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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.
I have mixed the urad dal with plantain and that also worked out really well! I love this bread 🙂 I use 200g dry urad dal, 200g plantain, 40g flaxseed and your other necessary ingredients.
But I also have a question: can you make this bread with mung beans?
no mung beans dont work as they don’t ferment like urad dal. You can use a combination of urad and mung, but you need some urad in the mix.
Thank you!
I really didn’t know what to expect with this so I halved the recipe and made them into seven muffins and WOW! I can’t believe how good they are.I had to adjust the baking time and I was overly cautious so I think I overbaked them a tad but they are so wonderful, and not to mention a powerhouse in nutrition. Thanks for the recipe.
Awesome! Yes, the muffins need much less time to bake. So glad you liked them!
Hi there Richa…..it’s about time I posted something…….after about my 8th loaf……..I have had so many good comments and the gluten free friends I live with highly enjoy this loaf. It is now part of our daily diet (along with the finding of Raggi dosha)! Thank you so much! I have also been experiementing with including red lentils. 1 cup of urad and 2x red lentils for a larger loaf and it works! I add a bit more cumin, fenugeek seeds and a little hing….and you can imagine such a tasty bread. Thank you for your wisdom and experience I have passed on your website and recipie to many others! 10 stars for this***********:)
Thank you Marcia. That is amazing! I am so happy you all are loving the bread! Yes, the bread will work with adding other lentils,split peas and grains as well with enough urad dal to help the mixture be well fermented. I add less spices so the bread doesn’t overpower sandwiches and other things served with it. the spices definitely will make the bread tasty to eat up all the loaf by itself! Ragi dosa is a great nutritious dosa too.
Me again! So I always weigh ingredients as opposed to using measuring cups. My bag of urad dal lists a dry 1/4 cup as weighing 35 grams, so the first time I made the bread I used 35gx6 = 210g. I thought it seemed scant, but went with it. However, before I went to soak the second batch tonight I tried with a measuring cup. 1 level measuring cup of dry urad dal weighed 208g ! That obviously may have played into the lack of volume the first time around as I will now be using roughly 1.5x the lentils I did last time. Onward!
ah yes, that would explain the volume 🙂
Really exciting !your replies to all the challenges are amazing you seem able to find a wayout of every mishap…well done ! Will reply after trying recipe . Looks Yum
Thank you Ann.
This sounds awesome, though how well does the bread hold up to being thinly sliced? Based on the ingredients plugged into MyFitnessPal, a loaf will yield 1400 calories and 227 carbs. I’d want to get as many slices as possible out of it.
If you let the bread chill for a few hours in in the fridge, you should be able to slice it pretty thin. See the sandwich picture, it can be thinner than those.
I used the suggested bread pain size and there wasn’t enough batter to make a loaf like in your pictures. Mine came out more like a mini baguette. It’s still gorgeous and wonderfully fragrant. I think once it cools I’ll cut the loaf in half and slice the halves into three or four sandwich-sized slices – if that makes sense. Any idea what I could have done wrong volume wise?
I think the batter didn’t aerate enough. Is the bread slightly spongy at all or a really dense loaf?
Without any gluten or gum, this bread gets tricky to get it to maintain the aeration in the loaf because the lentils are heavy. It really needs to be well aerated and slightly fermented. You might have better luck making it into buns in a muffin pan as a bit here and there aeration will not be as crucial.
It’s a dense loaf, but a dollop of batter floated in water so I figured it was aerated. I’ll try fermenting the batter next time. I’m at high altitude if that matters. Thanks again…love the blog!
hmm, I think the high altitude could have mattered. I am not sure. This is such a different kind of bread that you’d really have to work it out to see how it works best for you. thanks for trying it!
So delicious! I am so happy to have this wonderful, easy gluten-free bread recipe. I cannot wait to have the grandchildren try it.
Awesome! I can’t wait for them to try it as well.
They were really well as bagels! Form them with wet hands, bake them on parchment lined pan, and follow the baking directions as normal for a loaf. Makes 4 bagels.
Great! Awesome! I bake them in doughnut pan for bagels.
Definitely trying this one. Starting to love what I can do with urad dal. I made a dip using it and it was great. Just a little worried about the taste. Will my family like it? Will have to try and see I guess
Hi Darine, Make a small batch. Quarter the recipe and bake it into muffins like you would corn muffins. Bake time would reduce to probably 25 minutes. Cover the muffins after the first 15 minutes of baking. if the flavor doesnt go well with everyone you can chop them up and bake into spiced and herb croutons.
Hi Richa,
sorry, I do not understand why you wrote yeast free and in the recipes every time I find backing powder?…is not the same thing?
yeast is active yeast which gets activated when you mix it with warm water and sugar and then add flours etc, then let the dough sit and rise for an hour or so, then bake to make a sandwich bread. Most sandwich breads use yeast. Baking powder is a powder you mix into the flours, make a batter and bake immediately. they are different leavening agents.
Hi Richa
I came across your bread recipe and it sounds wonderful, would like to try it on the weekend, but I am starting grain free living and wantedto ask you if there is a grain free substitute for the rice flour, also can I use arrowroot flour instead of thr corn starch or tapioca, and also if I were to use urdi daal flour how many cups would that be still?
Thank you
Karlah
You can use more urad dal lentils instead of rice flour. i havent tried arrowroot in the recipe. it should work out ok as it is a small amount.
You cannot use urad dal flour. The flour doesnt ferment as well and the bread will turn out too dense.
This is a great blog. I love eating and making bread myself. I have been looking for different bread recipes like this one. Thanks for sharing . I’m so excited to try this. Certainly it will be great. I love using my bread machine but for this one I can’t use it. After try this one , I will try your other bread recipes for my bread machine. I am looking forward to your other recipes:)