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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 sounds great. I’m anxious to try it but I have black Urad and I’m not sure what to use it for. I don’t imagine it will work for this because it’s whole.
It will work, but the color will be off and the smell of the lentils will be stronger. Try it with urad dal one before so you get the flavor and texture right.
This is awesome! I never knew you could make a bread with urad dal! One question – my FP is not working currently. Do you think I can use an Indian stone grinder to grind it (like the south indian vada) ? Using a blender won’t work without water/liquid. I currently grind idli/dosa batters using my stone grinder. Thanks so much.
yes you can follow same method as vada. Let the mixture ferment by sitting for a bit. The lighter the batter, the higher the bread will rise.
How come every new email I get from you has this attached to it?
“This message may not have been sent by: richahingle@gmail.com Learn more Report phishing”
BTW- I LOVE your site.
hmm maybe some rules changed with feedburner or gmail? I checked the feed email mail on my yahoo account and i dint see it.
Hi Richard
Love your blog and have your fab book.
Could I double this recipe to make a bigger loaf of would all those lentils be too heavy? Have just made this bread and am waiting for it to come out of the oven. Can’t wait…
Hi Kate – I do not think doubling would work. It will make it too heavy to rise.
Thank you very much for your quick response. I am anxious to try this recipe! 🙂
Hi, can I make this bread without the rice flour ? I’m trying to exclude all grains from my diet . Thanks .
Yes, use more of the lentils.
Hi, Do you have calorie count for the bread? Thank you
I dont unfortunately. if you do calculate it, do leave it in the comments.
oh wait, someone posted above -” 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.”
Hi Richa. I would like to give a tip for those having a hard time finding Urad Dal (Vigna mungo). It’s possible to replace it with Cowpeas (Black-eyed peas – Vigna unguiculata). Urad Dal and Black-eyed peas are from the same cultivated genus Vigna. Black-eyed pea batter aerates by itself just like Urad Dal batter does. Here in Brazil we can even buy split and skinned cowpeas which look a lot like split and skinned urad dal.
Thats interesting. I am going to try it with cowpeas and will update the post if it works!
Thank you for many great recipes! I could not get it to buble ore to float..I used broken flax seeds maybe that’s the problem? The batre was very sticky.I put it in the oven anyway hope something will come out that is ok ????
Hope it turned out well.
I can’t thank you enough for this recipe!! 2nd time making it. This time, i kept the salt in, fermented for 5 hours, 1 tsp baking powder and i add a tsp of Italian seasoning and waited until the next day to slice. Used my electric knife. I wish i could post a picture. One question. It doesn’t really rise. Is there way to get the loaf more sandwichy-higher like in your picture?
Great! Yes, it doesnt rise much because of the weight of the lentils, but it should get a bit aerated because of the fermentation. If you make it into muffins, the rise is more visible. I use a medium loaf pan 8.5 by 4.5, so the batter already fills up high in the pan and bakes to just a bit of rise.