This gluten-free oat flour bread is made with just a few simple ingredients in only one bowl! No refined flour (oat flour only), butter or dairy!
Happy Monday friends! Over the last year, my Honey Oatmeal Bread recipe has EXPLODED with popularity. That recipe has raving positive reviews in the comment section and on Pinterest. You guys LOVE the taste and love that it doesn’t use any refined flour, oil, or butter. However, one of the most common questions I get is how that recipe can be modified to be less sweet.
After receiving so many requests for a savory version, I decided I had to test a few out and see what I could come up with. I knew decreasing the honey would be tricky because honey acts as a binder. I ended up following the suggestion of a reader who reduced the honey and used flax as a binder instead. I made a few different versions to get this right because even minute adjustments in the amount of salt, flax, and honey made a big difference in the final product.
There were a couple of versions that were good, so I struggled to figure out which one to post. I know many of you wanted a version that was honey free, but in our opinion (Mr. Hungry and I), the BEST version was the one with two tablespoons of honey in the whole loaf (decreased from 1/2 cup in the original version), so that is the one I’m posting today!
The honey really just balances out the salt and earthy tones of the oatmeal plus flax. This bread is perfect to layer with sandwich fixings like avocado, lunch meat, and cheese. I think it would be best to use to make an open-faced sandwich because it’s a bit too crumbly for a regular sandwich, it does firm up a little bit if you toast it the toaster oven though! It’s also delicious with a little melted butter (if you aren’t dairy free)! Also, if you can’t get enough oat flour recipes, be sure to check out these amazing desserts!
One more thing before we get to the recipe, let’s talk about the ingredients in case you have more questions.
Oat Flour – I prefer to make my own but you can also buy it. Make sure it’s ground super fine with a food processor. Get step by step instructions on how to make oat flour in this post.
Original Non-Dairy Milk – Any non-dairy milk will work here but you’ll want the original unsweetened version, not vanilla. I’m not sure if cows milk will work though because it has more fat and protein in it. If you don’t have nondairy milk on hand I would just use water.
Honey – You can sub brown rice syrup for honey. You can omit the honey, but the slight amount of sweetness really helps to balance out the bread and create a traditional sandwich bread flavor.
Ground Flax – DO NOT OMIT. The flax acts as a binder in place of the honey in the honey oat version, DO NOT OMIT. Plus, it’s good for you!
Eggs- I have not tried to replace with more flax or chia eggs. One of the versions I tried did have more flax in it, and I didn’t like it. Flax can be overwhelming. Eggs help bind and help the bread rise a little, so I’m not sure if omitting would work. If you experiment with this, let us know in the comments!
Salt – do not omit
Baking Soda & Powder – do not omit
Extra – I tried adding caraway seeds for a rye flavor to it, and it’s delicious.
In the photo below you can see the slight difference in coloring between the two versions. The honey oat version is a deeper brown (bottom right corner) the savory version is a bit lighter and tanner in color.
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Savory Oat Flour Bread
Ingredients
- 2.75 cups oat flour
- 1 cup unsweetened original non dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup ground flax
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Using a food processor grind 3 cups of old fashioned rolled oats into fine oat flour. You want 2.75 cups of oat flour so if you end up short, grind more oats into flour. You want to grind for at least two minutes so that your oat flour is very fine. (or you can purchase fine oat flour.)
- In a large bowl whisk together honey, eggs, nondairy milk, and salt.
- Add baking soda and baking powder to oat flour in the processor. Process or hand mix for 10 seconds. Stir in ground flax into the oat flour.
- Next, add the flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix until totally combined. The batter will be runny, but should have some resistance.
- Let the mixture sit for five minutes. DO NOT SKIP!
- Spray parchment paper with cooking spray and line a glass bread dish with the paper. (could use a metal baking dish but this may change the cooking time.) The paper will wrinkle, this is the price we pay for easier cleanup!
- Add mixture to your parchment paper lined bread pan and place on the top rack of the oven.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool COMPLETELY, ideally overnight. The bread is made just from oat flour, so it is a bit crumbly if you let it cool completely overnight it will be far less crumbly!
Video
Nutrition
Yum. I will have to try this! Perfect for lactation too.
yep!
Dear Kelli , I made your Oat honey bread, not sure what I done as it was to heavy & not cooked at bottom, was it because I let it sit for 40 minutes, as I cooked my sons dinner, then put it in oven, thanks as definitely want to succeed at making this as don’t eat wheat thanks Loretta x used all ingredients that you said, I used gluten free oats
Hi Loretta,
Sorry, it didn’t work for you! I’m not sure if letting it sit would cause it to have a problem or not. I wish I could help more, but I honestly don’t know. Maybe try it again? At this point, thousands of people have made this recipe and it worked, so I’m thinking it had to be the oats got over soggy or something when it sat there? Hopefully, it comes out better next time!
I tried this with 1.25 cups lactose free milk and 3 eggs and it turned out great! Don’t be afraid to use milk!
I’m going to make this today. Can I add saltanas to make it a fruit bread? And can u toast it? I can’t eat flax so I’m going to add an extra egg I guess . Also may omit the honey?
Thanks
I think that some people have made these modifications, read through the comments! I don’t think anyone has ever made raisin bread (I think that’s what saltanas are right?) but it sounds delicious! Yes you can toast it!
Looks delicious!
This is an amazing recipe. It looks so good. i would love to try it soon. Thanks for sharing.
Is the non dairy milk in this recipe liquid? Like Almond milk would work or is it dry milk powder? Thanks!
I just left a question about the milk in this recipe but I went back and watched the video and it answered my question.
yep! liquid milk!
I’m just wondering if you have tried soaking the oat mixture for any length of time before cooking to improve nutrition of oats beyond the 5 minutes in your recipe. I do this with another oatmeal bread recipe, where they recommend you let it sit 2-12 hours. I guess with the eggs in the recipe, this may not be advisable but I was wondering if you had any experience with letting it sit overnight before baking. Do the oats soak up the water too much? I’m trying this recipe as is this time but plan
I would not advise that because of the eggs. Also soaking the oats should not change the nutrition value.
Cont’d… To try soaking the mixture overnight next time as well as add a tbsp of whey (liquid from yogurt) and a couple tbsp buckwheat flour the next time.
I made this bread this morning and eating some this evening. It is delicious! I have yet to find a gluten free bread that taste decent but this one does! My question is can I double the recipe to make a taller bread?
If you want to make a taller bread I would suggest using a skinnier taller pan. I’m not sure if doubling the recipe would work because it might not cook all the way on the inside before burning on the outside. Let me know if you try it!
I substituted the honey with maple syrup, but used only 4 1/2 teaspoons (1T, 1.5t) and water, as advised, instead of non-dairy milk. It came out great!
Thank you for sharing your substitution! I know many others might be wondering about using maple syrup instead of honey or brown rice syrup so I’m glad it worked out for you!
How long is the bread good after baking?
I’ve kept mine in the refrigerator for 2 weeks before! That being said, my official answer is one week do to the eggs in it!
I believe applesauce in place of eggs should work.
I’ve never tried that, let me know if it works!
I used 1/4 cup plain unsweetened applesauce in replacement of egg. It works great!
So glad I found you!
I will be trying the oatmeal bread. I look forward to learning from you. Im a very good home style cook, who is transitioning to healthier plant based diet.
I have a question about binders :
Will Chia seed make a good replacement for flax as a binder in your oatmeal bread?
Hi Rebecca! So glad to have you as part of the Hungry Hobby community! I’m not sure about the chia, I haven’t tried it. Chia seed can sometimes be a binder but it is slightly different from flax so the ratio may be off. Let us know if you try it!
I made this last night. I am on an anti inflammatory diet due to candida overgrowth, so I replaced the honey with 2 tablespoons of simple syrup made from xylitol. I let the bread cool overnight in the glass pan as suggested and just cut into it and tasted it. It’s moist and perfect! I love it! Thank you for this fabulous recipe! I may try erythritol next time, as it changes the texture of baking less than xylitol does.
I just made this last night and let it cool overnight as you suggested. I am on an anti inflammatory diet for candida overgrowth, so I substituted the honey with simple syrup made from xylitol. The bread turned out moist and so yummy! I may try it with erytritol next time, as that changes the texture of baking less than xylitol does. But this was lovely! Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
Thanks for sharing your changes I know others will benefit from it! So glad you love the bread!
I’ve been looking for a good healthy oat bread recipe that I could use for challah, for a while.This is it! I usually don’t eat after dinner but these came out of the oven piping hot and it looked too good so I had to take one. I used water instead of milk and made them in cupcake tins so I have individual portions. I froze them so they’ll stay good. I’m so happy I found this!
I definitely need to try freezing this in individual portions! So glad you are enjoying it!
Another reason this recipe is so great, is that by changing the non-dairy milk to a dairy milk, this recipe is VERY low in oxalates. I was looking for a recipe like this to help lower my oxalate count, and this is the BEST recipe for that. This said, the recipe as it stands, using a nut milk, the oxalate count skyrockets.
so glad it works for you!
Could I just use more eggs in place of the flax meal? I would rather not use the flax meal. I am excited to find a healthy bread recipe that isn’t mostly starch.
That is a good question. I’m not sure if that would work, but let us know if you try it!
Have you tried a yeast bread using oat flour and vital wheat gluten? I’m looking for a recipe like that, but no luck yet. I want the oats for more fiber and better taste (I love white bread. I don’t like the flavor of whole wheat, but I think I might like a bread made with oat flour).
No, sorry I haven’t tried that!
I made this today with a couple of tweaks since we are whole food plant based. I used 1 1/2 Tbsp of maple syrup instead of honey and went ahead and tried the recipe with flax/chia eggs. I have flax and chia mixed in a jar on my counter for smoothies and eggless recipes and I like the flavor profile better than plain flax. So I ground a 1/4 cup of the mix for the flax in the recipe and also made 2 flax/chia eggs using 2 Tbsp ground seeds plus 6 Tbsp water. I allowed it to gel and then added the almond milk and maple syrup. Did the rest as written in the recipe except for waiting to cut it! 😀
It smelled sooo good, we couldn’t resist! It was dense and moist and not at all crumbly. It held together wonderfully and we topped it with avocado, nutritional yeast and salt to start and then did some slices with almond butter and dates. So yummy! Thanks for this great recipe! Next time I will try using dates blended with the milk to avoid using the maple syrup. We like to stay as whole food as possible around here. Blessings!
Thank you so much for sharing your modifications, Jen! I know it will really help others, I’m also egg free right now due to food allergies with my breastfed son so I can’t wait to try your suggestions!
This recipe seems great and I’d like to try it but could you please tell me is it possible not to use honey in this recipe or is there any substitute for it? I’m on an anti-candida diet, so I cannot have any type of sugar. Is it important because of flavor or the texture? Thank you!
Hi Gaga, one my readers above shared this modification “I made this last night. I am on an anti-inflammatory diet due to candida overgrowth, so I replaced the honey with 2 tablespoons of simple syrup made from xylitol. I let the bread cool overnight in the glass pan as suggested and just cut into it and tasted it. It’s moist and perfect! I love it! Thank you for this fabulous recipe! I may try erythritol next time, as it changes the texture of baking less than xylitol does.” I haven’t tried this but it worked for her, hope it works for you too!
this really sounds delicious.. Can you use powdered milk? I use this when making bread, lower fat.. Why can’t the salt be omitted? Some people have to watch their salt intake..
Hi Dottie, I think you could use powdered milk that has been reconstituted, honestly, you could use water and it would be fine. The salt is for flavor, you could cut down or omit it. Just know that changing the salt amount will affect both the saltiness and the sweetness of the bread because they balance each other out.
I love this recipe, I made it easily thanks to your detailed instructions
Can i use chia seeds instead of flax?
Maybe! I haven’t tried it though!
This turned out great. I used cow’s milk and didn’t notice that it looked different from your photos and was typical of a quick bread. It came together so quick and is hearty with wonderful oat flavor. It’s definitely on my regular recipe list. Thanks for a great recipe.
So glad you liked it! Good to know that it works with regular cows milk too since many people have that in their fridge!
Looks great! I love your recipe, ingredients are simple and easy to process. I will try it now. Thanks for sharing the recipe
What size bread pan do you use? Thanks! Mine turned out delicious but flat and wide, so I think I need to use a smaller pan…
I have both a wide short one and a tall 9 x 5 one. Both work well!
Thanks! This recipe is a favorite with my family.
This recipe is amazing! My son is allergic to eggs and nut milks so I made some modifications. I used egg replacer, and 1/2 cup whole milk 1/2 cup water. The batter didn’t look runny at all so I was worried it wouldn’t work out, but the bread came out great! It tastes great and toasts well, not even crumbling too much. Thank you so much!! I’m so happy I can finally give bread to my baby with wheat allergies!
Hi Kat! Love this, thanks for sharing your modification! Cooking for babies with food allergies is so hard, I know, my son has an egg and dairy allergy/sensitivity. (you can google MSPI hungry hobby to read about it) It was brutal, but getting better! Some people have used chia or flax eggs in this recipe, you might want to try that because the egg replacers have a TON of sodium. I know that I did use them (egg replacers) for my son at less than a year old when he couldn’t have eggs, but I also tried to limit where I could! It’s a tough road your on Mama, I’m on it too! I hope he grows out of some of his allergies!
I’m obsessed!!! The flavor is sooo good. Mine came out a bit crumbly but I need to grind the oats more next time. Thanks so much for the recipe. Definitely will be making again!
This is the first time I have ever write a review but I was so pleased with the results I decided I should! I made two chia eggs instead of using regular eggs. I was a little worried that the bread wouldn’t turn out because the batter wasn’t runny like the recipe said it should be, but the bread is has a great taste and texture! Thank you so much for your recipe! It is a keeper!! God Bless!
Hello! This recipe seems fantastic. Can it be applied int he bread machine?
I don’t own a bread machine, so I don’t know! Sorry!
I’m allergic to flaxseed- wheat flour- brown rice – can you come up with an oat flour bread without them?
Hi Karon – my honey oat flour bread has none of those things! –> https://hungryhobby.net/honey-oat-bread/ Hope that helps!
So good! I did use maple syrup instead of honey and aquafaba (garbanzo bean juice) instead of eggs. Came out moist and tasty. Not crumbly at all. So thankful to find this recipe! I’m allergic to most grains and have missed bread – especially with soup, chili and stews.
These are fantastic modifications to make this bread vegan, I’m going to try it!
I make chickpea flour bread a lot, and am used to crumbly fally-aparty bread. I defied the rules again when it came out of the oven and had two slices already. I topped the loaf with some rolled oats, and lots of black and white sesame seeds i had leftover from making sushi. SO good. And easy to make, with good ingredients. The only thing I will have to change is the flax, Because I am sure It will run out soon, and being in Isolation with food shortages happening, Most likely won’t be able to get it for many months…This bread…. ESPECIALLY with the sesame seeds- is soooooo very delicious. With warm butter on top. MMMM. I will be making this my primary bread. Getting sick of the gummy chickpea loaf that turns moldy too fast. This bread-the texture is enjoyable, and old fashioned… it came together very nicely in the bowl with no lumps- love oat flour! Full of protein and good nutrients, you really created a wonderful recipe. I am sure we can make adaptations and substitutions for this if need be during the food shortages. Its weird, but the taste reminds me very much of “Shreddies” Cereal. Just super wholesome and a nice toasted grain taste. Lovely recipe. For those who are not used to crumbly fally aparty bread this may not impress them, but I am so used to it. Thank you – sincerely – A crohns disease sufferer who cannot have wheat
So glad you like it!
Hi! I’m looking to make this recipe vegan as well. Could you share how much aquafaba you used?
I would like to know also!!
Hello,
Can you convert this into a bread machine recipe and if so, how?
Hi Steven, I wish I had a bread machine and could tell you but I don’t have one! It’s on my wish list of kitchen appliances though! Do you have one you would recommend?
Hi there,
I make a brown Irish soda bread with whole wheat and it flour but I like the sound of this recipe. My question is would this bread rise a little bit more if you replaced the milk with buttermilk? I’m thinking the acidity of the buttermilk combined with the alkalinity of the baking soda/baking powder might give more of a rise. Any thoughts?
Thank you for the recipe!
Joanne
It might! You can also increase the baking soda and baking powder to 1tsp each. Also, I prefer to bake this in a tall skinny pan versus a wide short one.
Turned out rrealllyyy good! Thank you so much!!
Not sure what I did wrong. Mine came out a bit too heavy and it still looks pretty wet inside after i left it for another hour or so.
Sorry to hear that! It is heavy bread (no yeast is used to rise it) but, it shouldn’t be wet on the inside. Did you use the a toothpick to check and make sure it was ready to come out of the oven?
I am on Weight Watchers and am trying to calculate the points for this terrific recipe! How many grams of saturated fat does this recipe contain?
Zero, it has no oil in the recipe!
Thank you!
This recipe turned out so wonderful! I substituted the honey with date syrup and the eggs with flax eggs to make this vegan. It has an overarching flavour of flax seeds (expectantly, but I like it!). Thank you very much for this lovely recipe! Will be sharing it on Instagram (tagging you, of course!).
Thanks! I’m going to try your modifications!
Ramona, if you want to use the aquafaba, you will use 3 tbsp for each egg as s substitution.
Kathleen
I too replaced the eggs with flax egg. To make it vegan, and left out the honey. I used .75 cups of oat bran for some fiber in addition to the 2 cups of oat flour. I also added some vinegar to the Almond milk and let it curdle. Fantastastic vegan bread. Very nice crumb, not too dense or wet. And as Ramola said, nice subtle nutty flax flavor.
OMG those sound like delicious substitutions. Thank you for sharing!
I’ve been avoiding bread for a couple months now due to a wheat sensitivity. I was so happy to find a simple oat flour based recipe without additional starches and binders. This is seriously the BEST gluten-free bread I’ve had so far! It’s not nearly as crumbly as I expected and reminds me of cornbread 🙂
So delicious and easy to make! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this and it is awesome. I added a little extra salt too. It stays together when sliced, which is rare with GF bread! Thanks so much for this great, easy recipe.
I have made this recipe many times now, with excellent results, although I have modified it quite a bit, no eggs, just water etc. Here is what I do:
Dry
275 g oat flour (made from large flake oatmeal in vitamix)
17 g ground chia
17 g ground flax
1 tsp baking soda
Wet
300 g water by weight
2 TB maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt (use mortar and pestle to ensure it dissolves fully)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Add dry to wet, then pour into 9×5 metal pan lined with parchment paper AND LET REST FOR 5 MINUTES bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
DELICIOUS!
Thank you for this recipe! I have made several variations like, stuffing bread and raisin bread. I have also varied the sweetener, and the ratio between chia and flax seed.
Thanks so much for sharing!!!
This was good! Very earthy, great with butter and jam or peanut butter and jelly. I used water because I didn’t have any milks and I subbed maple syrup. Really pleased with how it turned out. I want to try an adapted version with 1/2 oat flour 1/4 almond and 1/4 flax to see how that goes. But this is a fantastic healthy bread that’s easy to make.
How fun! I love hearing about modifications that work and I know other people do to! Thanks so much for sharing and I’m glad you like it!
My batter was very thick. I added a little milk. Next time I will reduce the amount of oat flour However, this tastes strongly of baking soda. Is it possible you have reversed the quantities of baking soda and baking powder? Next time I will use less soda.
Hi Kirsten, The recipe is correct as written, I’ve had literally thousands of people make it and never had that comment before. That being said, everyone’s taste buds are different, so maybe the baking soda just came through a lot more for you. If you watch the video, the batter is very thick!
First try last night and it was a wonderful foundation for what you have on hand. I’ve been looking for a recipe like this. Thank you!
I love adding different nuts like walnuts or almonds. All kinds of berries work well, too. This recipe has been a great addition to a strict diabetic diet for my husband. Thank you.
I love this idea! I’m going to try adding some walnuts next time I make this! Thanks for sharing 🙂
As a food/lifestyle blogger I know how important comments are. And getting readers to make that effort can be tough. But it’s key in helping readers know what works and what doesn’t. Ok, so that said, I am THRILLED with this recipe, and excited to let everyone know just how good it is. I made some changes, using Hemp Milk, extra baking soda and powder and replacing the honey with maple syrup and it turned out exactly how you said.. For those of us who can’t eat wheat, yeast, corn, potatoes making a loaf from oats that resembles bread is a game changer. This bread, of course, isn’t like wheat/yeast bread, but it has great structure, heartiness and most of all is delicious. Thank you for this simple, easy to make in a flash bread. I am so excited to make a sandwich for the first time in 10 years!!! This will be my go to treat from now on.
Thank you for sharing Dana!
The recipes looks very interesting! Before trying it, I’d like your opinion on whether adding some tapioca flour would make the bread less crumbly. If you agree, how much would you suggest I add? Also, would it be OK to use only the whites of the eggs?
Many thanks!
Honestly, I’m not totally sure! I don’t use tapioca flour all that much, but if you try it let us know how it goes! Also, this bread has so little fat in it, removing the egg yolk wouldn’t be my first recommendation. However, many people make this bread with flax eggs and they say it comes out great! Maybe try that?
Very thrilled to find a GF recipe that you can use for a sandwich… I was really impressed with it and happy to have bread and not need to cheat 😅 I used cows milk because dairy isn’t a problem… the bread came out soft and delicious and no I didn’t wait to cut into it! I plan to slice it after 8 hours of setting and put it in the freezer so I can pull a piece out and toast it. Thanks for your hard work and wholesome recipe!
The nuttiness of the ground flax seed completely ruins this recipe. The flax flavor overpowers anything else. The recipe says do not omit but I definitely recommend finding an alternative.
Thanks for your feedback!
Made an exactly as written—turned out amazing! Thank you so much!! Next time I will add caraway seeds!
Great recipe! However, I wasn’t looking for anything savory but rather a recipe where I could incorporate blueberries. So, to your recipe I added: 1 cup sugar, 1Tbsp + 1tsp lemon zest, 1/2 cup of sourdough discard & 1 cup of organic blueberries. Oh my goodness!!! It’s DELICIOUS!!! Occasionally, I’ll bake for my family but, I no longer get to enjoy these yummy sweets since going gluten free 3 years ago… until now! Thank you, thank you!!
Substituted 1/4 c of flour with nutritional yeast. I am trying to use this as a bread on fasting day and I felt better with that.
My batter came out crumbly. On this website (copied below) is says 2 tablespoons of honey but on the video it says 1/ 2 cup of honey which is equal to 8 tablespoons of honey. Which one is correct? Same thing with salt. 1/4 teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon as it says on the video is the right amount? Thx
Ingredients
2.75 cups oat flour
1 cup unsweetened original non dairy milk
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup ground flax
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
Hi Fatima, There are TWO recipes one is for savory oat flour bread and one for honey oat flour bread. There are also two different videos. Sorry if this is confusing. Which recipe to use depends on if you want a savory bread or sweet bread.
Savory Oat Flour Bread:https://hungryhobby.net/savory-oat-flour-bread/
Honey Oat Flour Bread:https://hungryhobby.net/honey-oat-bread/
I hope that helps!