The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of single fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum 1 (JC5) and Lactobacillus plantarum JCM1149 (C20), from one to 4 days, on the physicochemical and rheological properties of fermented quinoa doughs to make soft bread. A full factorial design using an ANOVA and Tukey test (p < .05) was used to evaluate the effects of two factors: bacterial strain (two levels) and fermentation time (four levels). The structure of the starch granules from fermented and unfermented quinoa, and wheat, using scanning electron microscopy were observed. Fermentation yielded doughs with higher soluble protein content and better textural properties than the unfermented quinoa dough after 2 days of fermentation by each strain, obtaining breads with a homogeneous porous crumb, good sensory quality, and high nutritional value. These results showed that it is possible to develop gluten-free breads with 100% of fermented quinoa. Practical application The results of this research will help both the bread making and cereal industries to design production processes taking into account fermentation technologies, aiming at improving rheological and nutritional properties of gluten-free breads. Furthermore, the culture media used in this study is a potential alternative to decrease costs linked to the amount of MRS (deMan-Rogosa-Sharpe) broth which are usually required to perform biotechnological processes. Finally, this research analyzes likely relationships among rheological properties of doughs and breads in order to anticipate textural quality of these baked goods.