This Gluten-Free Honey White Bread is the most-visited bread recipe on my blog, and for good reason. It’s soft, fluffy and, most important, it holds together. You can slice it thin, toast it, spread it with butter and build a real sandwich without it crumbling in your hands.

I now eat mostly gluten-free, so having good bread at home matters to me. I know it matters to a lot of you too. Store-bought gluten-free bread is expensive and usually disappointing, and the best way I’ve found to have bread I actually want to eat is to bake it myself.

The beauty of this loaf is how simple it is. There’s no kneading and no shaping. You bloom the yeast with warm water and honey, beat everything together in a stand mixer, pour the batter into a loaf pan, let it rise and bake it. It uses one flour blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, which you can find in most grocery stores.

Over the years I’ve baked a lot of gluten-free breads with different flours, from teff and oat to psyllium sourdough. This is still the one I tell people to start with. If you want to see the others, they’re all in my roundup of 7 Gluten-Free Bread Recipes I Actually Bake.

Jump to Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Gluten-Free Honey White Bread

• It holds together. Eggs, xanthan gum and a good flour blend give it real structure, so it slices and holds a sandwich.
• No kneading. The dough is more like a thick batter. Your stand mixer does the work.
• One flour blend. No need to buy five different gluten-free flours.
• Soft and lightly sweet. The honey gives it a tender crumb and a golden crust.
• Great toasted. Perfect for grilled cheese, French toast and breakfast sandwiches.

Key Ingredients for Gluten-Free Honey White Bread

Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour

This is the base of the loaf. It’s a well-balanced blend that behaves a lot like regular flour. If you’d like to learn more about how different gluten-free flours work in bread, see my Ultimate Guide to Gluten-Free Flours for Bread Making.

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum helps bind the dough and keeps the bread from crumbling. Bob’s 1-to-1 already contains some, and the extra 1½ teaspoons in this recipe gives the loaf more structure.

Honey

Honey feeds the yeast, adds a gentle sweetness and helps the crust turn golden. Use 3 tablespoons for a lightly sweet loaf, or 4 if you like it a little sweeter.

Eggs and Olive Oil

Two eggs add structure and richness, and the olive oil keeps the crumb soft and moist.

Yeast, Baking Powder and Apple Cider Vinegar

Active yeast gives the bread its rise and flavor. Baking powder adds a little extra lift, and a splash of apple cider vinegar helps it all work together for a lighter texture.

Water or Milk

Either works. Water gives a lighter loaf, and milk makes it a bit richer and softer. Warm it to about 110°F so it wakes up the yeast without killing it.

How to Make Gluten-Free Honey White Bread

The full recipe with exact amounts is in the recipe card below. Here’s how it comes together.

Tips for the Best Loaf

• Don’t let it over-rise. Stop the rise when the dough is just below the top of the pan. If it rises above, the bread will likely fall in the oven.
• Use a thermometer. The surest way to know it’s done is an internal temperature of about 210°F.
• Watch the crust. If it’s browning too fast, tent it loosely with foil and keep baking.
• Cool it completely. Unlike wheat bread, gluten-free bread needs to cool all the way before you slice it, or the inside will be gummy.
• Bread machine? A lot of you have asked. One reader, Birdie, told me it turned out in her bread machine, but she liked it even better when she mixed it in the machine, moved it to a loaf pan and baked it in the oven.

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

We say “the best thing since sliced bread” without thinking about it, but sliced bread is younger than you might guess. Otto Rohwedder, a jeweler from Iowa, spent years building a machine that could slice and wrap a whole loaf. The first bread sliced on it was sold in 1928 by a bakery in Chillicothe, Missouri, and within a few years most bread in American stores came pre-sliced. Soft, square sandwich loaves like this one became the standard for the lunch box, which is exactly what I wanted from a gluten-free loaf: something you can slice evenly and use every day.

Serving Suggestions

• Grilled cheese: butter the outside and toast low and slow.
• Sandwiches: it’s sturdy enough for turkey, tuna salad or a BLT.
• French toast: day-old slices soak up the custard beautifully.
• Toast: with butter and honey, or avocado and an egg.
• Leftovers: turn the ends into breadcrumbs or croutons.

More Gluten-Free Breads to Try

• 7 Gluten-Free Bread Recipes I Actually Bake
• Gluten-Free Psyllium Husk Bread
• Teff and Oat Flour Gluten-Free Bread
• Gluten-Free Artisan Oat Bread
• Gluten-Free Flax Bread

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been disappointed by gluten-free bread before, give this one a try. It’s simple, soft and sturdy, and it’s the loaf that convinced me homemade gluten-free bread was worth the effort. Let me know in the comments how yours turns out.

This recipe was adapted from A Little Insanity.