High Protein Quinoa Bread
This high protein quinoa bread recipe is the best gluten free bread you'll ever taste! Loaded with protein, whole-grain flours and makes perfect sandwiches!
Gluten-free bread. Oh, gluten-free bread. How I love you. And how you make me crazy at times. You're so temperamental. Such an attitude. You sometimes turn out beautifully (like the Gluten-Free English Muffin Bread…hello, gorgeous!) and other times you're just flop. Yes, I'd say that we definitely have a love-hate relationship.
Gluten-free bread is something I've tried to tackle many, many times. I've shared some of my successes on the blog before (hello Gluten-Free Cinnamon Swirl Bread and Pumpkin Quinoa Bread), but there are also lots of failures that I haven't shared. I've tried to make gluten-free bread with no eggs: crumbly. I tried to make a banana oatmeal bread: didn't cook through. I hate to even think about how many ingredients I've wasted over the years.
But that's the price you pay when you can't eat gluten and you love bread. So when I finally nail the perfect sandwich bread, I just HAVE to share it. Enter my newest obsession: high protein quinoa bread!
What is Gluten Free Bread Made of?
My dilemma this time around was that I wanted a gluten-free bread that was lower in starch than my normal recipes, but also higher in protein. After a little research, it turns out, protein actually helps give gluten-free bread some of its structure, so we were in luck.
Really, it makes sense if you think about it. Gluten is a protein itself and is found in “regular” flour and forms when flour and water are combined. It turns into this stretchy, elastic thing that helps us make things like pasta, kneadable bread dough, and pizza dough that you can flip over your head. Basically, gluten helps give structure to the dough, especially in yeast bread, as they rely heavily on the formation of gluten.
Ingredients used in a Quinoa Bread Recipe
So taking that knowledge and switching to gluten-free flour, where there is none of this protein is available, adding more protein to your flour blend makes sense. I would even venture to say the more proteins you can add to your bread dough, often times the better. Or at least you'll have a better structure to your yeast bread.
The flours we're using for this gluten free bread are:
- quinoa flour: naturally high in protein
- chickpea flour: made from chickpeas!
- sorghum flour: which is an ancient grain and also has a little protein
- potato starch: gives it some binding action and also might it nice and light
How to Make Gluten-Free Bread at Home
Now, before we get to the recipe, I just to give you a few tips for making gluten-free bread!
Use a mixer: it can take a long time to beat your ingredients together, so I recommend a stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Don't expect the same texture: gluten-free bread “dough” is more like a batter, so don't expect something you can knead by hand
Skip the second rise: gluten-free bread doesn't need a second proof unlike other breads. Just one rise and then pop it in the oven to bake!
Keeping it fresh: gluten-free bread goes stale really quickly, so I like to only keep it on the counter for 1 day. Otherwise, I'll slice it and freeze it, then reheat in the toaster oven
Have fun with the mix-ins: if you don't like what we're using here, feel free to swap with anything else!
And I will say, this is my new favorite bread recipe. It has a nice whole grain flavor, a perfect crumb and it toasts up beautifully. You could use it for sandwiches in your kiddos lunch boxes, you could have avocado toast for breakfast or you could make french toast next weekend. It's incredibly versatile, and is full of whole-grain goodies!
More Gluten Free Bread Recipes to try:
- Quinoa Almond Flour Bread
- Gluten-Free Yeast-Free Bread
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Sandwich Bread
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread
High Protein Quinoa Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups water about 90 degrees
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup chickpea / garbanzo bean flour
- 1 cup toasted quinoa flour
- 3/4 cup sorghum flour
- 1 cup potato starch
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons almond oil or other light flavored oil
- 2 tablespoons raw white quinoa optional
- 2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds optional
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds optional
Instructions
- Whisk honey into warm water and add yeast. Let stand for 5 - 8 minutes until yeast has bloomed and is puffy.
- Meanwhile, whisk together dry ingredients and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. In a small bowl, beat together eggs and oil.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add yeast mixture and let incorporate for a few seconds. Add eggs and almond oil, and mix for 2 minutes. Turn mixer to medium speed, and mix for another minute, adding raw quinoa, sunflower seeds, and poppy seeds if using.
- Line a loaf pan (I recommend this one)with parchment paper and pour dough inside. Place in a warm, draft-free space in your house and let rise for 30 - 45 minutes until loaf has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. When dough has risen, bake on the center rack for 40 - 50 minutes until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when you tap on it.
- Remove bread from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Store extra bread in freezer (wrap in tinfoil and place in a sealable plastic bag.
Video
Notes
- 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1½ cups water, about 90 degrees
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4.5 oz chickpea / garbanzo bean flour
- 4.5 oz toasted quinoa flour
- 3.5 oz sorghum flour
- 4.5 oz potato starch
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons almond oil (or other light flavored oil)
- 2 tablespoons raw white quinoa (optional)
- 2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds (optional)
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)
Nutrition
New to cooking quinoa? Grab your FREE Quinoa Starter Guide!
Become part of the Simply Quinoa community and receive weekly emails with exclusive content that I only share in email, as well as my in-depth guide to starting your quinoa journey.
shop this post
share what you make
Tag #simplyquinoa on Instagram with your creations! We love sharing what you make with the community. We can’t wait to see!
What will happen if I do not use the “gum” in this bread recipe?
We haven’t tested this recipe without the gum, but I bet it will be fine with just the eggs 🙂
This bread is amazing! The holy grail of gluten-free bread! I’ve been gluten free for 8 years, and this is seriously the best recipe I’ve tried. It rises, it’s got great structure, and it tastes amazing. I followed the recipe exactly except I didn’t have poppy or sunflower seeds, so I used hemp seeds instead. Thank you so much!
So glad you have been enjoying it, Kari!! 🙂
Just made this loaf and it’s scrumptious. First time I ever I toasted the quinoa flour and the difference in taste was worth it…done on top of the stove. Very nice recipe!
Toasting the quinoa flour is a game changer, isn’t it 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the bread!!
It looks gorgeous! I can appreciate your trials and errors. It is so hard experimenting with Gluten Free recipes and I too have lost so much food wasting so many ingredients. We ALL know Gluten Free is not cheap! Compare all the different bags of flour we GF’s need to mimic a recipe with one bag of (dirt cheap) wheat flour!!! I cannot wait to try it! I have to check.. not sure if the sorghum flour I have in the freezer is straight sorghum or a blend!!!
Thank you so much for your kind message! Definitely so much trial and error but I love when it pays off!
I appreciate this receipe.
Thank you so much!
First time making bread last night and I loved it!!!! Turning my life around and enjoyed every bite with a little butter of course. Substituted Potato starch for Tapioca and omitted the Guar gum and it turned out great!! Also used almond Flour…Anyway just writing in to say that I hade it this morning with my breakfast! Thank you!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! I love this bread so much!
AMAZING! So refreshing to make something the turns out exactly as pictured! Thanks for the great recipe.
Woohoo!! So glad that you enjoyed it 🙂
Can you provide direction for baking in a bread machine
I don’t have experience with a bread machine, so I can’t, sorry!
Hi Alyssa! This bread looks amazing, I was wondering if I could replace the potato starch with tapioca starch and omit the gum?Any advice?
You sure can! I haven’t tested without the guar gum, but I bet it will be fine with just the eggs 🙂
Hello, Alyssa!
It’s my pleasure to write you!
You are wonderful! I like your recipes.They are interesting, different, delicious and beautiful presentated!
About the recipe for Hight protein quinoa bread, can I use corn starch, tapioca starch instead potato starch?
You can, yes!!
Just made this bread yesterday and I must say .. it is my new obsession as well! So easy to make and so delicious toasted! Just love it! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe
YAY!! So happy it worked for you 🙂 xx
[…] – HIGH PROTEIN QUINOA BREAD: https://www.simplyquinoa.com/high-protein-quinoa-bread-recipe/ […]
What is the significance of toasting the quinoa flour? Would the bread still turn out if the flour wasn’t toasted?
It will totally turn out! Toasting just helps make the flavor a bit more robust 🙂
Looks great! Do you think i can replace the flours all with spelt flour? I would leave the starch and the xanthan out. Love Madeleine
I haven’t tried! I don’t eat gluten, so I have no experience with spelt. Sorry about that!
I am vegan and don’t eat eggs. May I use flax eggs or Ener-G powder as an egg sub in this recipe? Thank you for the work you do on your blog. Your creativity is amazing.
Nora
I haven’t tested this as egg-free yet! I think it might be a little tricky though because the eggs are providing the lift and structure.
I’m super excited about this recipe but am having a difficult time sourcing xanthum gum and sorghum flour. Are there any other options there?
You could try guar gum if you can find that! You really do need a gum tho as that is what helps the bread hold it’s texture. To replace the sorghum, you could try millet or potentially brown rice, although I’d worry that brown rice is a bit grainy in texture…
Sounds like a good recipe. I’ll have a go at it. Would it be okay if I use lucuma powder instead of honey?
I haven’t tested, so I’m not sure! If it has sugar, it might be okay, but you do need the sugar for the yeast to work 🙂
Could I use ground flaxseed (to make flax eggs) in place of 3 large eggs?
I don’t think so unfortunately…! The eggs are part of what gives the bread it’s texture and I don’t think it would work to be vegan 🙁
Hi Alyssa,
I am wondering if you can replace the potato starch with something else as well as the chickpea flour and the active yeast? I have candida which does not allow me to have starchy foods or any yeast in my diet as it produces a bacteria overgrowth in my gut. I know I can replace the active yeast with xanthan gum but I see this is already in the recipe. Thank you.
Hi Eileen,
I’m really not sure as those are pretty big portions of the recipe. The chickpea flour is there for protein and the potato starch helps with binding and yeast helps with the rise….! What about this bread? https://www.simplyquinoa.com/quinoa-almond-flour-bread/
Hi Alyssa,
Thanks for this recipe. I just found out that I have a gluten allergy and so I am still learning how to alter my diet. I would like to try this recipe as the gluten free bread from the store tastes like poison. I have never been much of baker except for banana bread which I mix by hand (I do love to cook though). Do I need a buy a stand mixer for this recipe or can this recipe by done by hand? Also, I would like to know how to toast the quinoa flour (oven temperature, length of time, etc) as the internet has too many variances.
Hi there! You should be able to do this with an electric mixer, but it will be tough to do it by hand. It really does need to get beat pretty thoroughly! In terms of toasting quinoa flour, here’s an example: https://www.simplyquinoa.com/how-to-toast-quinoa-flour/
Thank you Alyssa!!!
Hello Alyssa….. First, I want to thank you for been such a great baker and help us (lousy bakers in progress like me) attempt and succeed at making this bread. I am so happy and I feel so accomplished after my three bakings…two were successful (sorta) I had to split the dough in two pans because it overflew and spilled out of the pan….and one flopped completely because I put the yeast in very hot water, but hey! is not bad for somebody who burns toasts…hehe. Today I decided to make two portions but pour it on to three pans….let me tell you it looks AMAZING! this is mostly for my daughter but everyone at my house enjoyed eating the bread toasted with butter on it for breakfast. Also, today I used instant yeast, the kind you mix with the dry ingredients and it worked the same… I think I am safer at using this kind of instant yeast then the regular one. Now, thanks to your recipes we are off white flour completely, I accomplished my goal of getting rid of that poison that is affecting our body and brain. Thank you so much for your recipes and amazing ideas! God bless you!
I’m so glad you’ve found the recipe and are enjoying it!! So wonderful to have a slice of bread that you can enjoy and still have it be gluten-free!! xox
At high altitude (5300 ft) the yeast may be too high. Mine slid over the top of the bread pan while waiting for it to rise.
I think you’re probably right! I haven’t done much high altitude baking, so am not really sure what the best suggestion would be. Sorry about that!
Hi Alyssa,
Just baked this gorgeous looking bread. I was wondering if you knew what internal temperature the bread is considered done … it would help a lot since I am all thumbs in the kitchen. 🙂
I’m not positive to be honest, sorry! I usually just go by feel 🙂
I’m going to be making this soon and wondering if there are any cup measurements yet for the flours? I do not have a working kitchen scale!
I don’t have cup measurements, sorry! You can definitely google the weight conversions though 🙂
A big thank you for the recipe! I tried it with my old bread machine and it was a success. It was a first because all of my other attempts at gluten free bread with a machine were unsuccessful…. I used the normal setting on my bread machine and did add some yeast during the second rise because it flopped during the second kneading. :S
So glad it worked for you! This is definitely one of my favorite recipes as well 🙂 xo
I must admit I was nervous to try some new ingredients for me but the bread looked so good, especially in the toasted picture, so I went for it! I just tasted my 1st slice and am so impressed!! I can’t wait for tomorrow morning to have a toasted slice with mashed avocado & egg. After tasting I then looked up the health benefits of what was new to me, such as sorghum & xanthan gum. I found an artical recommending physilium fiber over xanthan gum as a binder. I’m going to try next time I make this and really hope it comes out as good as your amazing creation.
So glad you enjoyed it!! One of my favorites as well 🙂 And please do let me know if you try psyllium husks – I’d love to know if that works!
[…] Pan de quinoa (Receta de Simply Quinoa). […]
Hi there,
This may sound like a weird question, but since this isn’t a “typical” bread recipe, did you use the paddle attachment or bread hook in your stand alone mixer? I’ve been gf for years and have made tons of recipes, but this one didn’t work out for me. Only thing I can think is that I screwed up my weights or used the wrong attachment?
I use the paddle attachment! I actually just made this yesterday and it worked out well, so maybe it was the weight of the flours? Sorry you had trouble!
PS..I know it wasn’t my yeast because it bloomed well..
I found a website that lets your put in your ingredients to find the nutritional facts- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
Ingredient Cal Carb Fat Protein Sodium sugar
Active Dry Yeast 0 0 0 0 0 0
Honey 2 tbsp 128 35 0 0 2 34
Chickpea flour 4 oz 178 27 3 10 29 5
Quinoa Flour 4 oz 264 46 4 8 6 62
Sweet White Sorghum Flour 3.5 oz 350 73 3 12 0 0
Xanthan Gum 20 4 0 0 20 0
Eggs- 3 Lg 215 1 14 19 213 1
Oil, Almond, 3 tbsp 361 0 41 0 0 0
Potato Starch 5.5 oz 520 130 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 2,036 316 65 49 270 42
Per serving 102 16 3 2 14 2
Hopes this helps. There were times when I had to use the measurements given on the secondary website-
You can also put any substitution and get the new nutritional profile.
[…] https://www.simplyquinoa.com/high-protein-quinoa-bread-recipe/ […]
Thank you so much for this bread recipe, I made it and I love it, I did not have sorghum so I used chick pea flour for it. Turned out great. Counder i toast the quinoa before grinding into flour.
Thanks again. Helen
So glad you enjoyed it! xo
[…] 5. Pan de Quinoa alto en proteína Cuando decimos que no extrañarás el pan es porque aún podrás preparar pan, solo con ingredientes ligeramente diferentes para lograr una textura ligeramente diferente. Este pan está repleto de proteína y es bajo en almidón para que puedas comer libre de culpas. Es versátil, así que puedes comerlo solo, o usarlo como pan tostado. […]
[…] 5. High Protein Quinoa Bread When we say you won’t miss bread it’s because you can still make bread, just using slightly different ingredients to achieve a slightly different texture. This bread is packed with protein and lower in starch, so you can eat it guilt-free, and it’s versatile so you can eat it plain or use it for French toast. […]
I just made this loaf. The mixture was quite runny – more like a pancake mix, so it ran over the sides of the loaf tin. Thankfully I sat the loaf tin in an oven pan. I have tasted the warm bits than ran over the sides, Delicious
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe?
I want to know too if you can use this recipe in a bread machine. I don’t have one, but my friend does and is looking for a healthy bread recipe for her machine.