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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 or from an Indian store (much cheaper). This bread also obviously has the strong taste of the dal. If you have tried South Indian food, then you might know and its taste.
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 great blog Richa. I wish I am as creative as you are. I also don’t have much time in my hands for baking. I’d love to try this recipe but I think it’s not possible in a bread machine right? If you have vegan bread machine recipes, do you have a suggestion? I’d appreciate it very much. Thanks!
I dont have a bread machine unfortunately. i find the machine too restrictive to use 🙂 you can make most of my sandwich bread recipes in a bread machine though. See the bread category on the blog. https://www.veganricha.com/category/bread
If using whole black lentil would change the texture or only colour? I really want to make this bread but amazon is not convenient for me 🙂 Here in romania, black lentil is available though. Thanks for your wonderful recipes… I am enjoying them more than I expected!
It will not affect the texture, but be ready for a greyish color. 🙂 black lentils are not the same as black gram lentils which is what i am talking about on the post. black gram lentils look like black mung beans. black lentils are beluga lentils which will have the same problem as any other lentil that is they will not aerate as well and lead to a denser bread.
Thanks so much for pointing out the difference. What I have is called Urid Whole but I found something named Urid Dal Chilka (is this the split version?)Looks like this: https://www.ki-life.ro/Linte-neagra-(Urid-Dal-Chilka)-500-g?search=linte&sort=p.model&limit=24
Phew I am glad I didn’t buy beluga. 🙂
At this moment I am curious about that texture you are talking about so I will experiment the grey bread :)) Such fun!
yes the urid dal chilka will work fine. its the same lentil but with skin. Let me know how it turns out!
Can arrowroot starch work in place of cornstarch? I have an abundance of it.
Sure, arrowroot starch will work too.
Wow, this look amazing!
I’d love it if you would share over at our Waste Not Want Not Wednesday link party!
P.S. Your photography is beautiful!
Wow, I just came across this recipe by chance! I am so happy I found it. I can’t have gluten, yeast, or dairy, so this is so perfect. And I LOVE dosa, I bet this bread tastes great!
If using urad dal flour, how much water do
I add, please?
Thank you
Donna, this bread will not work out well with urad flour as the batter will be aerate enough and will have a tendency to make a really dense bread.
I made the Ural dal lentil bread recipe with Masoor dal – I simply could not wait until I got to the store to give this recipe a try! It works fine with the red lentils, although it is a little dense. Toasts up nicely and tastes great with some avocado smeared on top!
I will be making another batch with Urad dal too!!!
yay! i can imagine it would be denser than urad dal. i’ve made fat pancakes with lentil based and urad based batters and the urad dal makes lighter fluffier pancakes. so glad it worked out decently with the red lentils as well!
I have been looking for a fabulous bread recipe like this one! Thanks for sharing!
Can we skip the flaxseeds? Or is there a substitute? Haven’t heard of them in India.
I am so excited to find a vegan, yeast free sandwich bread. Thanks very very much for posting this.
its called alsi, isli or javas in hindi. you can omit them.
Woww! You made bread with urad daal?! You are creative genius! Can’t wait to try this! 🙂