This gluten-free teff flour bread is perfectly crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and it has a unique flavor. This bread is not gummy, is easy to make, and will leave you craving more!
Teff flour is rich in dietary fiber and protein and it has a unique flavor that makes me want to eat this bread again and again.
This bread recipe is the result of running out of brown rice flour while making my go-to Dutch oven bread and using some leftover teff flour I had hanging out in the kitchen.
To my surprise, the flavor and texture were so good, that I kept using teff and knew I had to share this recipe with you! Add sunflower seeds to the dough and top with sesame for the bakery-quality loaf. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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Ingredients
- Starch - use potato, cornstarch, tapioca, or arrowroot starch. You can also use a combination of starches in this recipe!
- Psyllium husk - I recommend using whole husks. I can't guarantee the same results with psyllium powder!
- Yeast - I always use fresh yeast which is often used in bakeries and at homes in Europe. You can use active dry or instant yeast if you prefer.
- Vinegar - I use apple cider vinegar. It is meant to help the yeast activate better!
- Sugar - feeds the yeast and promotes air bubbles as a result.
- Seeds - I recommend adding sunflower seeds to the dough and topping the loaf with sesame seeds.
Substitutes
- Teff - if you don't have teff, you can use brown rice or sorghum flour instead. I have a similar recipe made with alternative flours here.
- Starch - I don't recommend using flour instead of starch. Starch helps softness and allows for more air bubbles.
- Psyllium husk - I don't recommend substituting psyllium husk unless you can't tolerate it. Here is a list of psyllium husk substitutes in baking for you to consider! I've had the best success using Konjac vs. any other psyllium substitute.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1
Add 20g of whole psyllium husk to a medium-sized bowl and mix with 200g of water.
Add 20g of sugar and 12g of apple cider vinegar to the mix and let it sit for a couple minutes.
Use the other 200g of water to activate the yeast. Warm the water up in the microwave until it is warm to the touch but is not hot.
Add the yeast to the water and let it sit for about 10 minutes or until it starts bubbling and the top looks frothy.
Step 2
Mix 200g of teff flour, 200g of starch, and 12g of salt in a large bowl, then add psyllium gel and yeast to the dry ingredients.
Step 3
Bring the dough together by hand or with a wooden spoon. You can also use an electric mixer if you prefer.
Step 4
Turn the dough over onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball by folding each side onto the center of the dough, flipping it, and smoothing out the edges by making turning movements with your hands.
See the pictures in the post for illustration.
Step 5
Spread some sesame seeds on a small plate and dip one of the sides of the dough into it.
Step 6
Place the dough into a well-floured proofing basket or a mixing bowl lined with a kitchen towel seeded side down.
Let the dough rise for about 1 hour or until it rises by ½ or ⅔ of its size. It shouldn't double in size!
Step 7
Turn the dough over onto a piece of parchment paper. Be careful not to drop the dough but rather transfer it slowly and gently to preserve the air bubbles.
Lower the bread into a Dutch oven, place it into the oven, and turn the oven on to 450F/435F. We are not preheating the oven in this method, the "cold start" works just as great as baking in a preheated oven!
Wait until the oven gets to the right temperature and set the timer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the bread out of the Dutch oven and transfer it onto the baking rack.
Lower the temperature to 400F/200C and bake for another 40 minutes.
Cool the bread on a cooling rack until no longer warm to the touch. Enjoy!
Storing
Store this bread in a bread box or a bread bag for up to a week. You can slice and freeze this bread to keep it fresh!
To defrost, simply place a piece or two into the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Expert tips
- Don't let your bread rise too much or it will deflate during baking.
- You can bake this bread in a bread pan if you place a dish with water at the bottom of the oven for the first 30 minutes of baking.
- If the bottom of the bread burns, try baking for less. I like to bake this bread on the middle rack after the first 30 minutes with a baking sheet at the bottom of the oven. This ensures my bread doesn't burn on the bottom!
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📖 Recipe
Easy Teff Bread (Gluten-Free & Vegan)
Ingredients
- 20 grams whole psyllium husk
- 400 grams water, divided
- 20 grams sugar
- 12 grams apple cider vinegar
- 8 grams instant yeast or 20g of fresh yeast
- 200 grams teff flour
- 200 grams starch of choice, potato, corn, tapioca, arrowroot starches are good, or you can use a mix of a few types
- 12 grams salt
- 40 grams sunflower seeds, optional
- sesame seeds for topping, optional
Instructions
- Add psyllium husk and water to a middle-sized bowl and whisk to incorporate. Then, add the sugar and apple cider vinegar. Set aside for a couple of minutes to let the gel form!
- Mix 200g of teff flour, 200g of starch, and 12g of salt in a large bowl. Then, add the psyllium gel and yeast.Bring the dough together by hand or with a wooden spoon. You can also use an electric mixer if you prefer.
- Turn the dough over onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball by folding each side onto the center of the dough, flipping it, and smoothing out the edges by making turning movements with your hands. See the pictures in the post for illustration.
- Spread some sesame seeds on a small plate and dip one of the sides of the dough into it.
- Place the dough into a well-floured proofing basket or a mixing bowl lined with a kitchen towel seeded side down. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour or until it rises by ½ or ⅔ of its size. It shouldn't double in size!
- Turn the dough over onto a piece of parchment paper. Be careful not to drop the dough but rather transfer it slowly and gently to preserve the air bubbles.
- Lower the bread into a Dutch oven, place it into the oven, and turn the oven on to 450F/435F. We are not preheating the oven in this method, the "cold start" works just as great as baking in a preheated oven!
- Wait until the oven gets to the right temperature and set the timer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the bread out of the Dutch oven and transfer it onto the baking rack.
- Lower the temperature to 400F/200C and bake for another 40 minutes.
- Cool the bread on a cooling rack until no longer warm to the touch. Enjoy!
Wendy Taylor says
I’m going to try this - Thank you!
To be clear, you are Not using your sourdough starter in this recipe, correct?
Curious as to why not and how you would adjust recipe if you could…
Natasha Levai says
Hi Wendy! Sometimes I make recipes with baker's yeast and sometimes with a starter 🙂 I am planning on making a teff sourdough recipe at some point too! You can check my sourdough bread recipe and use teff flour in place of brown rice and sorghum.
Wendy Taylor says
Hi Natasha,
I made this and it came out wonderfully! I can’t have wheat or nightshade flours so your website/recipes/articles are excellent. You offer what I’ve found to be uniquely valuable advice / information and I am so grateful for that! I look forward to continuing to benefit from your website and resources in my bread baking journey.
Thank you!
Lone Muchow says
I will have to try this, I use teff all the time together with other diff, gf flours for my version of gf danish pumpernickel bread or also called rugbrød. I always use powdered psyllium husk , as long as it it by weight it should work the same.
Liz Landau says
This teff loaf is baking now in the dutch oven. My husband loves bread as much as he loves cake! Today is his birthday so he's getting birthday bread with dinner.
I've been baking gluten free for over 20 years and always looking for improvements in recipes. I think I found you, Natasha on FB.....first recipe of yours I'm trying. The house smells like a celebration!
Natasha Levai says
Hi Liz! Excited to know how the bread turned out!
Helen says
Hi Natasha, I am curious about the amount of salt needed.
I myself don't add much if any salt in baking for health reasons. Does this bread require this amount of salt or is it possible to reduce the salt a little please?
I am new to gluten free baking as my daughter has recently been diagnosed as gluten intolerant, so it's all feeling strange and a massive learning curve at the moment.
I am loving your website and hope that I can feel a lot more confident in my gf baking skills in the future.
Best wishes from the UK.
Helen
Natasha Levai says
Hi Helen! You can decrease the salt to your taste, salt doesn't play a big role in texture formation, so it is totally up to you how much of it to use!