicious. That would be an easy way to sneak in some fiber! Thanks for the link to your Teff Bread recipe. It looks great!
April 16, 2012 at 10:42 PM
Gina said…
AmyT - honey is perfect for this bread. Just substitute the 2T honey for the 2T sugar. Any other natural sweetener would work as well: agave, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc. The yeast just needs a little sugar to start its fermentation process, but it's not picky about the source.
June 7, 2012 at 1:38 PM
Anonymous said…
Made this last night and it turned out perfect!!!! Hubby & kid loved it too. That says a lot cuz hubby normally only likes extra soft store bought bread. He said this might be THE recipe. I subbed rice flour for sorghum and coconut for potato. Awesome texture- soft! prob needs only 30 -40 minutes cooking in electric oven. I did it at 350 too.
September 16, 2012 at 2:48 PM
Gina said…
I'm glad you liked the bread! I think the reduced baking time that you experienced is due to the coconut flour, which has a LOT more fiber than other flours and absorbs more water. A drier dough will bake faster. I'm glad it turned out! Thanks for trying the recipe and for commenting, too!
September 17, 2012 at 9:15 AM
lgilderhus said…
13untenuy
Do you think you could add flax seed and sunflower seeds and have it still rise?
September 17, 2012 at 2:54 PM
Gina said…
Igilderhus - I haven't tried flax seed with this recipe yet, but I'm getting good results with it on other breads. I bet it would be great! I really need to try it with this Teff bread recipe too. I haven't tried sunflower seeds, but I've been using a combination of flax and chia seeds. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
September 17, 2012 at 10:52 PM
Clint Hoff & Family said…
Dear Gina, Your bread sure does look good. I would like to try it, but I don't have a scale to measure the flours (that you have listed in grams). Do you know what the equivalent measurements for the flour in cups?
September 19, 2012 at 1:41 PM
Gina said…
You know, Clint, I just never use volume measurements for flour in recipes any more. It's just too unreliable! Even the grind of the flour can change its volume measurement. I could never get any consistency with my recipes before I got a good kitchen scale. That scale has been well worth it. In addition to being more accurate and consistent, it's much faster to measure by weight.
However, if you want to experiment, start with this: The teff and sorghum are quite a bit heavier than the starches. From my notes, I'd guess it's about:
3/4 cup potato starch
3/4 cup tapioca flour,
1 cup teff
3/4 cup sorghum
Add more water if needed to make the dough the consistency that you see in the photo.
September 19, 2012 at 11:16 PM
Anonymous said…
Hello Gina your bread looks absolutely delicious! Now that I have added eggs back in my diet and plan on defintely trying your recipe! The funny thing is, I have tried basically all the gluten free flours but not Teff for some weird reason. What does it taste/smell like? Does it have a strong flavour like quinoa does? Also, have you ever tried it using a little less starch? I am really glad you used the scale. I really think anyone doing gluten free baking should own one. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. :-) I will let you know how it turned out once I make it. Cheers Farzana
October 8, 2012 at 8:48 PM
Anonymous said…
The consistency is like muffin batter, right? Pretty wet? Not flowy but not super thick either?
October 8, 2012 at 8:50 PM
Anonymous said…
Sorry, its Farzana again . . I was just thinking, is it active dry yeast or instant? Cuz the instant can be mixed into the dry, it doesnt need to be proofed. Maybe there is a reason you did it or maybe you used active dry yeast? Please do tell. thx
October 8, 2012 at 9:10 PM
Gina said…
Teff flour has a distinctive flavor, but it is not at all like quinoa. It's nutty and strong. I really like it, and this recipe pairs it with flours that mellow it out a little. If you're cautious about it you can use more sorghum and less teff. Using less starch will make it more dense - too dense for my taste - and it won't rise as well. This recipe is not very starchy compared to most other GF bread recipes.
I use Red Star Quick-rise Yeast. It's GF and it seems to work best for GF bread, which is more reluctant to rise. I tried putting the dry yeast in with the flours with this recipe, but I got better results proofing the yeast. If you decide to try putting the yeast in the dry ingredients, you will have better luck if you beat the dough for a long time, preferably in a stand mixer.
The dough should be about like a thick muffin batter. Thanks for your comments!
October 8, 2012 at 10:25 PM
SciResearcher said…
I don't agree with your use of Xanthan Gum. , Xanthan Gum is a synthesized compound (the last part of the synthesis requires it be dried with Isopropanol) . It is from China which has been pushed into the USA for the past 2 years and it has an MSDS which states it , has heavy metals , . You should substitute the Xanthan Gum for an equal amount of Knox Gelatin. It is much safer and won't change your DNA.
March 6, 2013 at 2:04 PM
Gina said…
SciResearcher - I no longer rely so heavily on xanthan gum in my baking. Since this recipe was published there have been some people, most notably Gluten-free Girl, who have complained of sensitivity to xanthan gum. Furthermore, I have found other binders to be more effective and to lend a better texture to the product. See some more of my bread recipes here: http://glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com/p/bread.html
I haven't tried gelatin in my bread recipes, but I have seen several recipes that do. The author of the Gluten-free Gourmet series of books used gelatin pretty regularly for making bread. I don't include it in my recipes because it is not vegetarian, and I cook for vegetarians often. I typically use psyllium husk instead.
Thanks for your comment and suggestions!
March 7, 2013 at 12:13 PM
Sarah said…
I made the recipe as is and it came out amazing. Thanks for the great recipe.
I have not used it but I have seen several recipes use fruit pectin in place of xanthan gum, gelatin or guar gum.
March 25, 2013 at 12:48 AM
Gina said…
Sarah - Thanks for the comment! I've played around with fruit pectin in bread recipes. I am not sure that it would have the binding power to substitute for xanthan gum by itself, but I've used it with flax and chia seeds with good results. If there's a recipe out there with pectin that you think I should check out, let me know!
March 25, 2013 at 3:21 PM
Anonymous said…
Has anyone tried this recipe in a bread machine?
July 15, 2013 at 9:50 AM
Anonymous said…
I'm looking for a teff bread recipe (without xantham gum)that can be baked in my bread machine.
October 3, 2013 at 5:39 PM
Gina said…
I don't know how my bread mixes would do in a bread machine. The blog Gluten-free Portland dot Org is a good resource for bread machine mixes. You should check that out!
October 4, 2013 at 11:41 AM
Anonymous said…
I just wanted to post the cup conversion using the gram measurments on my Bob Red mill bags of flour.
1 1/4 cup teff flour
3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch
6 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon potato starch
I hope this helps anyone that does not have a gram scale like me. I look forward to trying this bread. The only thing I have made with teff are some waffles and I loved them.
January 9, 2014 at 7:06 AM
Karen said…
I just made this bread today and I love it! I didn't have potato starch so I substituted arrowroot starch/flour and it came out great. Thank you so much for this recipe!
February 23, 2014 at 4:28 PM
Gina said…
Thanks for the comment Karen! I haven't ever used arrowroot starch. I'm glad to know that it substitutes well for the potato starch in this sandwich bread recipe. That's good to know! Thank you!
February 25, 2014 at 12:08 AM
Anonymous said…
Can I use guar gum instead of xanthan? Thanks.
July 25, 2014 at 9:11 PM
Valerie said…
I just made this bread, and It's FABULOUS! Many thanks for creating this great recipe!
July 27, 2014 at 5:39 PM
Gina said…
Anonymous - I haven't used guar gum, but I understand that it's not as strong as Xanthan gum. I would think that you should use a bit more, but I don't know how much. It would be an experiment. Let us know your results!
August 2, 2014 at 1:37 AM
Gina said…
Valerie - I'm glad you liked this GF bread recipe! Thanks for your feedback!
August 2, 2014 at 1:38 AM
Anonymous said…
As an egg replacer I use 2 spoons of ground flaxseed.
August 24, 2014 at 9:26 AM
Eric J. Cohen, D.C. said…
Gina. I just wanted to thank you for this teff recipe. I've been looking for something like this for a long time. Teff is the super grain of super grains, is apparently very easy and economic to grow and could conceivably replace wheat use around the world (that is if the powers that be allow it).
Anyway, I do have a question. My wife is very sensitive to, of all things, tapioca. Is there a good substitute for tapioca that won't ruin the recipe?
Eric J. Cohen, D.C.
August 30, 2014 at 6:00 AM
Gina said…
Eric - Thanks for your comment! I haven't tried any tapioca substitutions, but I have a friend who can't do tapioca. I suggested she try any other starch instead, and she has had good success with that. I'd be curious to see if arrowroot starch would be good, or just plain corn starch. The results won't be exactly the same, but I don't think you can really go too wrong subbing out the tapioca for something similar.
September 1, 2014 at 3:45 PM
Unknown said…
Just tried this tonight. My scale died so I had to calculate grams into tsp, tbsp and cups. Worked so well and rose so high that I'm not sure I'll be able to get it out f the oven with out running into the coils. Going to let it cool in the oven and next time, I drop the rack down!
December 19, 2014 at 12:20 AM
Gina said…
I'm so glad you liked the recipe and it turned out for you! If you'd like to share your measurements Im sure there will be someone else who will benefit from your experience. But by all means, make sure the rack is lowered for your next loaf! :)
January 7, 2015 at 1:05 PM
Anonymous said…
This is being sent on a new program that may well be the spawn of the devil [and I don't believe in any devil.] My comments disappear--hard to say if they're sent 10,000 times or floating cyberspace. If Unknown would share the calculation of grams into liquid measure, as a math impaired person, I'd be eternally grateful [for at least a few weeks.] Teff is one of my favorites and this recipe looks wonder full. Thank you Gina Kelly, and thank you Unknown. You make a difference.
June 7, 2015 at 11:33 AM
Anonymous said…
Looks like a great recipe. I have both dark and light teff grains. Does it matter which one I use?
October 25, 2015 at 9:11 AM
Gina said…
I just made a loaf of bread with the ivory teff flour, and used the same amount by weight. It worked great! The bread came out really beautiful with wonderful browning. I say use either one!
October 26, 2015 at 12:20 PM
Unknown said…
Thanks for sharing helpful information, I really like your all post. I will bookmark your blog for future updates. its Producing Teff grain, Packing teff and Exproting Ethiopian food items.
October 29, 2015 at 3:00 AM
Anonymous said…
Hi Gina - I would like to try to bake this teff bread - as I love teff flour. I do not have a Pullman bake pan - so I thought I would buy one. I clicked on the Pullman pan link in your recipe - and it took me to Amazon. In the description it is for a 13 x 4 Pullman pan. Is that right?? I was expecting the 9 x 4 size. Can you advise me to the right size pan? Thank you for ALL your WONDERFUL recipes and effort you give to this blog/site.
March 28, 2016 at 12:41 PM
Gina said…
Hi there, sorry for having the wrong link! I just fixed it and hopefully it works for you. You were right, it should have brought you to a 4x4x9 Pullman pan! Thanks for letting me know.
March 28, 2016 at 1:53 PM
Unknown said…
Made this bread last night and it is the best yet, thank you for posting it and congratulations for such a good recipe and method, I had been forgetting the vinegar which makes a big difference.
May 22, 2016 at 2:37 AM
Anonymous said…
It's naturally gluten free and you can found it in health stores or Ethiopian stores.
March 15, 2017 at 6:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Gina, the bread came out VERY VERY GOOD, by far the best. Been GF for almost 2 months now and its my third recipe for GF bread. I used 1 cup teff & 1/4 cup chia seeds and skipped xanthan gum. the batter was wetter than muffin batter. I poured it into the bread pan, and let it sit for 5 min hoping for Chia seeds to bloom. There was not much difference, so i put in less than 1/4 cups of rolled oats. Still jiggly. I started baking it anyway feeling so bad for messing it up :(. Well, after 55 min at 375F, I took a beautiful, crispy bread out...I just ate it straight out of the oven.
I went through so many recipes before yours, and even my dreams were about baking GF bread. Everything paid off...THANK YOU again!
July 20, 2017 at 3:54 PM
Gina said…
Thanks for the compliments, and I'm glad it worked so well for you! Thanks for the feedback on your chia seed substitution. I hadn't tried it that way, and I'm glad it came out well. Good info!
September 1, 2017 at 5:24 PM
Anonymous said…
Hello Gina,
Looks like a lovely recipe and I hope to try it. Teff has such a rich flavor, especially compared with some other GF grains. From your description, it's clear you have spent a good amount of time working with the recipe to perfect it. Thank you for sharing that with all of us. I'm wondering about substituting lemon juice for the vinegar. I follow a low histamine diet, so try to avoid things fermented or cultured. The yeast is borderline, but I've tolerated it in moderation. It doesn't appear that anyone has commented on this, so maybe I will just have to try it. If you have any thoughts, I'd be grateful. Thanks! Melanie
October 31, 2017 at 7:07 AM
Unknown said…
This turned out so so delicious!!! I didn't have potato starch so I used arrowroot and it was totally moist, crispy and didn't crumble or sink!!! So so yummy. I could seriously eat the whole thing. Better than the 12.00 specialty loaves I have tried! Thank you for this amazing recipe :)
April 30, 2018 at 9:01 PM
Very good information in simplest way any body can easy understand.
April 18, 2019 at 3:14 AM
Nini said…
I can't wait to try this, thanks for sharing your recipe with us. Nini
January 25, 2022 at 1:11 PM
Siena said…
This bread looks wonderful and I see so many positive comments about it. I will make it as is.
My husband can’t take eggs. Can they be safely replaced without ruining the recipe?
Much appreciated Gina. You have many attractive recipes. 🌸🙏🏻
December 6, 2022 at 12:10 PM
Gina said…
Siena, thank you for the compliments! I have a different teff recipe that is vegan. It’s called Vegan Teff Sandwich Bread Recipe. You can find it here. https://glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com/2015/09/vegan-teff-sandwich-bread-recipe.html
December 7, 2022 at 11:06 PM
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