Can a gluten free bread really be…
Crispy on the bottom.
Salty on the top.
Piping hot and soft in the middle.
And no wheat, egg-free, dairy-free, fast, and freezable?
You can’t ask for a better gluten-free bread to go with your favorite winter soup, like my warming chicken turmeric soup with cabbage, or our kid-friendly favorite, grain-free cheeseburger soup. Plus if you’ve been GF for any length of time, your budget is probably groaning under the cost of commercial gluten-free bread and even the flours needed to make your own!
I kind of deserve to be put in time-out just because we’ve made and loved this bread regularly for years now and I’ve never shared it. 
My apologies.
I’ve gone the extra mile today and made a video for you to prove that it’s really 7 minutes (it’s almost scary how exact the timing was even though I just predicted it would be under 7 before I started).
GLUTEN-FREE CAN BE CONFUSING BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HARD!
I’ll show you my secret tricks for skipping the measuring spoons, and you’ll see firsthand how this homemade gluten-free bread comes together even without any flour. Plus I’ll “cook” on my countertop, which always throws my husband for a loop (you’ll see what I mean at about the 5:30 marker in the video).
Saves time, saves money, kick-butt nutrition, and family-friendly – this is a quintessential Kitchen Stewardship® mission recipe to be sure! Good thing Plan to Eat sponsored this post so I finally got around to sharing it, right?
This Flatbread Recipe is “Free” of:
- flour
- gluten/wheat
- eggs
- sugar
- dairy
- yeast
- soy
- corn
- nuts
It seriously checks a lot of boxes! Although I’ll admit that it’s best with butter on top, my apologies to the dairy-free crowd. You can grab the recipe on Plan to Eat HERE, and it’s already tagged with all these “free of” notes for easy organizing in your recipe box. (What? You don’t use PTE yet? Organize and plan all your own recipes with the power of automation technology – you’re still in control, but it’s like having a personal assistant to make your grocery list and remind you to prep things the night before, like this soaked recipe for example. Try a 30-day free trial!)
Here’s the video of the fast blender gluten free bread:
If you can’t see the video above, view it directly on YouTube at Easy Gluten-Free Flatbread.
Since there’s no close-up in the video of the buckwheat, which is whole and does NOT need to be ground in a grain mill, you can see it to make sure you get the right stuff here:
It’s called “hulled buckwheat” and can be found in health food stores or bulk opportunities usually. I found some on Amazon in one-pound, five-pound and ten-pound options. It’s definitely worth price checking! If you do have a grain mill OR a Blendtec or Vitamix, you can make buckwheat flour that is 10x better than anything you get in a store. It makes delicious pizza crust and pancakes.
I also just heard that buckwheat porridge is a great GF alternative to oatmeal, and I hope to experiment with that soon!
The other sort of “specialty” item you’ll need to make this recipe happen is a surface that can be pre-heated in the oven, either a baking stone or cast iron griddle or pan. I use both ALL the time – if you don’t have one or the other, add it to your wish list for sure!
Easy Gluten-Free Flatbread Recipe
Print
Quick Gluten-Free Flatbread
- Prep Time: 7 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 22 mins
- Yield: 12–15 pieces 1x
- Category: bread
Description
Crispy on the bottom, salty on the top and piping hot in the middle – this no-flour flatbread comes together in 7 minutes in your blender and is also dairy-free, egg-free, and has no yeast. Our kids love it!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. dry brown rice (whole)
- 1/2 c. hulled buckwheat (whole)
- water to cover
- 1 1/4 (up to 1 3/4) c. water
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 c. ground flax (golden or brown, preferably freshly ground in a dedicated coffee grinder)
- 3 Tbs. olive oil (or any softened fat: lard, butter, coconut oil, bacon grease, etc.)
- 1 1/2 tsp. Real Salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- grease for the pan
Instructions
- The night before:
- In your blender, measure out the rice and buckwheat and cover about an inch over the top with filtered water.
- Allow to sit at room temperature until the next day.
- When you’re ready to bake:
- Preheat oven to 450F with the baking stone(s) or cast iron surface IN the oven. You want the baking surface to be screaming hot when you’re ready for it, so make sure those are in for at least 10 minutes after the oven is pre-heated.
- *One batch requires 1 1/2 rectangular baking stones or one large cast iron griddle. Two cast iron skillets would be sufficient as well.
- Drain the water off the grains using a fine mesh strainer. You can optionally briefly rinse them off.
- Measure water right in the blender – 1 1/4 c. for a high-speed blender or 1 1/2 c. for a regular blender. You can add more if necessary to get the full blend going.
- Pour the soaked grains back into the blender.
- Add the vinegar, flax, fat, and salt.
- Blend into a smooth, thick batter: with a high-speed blender, the “batter” function or 20 seconds on medium-high should do it (even a double batch). In a normal blender, you’ll want to blend a few seconds on low, then about 10 seconds on high. Stop the blender and use a spatula to push unblended grains down toward the blades. Blend again for 5-10 seconds and repeat as necessary until all the soaked grains are incorporated. If you need to, you may add up to 1/4 cup more water.
- Once the batter is a uniform mixture, turn the blender on enough to create a vortex and pour the baking soda directly into it through the blender lid.
- Take the baking stone(s) or cast iron out of the oven.
- Grease the pan with coconut oil, lard, or bacon grease.
- Slowly pour the batter in a back-and-forth motion over the entire pan, from the center out. It should start to cook on the bottom right away which will stop it from spilling over the edge, if your pans are hot enough.
- Return the pan(s) to the oven and bake for 13-18 minutes. If you have two pans, put one on the top rack in the highest position, one on the bottom, and switch them after 7-8 minutes.
- The bread will be cracked on the top and crispy on the bottom when done. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter and serve warm!
- Store at room temp for 2-3 days, in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 6 months. Toast or lightly bake/warm up to serve leftovers.
Notes
* Incredibly, you can use all sorts of grain combinations for this bread! Half rice, half millet works great, rice/millet/buckwheat, even adding lentils in place of part of the grains works out. Each will have a different texture and taste; we prefer the buckwheat/rice combo in this ratio because it yields the softest texture.
* Adapted from the amazing original at Nourishing Meals – and the buckwheat pizza crust we enjoy is from the cookbook of the same name, such a treasure trove.
* To soak, you may add whey or lemon juice to the water to reduce phytates, but it’s not absolutely necessary. The soaking is necessary to soften the dry grains so that the blender can do its job.
- Need a little help getting healthy food on the table every day? Real Plans takes the stress out of meal planning and puts the nourishing food BACK on your table. There’s a plan for every diet type, including GAPS, Paleo, AIP, Whole30, vegetarian and more! You remain totally in control: use your own recipes, accept theirs, and teach the system what your family likes…Check out how powerful it is here!
The bread freezes great but should always be re-heated to eat. It’s unfortunately not a sandwich bread that you can just take for lunch (it gets too hard) but if you have a toaster oven (or cut the slices large enough for a regular toaster – or just reheat in the big oven) you’ll swoon over gluten-free toast that doesn’t cost $6 a loaf.
And as grilled cheese, it’s almost a crime, it tastes so good and crispy. 
What does the flaxseed do? Can it be eliminated? My daughter cannot have flaxseed or chia seeds either. If it is necessary, is there a different substitution besides chia seeds? (She can have psyllium. Would that work?)
Thanks!
Yes, you can use psyllium or almond flour if you all can have nuts!
My family loves this recipe! I love how easy it comes together and the simple ingredients. Perfect with soup or to make a little sandwich.
★★★★★
Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoy it!
my daughter loved this. working on my son…how would this hold up if i put it in their lunch in the morning? I will try it, but any tips? I have made it. It has been in the fridge for a day – and i put together 2 pieces like a sandwhich. It will sit in their locker from 8-12pm. Just curious for any tips or advice on how to make this work for a daily lunch at school. Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Sherry,
I love this bread fresh, toasted, or grilled, but I’ve really found it to be awful and crumbly when cold. 🙁 I wish it was a good school lunch option! I know it would be safe to eat etc., I just don’t think it would have a great texture. One thing you could experiment with: If you grilled a sandwich in the morning and wrapped it to stay sort of warm, I wonder if that would work. LMK if you try it?
Good luck! Katie
PS – My ebook the Healthy Lunch Box has other sandwich-free ideas that are more lunchbox friendly, on sale this week for 25% off with code 25offlunchbox if you’re interested: https://www.kitchenstewardship.com/the-healthy-lunch-box-ebook/
Do you think this recipe will work in a large oven safe stainless steel skillet. I don’t have any cast iron.
Hi Jenny,
I’m really not sure – it depends on the pan being pre-heated, so if your skillet would survive 5-10 mins EMPTY in the oven, then maybe? I’ve wanted to try it on a regular cookie sheet which would be a similar idea but I am always just wanting the bread, not an experiment! 😉
Okay, I tried it! Thanks for the recipe, it saved me from pouting when my husband made a coffee cake for my daughter’s birthday. It was not hard to put this together even on a birthday morning.
This recipe survived heavy modification! It turned out I didn’t have many whole grains in the house, but I found 3/4 c brown rice, 1/2 c buckwheat, and some lentils, and decided to go for it. The bread was great, and I’ll definitely try the recipe again. It begs to be made into whatever you want. I want to try adding caraway, I think that would be great. I will add more salt next time (possibly because of using so many lentils). I have a very old blender (not high speed at all) and some of the lentils got stuck in the bottom, and after soaking expanded, jamming the blender. So next time I would soak in a bowl instead.
Something people should be aware of is that that this makes a lot of food! In retrospect that was obvious, because if I am cooking just for myself I would never use 2 whole cups of grains/seeds. So be prepared to freeze some! Also, I do not have a cast iron skillet, and decided to try it in the cast iron dutch oven. It turned out great but I left the lid on by accident and the top looked funny at the end (not cracked the way it should be.) It came right out with a nice crispy bottom, and I cut it with a pizza cutter. Added butter on one, xylitol jam on another, and almond butter on a third. Yum!
Oh, best part- I only used half the batter, because I only have one dutch oven, so on the next morning (and the next, and the next) when I didn’t feel like firing up the oven, I made them into crepes! They worked great! Finally I have a great crepe recipe! Thanks again for a great recipe
★★★★★
Oh my goodness Annalisa, that is so cool! I love how many things you tried. I bet the lid just made it more soft and chewy, which was great for sweet applications. Thanks so much for sharing your adaptations!!! And crepes too! I’m impressed! 🙂 Katie
You dont need to reduce phytates?
Hi Helene,
I answered W above and wanted to make sure you saw it, but the short of it is that many now say that plain water is sufficient for phytate reduction. And technically, rice would use this process anyway, which you totally could do with this recipe if you wanted to keep a jar of “rice/buckwheat water” in your fridge. 🙂 Katie
Hi Katie,
I saw this in my inbox this morning and think that you must of printed off this recipe from my blog years ago and not remembered where it came from? It’s a very unique recipe from my friend Kim, who guest posted on my blog. It might be good to credit the source:
http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2012/03/gluten-free-flatbread-recipe-made-from.html
It is nearly identical, with the ingredients (you used the variation for buckwheat instead of millet), and the method.
thanks so much! 🙂
Oh my goodness, Ali, I must have had scrambled eggs for brains yesterday! I even had a note on my Trello card for this post to attribute to that link and also to make the special link I mentioned in the video, and I forgot both. Blah. Fixed it now, thank you for reminding me! I’ve sent many people to your site the last few years for that recipe. 🙂 I linked to your book too, such a treasure. This bread has saved us especially now that my little one can’t eat eggs. Thank you! 🙂 Katie
Thanks Katie! I know it can be hard to remember so many details with a business, recipes, blog posts, and multiple children! 🙂
I love using Trello too for my projects. Glad you are enjoying the bread.
Looks great!!! I love seeing it made on video. One question- can I use chia seeds in place of flax if I don’t have it? Do you think it could work? Thanks!!!!
Stacey,
I can’t remember if I’ve tried that, but I’ve found the two to be pretty interchangeable. I do think it would work! 🙂 Katie
Thanks Katie!! Can’t wait to try!! especially with gluten free dairy free egg free kids 😉
We live off-grid on our own farm so electrical appliances are no longer a part of our daily life. Would it work if we ground the buckwheat and brown rice by hand in our Wondermill and soaked it overnight, adding the other ingredients before cooking?
After years of high tech blending, I’m now looking for low tech ways to make all these wonderful recipes.
Hi Sandra,
What a neat way to live! I really couldn’t guess if it would work that way exactly the same – might be better to look for a flatbread recipe that just uses flours? 🙂 Katie
Is the rice cooked before it’s soaked?
Nope, totally dry Ingrid!
Should the rice and hulled buckwheat be soaked in whey the night before? The recipe says to soak–but just in plain, filtered water.
I believe that is what the apple cider vinegar is for, but she forgot to add it to the water as part of the instructions.
That’s what I was thinking, but I would like to know for sure. Do rice and hulled buckwheat need to be soaked in whey or vinegar first? Hoping to hear from the experts! 🙂
I would soak any grain in acidulated water.
When I make this recipe I always add 1 to 2 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar to the soaking water. You could alternatively use sprouted brown rice and sprouted buckwheat (or millet).
Actually the ACV is to react with the baking soda and provide a little lift. If you added it to the soak water, which may reduce phytates more effectively than just plain water, you’d need to add it again when blending up the batter. People have gone back and forth on “proper” soaking the last few years. Some say just water is fine and as effective as adding an acid. I got to the point where I tossed my hands up in despair and just soak in water most of the time unless the recipe has yogurt anyway!
If you do like to add an acid, vinegar or whey would be fine in the soaking. The proper ratio is something like 1 Tbs. acid per cup of water, so you’d need to use more than the 2 tsp. in this recipe as well. Hope that helped! 🙂 Katie
Hmmm…to soak in an acid or not…wow, is there that much controversy? I thought there was some true science to back it up?? I don’t really want to do it if it doesn’t really reduce phytates! Ugh.
Hi Erin! I can tell you’re familiar with soaking grains! I did answer W above (it wasn’t an error) and I wanted to make sure you saw it. 🙂 Katie
W,
The soaking in this recipe is just to soften the hard dry grains. I’m sure there is some phytate reduction too – it may be more effective with whey, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Good question! 🙂 Katie
We eat buckwheat porridge instead of steel cut oats. Buckwheat cooks more quickly and we prefer the texture, too. For my family of 9 eaters (new baby just nurses) I cook 2 cups of hulled buckwheat. Cover the buckwheat in a pot with water, add a pinch of salt, about 1/4 cup of sweetener. Sometimes I add dairy-free milk. Everyone fixes their own bowls adding chopped apples, pecans, bananas, raisins, etc. When my husband doesn’t eat with us we add frozen berries to the pot. Give buckwheat porridge a try!
That’s awesome, Micah, thank you! So you don’t measure the water?
I’m more of an eyeball it kind of girl! If it gets too thick I add more water (or milk) and if its too soupy I let it cook a little longer. It’s very forgiving!