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Urad Dal Lentils made into a batter and baked to make a soft flavorful nutritious Lentil bread. This Lentil Sandwich Bread is Free of dairy, egg, soy, gluten, nut. Can be made corn-free. Can be made grain-free by omitting the rice flour. Paleo Vegan Glutenfree Recipe.
The amazing thing about Urad dal (split and dehusked black gram) batter is that it aerates by itself really well. Hence, the dal is the mandatory ingredient in the southern Indian crepes(Dosa) and steamed cakes(idli). Urad dal is also used to make Vadas(fried dumplings) which have just one main ingredient- urad dal.
Another feature of urad dal is that it keeps the final product moist and soft. All of these properties make it a great candidate to make today’s bread.
There really isn’t a substitute for Urad Dal. No other lentil works as the batter will not ferment. You can buy the urad dal lentils online on amazon Urad Dal Matpe Beans, Split
This bread might seem like it has a hard crust right after baking but it gets softer as it sits because the dal leaks moisture. The photos do not do justice to how soft and delicious this bread is. There is no gluten or gum or nuts or added yeast in this bread.
Welcome to my world of experimentation 🙂
The lentil batter can also be left at room temperature to ferment for a few hours for a more leavened bread. The dal attracts wild yeast and ferments. I am not sure if that would be technically called yeast-free after fermentation.
Things to know before jumping into this recipe, this bread is going to taste like urad dal lentils. This bread is denser than a usual sandwich bread. /the bread is also very moist. So if you slice it before it has cooled, it will feel like it has not cooked through, but it has. If the bread doesn’t turn out right, just add the chopped bread into any of the indian sauces or sambhar(split pea stew) to soften and serve.
Or make a mini loaf with 1/2 cup lentils in a mini loaf pan to try first. You can also make fat pancakes with the batter and use them as burger buns.
This bread is full of protein, so make some grilled sandwiches with this one for a hearty snack!
Urad Dal pictured below.
More gluten-free breads on the blog
GLUTEN-FREE FLAT-BREAD BURGER BUNS
GLUTEN-FREE OAT RICE FOCACCIA STYLE PIZZA CRUST
GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN WHITE BREAD LOAF Mini
GLUTEN-FREE STRAWBERRY SANDWICH BREAD
Lentil Bread - Gluten-free Vegan Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups urad dal, (split and skinned black gram- Urad Dal Matpe)
- 3 tbsp rice flour
- 3 Tbsp corn starch , or tapioca starch
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp flaxmeal , or psyllium husk
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp oil
Instructions
- Soak the urad dal overnight. Drain and add to a food processor. Process the dal until it is just slightly gritty. Process for 30 to 45 seconds then move the dal with a spatula. It will take 3 to 4 minutes to break the lentils down into a batter type consistency. Add just a little water (3 to 6 Tablespoons) to help with the processing. Add the rest of the ingredients and process for a minute to combine. Check the batter for aeration. (drop a half tsp of batter in a cup of water. The batter should float on the top). If not aerated well , transfer the thick batter to a bowl and whip with a large spoon a few times, then check again. the batter should be thick and pasty but also slightly bubbly.
- Drop batter into parchment lined bread pan. Spray oil on top and even it out using a light hand so the air in the batter is not pressed out.
- Preheat the oven to 395 degrees F / 200ºc. Bake for 45 minutes. Cover the bread with another parchment after first 15 to 20 minutes by placing the parchment on the loaf pan. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees F / 190ºc after 45 minutes, remove parchment and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool completely before slicing. (about an hour). The bread slices more easily the next day. Refrigerate the bread for upto 5 days in an airtight container. The bread crust is crusty the first day and gets softer as it sits because of moisture. Moisture in the storage container after a day is normal. I like to use to bread with chutney toppings or simple sandwiches.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a wonderful gluten-free dairy free bread. I had to cook mine about 15 minutes longer but it still came out very very good. I sliced a piece and topped it with fresh avocado and tomatoes. I use chickpea flour instead of the rice flour. I will definitely make this again.
sounds great! thanks for the info
Can I make using urad flour (matpe flour)?
Yes, you should be fine.
And I could use split red lentils instead of the lentils you used??
they dont ferment as much, you can use them and make small muffins
Hi! Do you think this recipe work with yellow mung dal instead? Itching to make this bread but only have this dal at home:)
it wont give you the same result. If you can rice, use half moong dal and half white rice, soak and use similarly
Thanks for posting this!
You wrote about natural fermentation and that, especially for lentils, seems to be a long lived and active research topic for improving bioavailabilty of its nutrients.
The reasearch suggests that natural fermentation of lentils by themselves uses the lactic acid cycle (LAB bacteria) dominated by lactobacillus in the first 24 hours.
The dosa batter has other elements that bring yeast maybe (and the ethanol alcohol cycle).
I made a version of your recipe with sprouted pinto beans I already had, replaced all the other dry ingredients with flaxseed meal and 75 g of sourdough starter (made from rye) and any water needed was the aquafaba from boiling the beans. Fermented for a couple of hours at 95F, then baked in a thin layer 9×9 casserole dish as a dutch oven, similar to your baking directions of covered and uncovered (which are so helpful! Best bean bread I’ve ever had…).
The bread did rise and cook really well and is thin enough to be thick sandwich bread, but an 11×11 casserole dish would have been even better for more sandwich-like widths.
Thanks for the delicious helpful recipe,
Nichole
Forgot to add that I once fermented beans using mesenteroides to speed up the pH drop to the safe levels that their natural fermentation already does as it creates LAB bacteria.
That’s from a vegetable fermentation kit (often used on cabbage in making sauerkraft and kimchi, etc).
The only recipes I could find on using the results were for Chinese bean pastes sometimes called stinky beans I think. Those looked interesting but had so much salt so I didn’t make them yet.
(Fermenting in anaerobic conditions and with mesenteroides as a fast starter, and don’t need the salt to draw out the water, so not sure why so many vegetable fermentation recipes use as much salt as they do…).
Those bean pastes are very popular though. Do you recommend any for fermented beans? Indian bean pastes?
🙂
I’m making his just now. Can I add oats flour instead of rice flour? Thank u
yes
Hi Richa,
, This sounds wonderful .. was just wondering… What can i substitute for the corn meal ? As don’t get it here in India .
cornstarch is called corn flour in india
I tried making this twice now and neither time turned out. I really cannot figure out what went wrong as I followed the recipe exactly as it was written. The first loaf I soaked the lentils for about 9 hours and the second almost a full 24 hours. Neither batch seemed to aerate (though I don’t think I overworked it) so the texture is very dense, and the loaf ends up being about an inch and a half high. I was so excited to find this recipe, and it seemed so simple and straightforward, but I just don’t know why it isn’t working for me.
It might be the size of the pan (I use 8.5 by 4.5inches), or the dal(lentils), they may be old, or not the right lentils and hence they are not fermenting and aerating. Try a smaller amount, let it sit to ferment after blending for an hour, add in more baking powder, gently mixing it so the air doesnt escape. add to a muffin pan for a few muffins and then bake.
Oh my goodness this bread is amazing! I have made 3 loafs I’ve 2 days and my family is devouring them. We made grilled vegan cheese sandwiches and they were delicious. I can’t get my kids to stop eating it just plain either. I did use about 8 tbs of water and I didn’t have psyllium husk so I used xantham gum. I also brushed mine with garlic coconut oil on top and they turned out perfectly. Thanks so much for sharing all your wonderful recipes 😁
Awesome! yes anything garlic and buttery on top would be very helpful for the crust! so glad everyone loved it!
This recipe looks easy and amazing! How do you think this would work with Toor dal ( I just happen to have a 7 pound bag of Toor dal but no urad dal.) just wondering
it wont work well with toor dal as it doesnt ferment easily. :). You can use a mix of toor dal and white rice, soak, blend and then bake into small muffins. a loaf would be hard as the weight of that much volume would need the fermentation to add air during baking and without the fermentation the loaf will be flat.