Sunday, September 02, 2012

Gluten Free Bread

I don't think that I could do this gluten free diet without access to some form of gluten free bread.  I occasionally like to have toast for breakfast (maybe a little more often, now that most of my favorite cereals are off limits), and I need something to dip in my soup or put a hamburger patty on.  I tried my first batch of gluten free bread last weekend and was pretty impressed with the result.  It tasted much better than any of the store-bought gluten free bread I have tried.  However, I did find that, as I ate it throughout the week I did notice that it was dry and rather crumbly.  It makes decent toast, but was not something that I would probably make again.

I started doing some research for other gluten free bread and came across this recipe.  After reading some of the reviews I made a few modifications based on my experiences so far, and it is just great.  It has a nice spongy texture that wheat bread has.  I am curious to see how it will toast and how it will taste when it is fully cooled and sliced.  I will share the recipe with the substitutions I made.

Gluten Free Flax Bread

1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp salt (which I realized that I forgot to add, and I think the bread could use a little salt)
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup of water or milk (I used water because we were out of milk)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp brown sugar (though next time I might use agave nectar)
2 tsp vinegar

Directions:
1) Combine flours, starches, flax, yeast, salt and xanthan gum in a bowl, whisk well.
2) Combine eggs, water or milk, oil, sugar and vinegar in the bowl of your mixer.  Beat to combine.
3) Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined.  Scrape down bowl then mix on medium speed for approximately 4-5 minutes.
4) Lightly grease a 5x9 loaf pan and scrape the dough into the pan.  Smooth out the top of the loaf and allow to rise in a warm place until the dough reaches the top of the pan (for me this took about 70-80 minutes).
5) Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until the bread is nice and brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
6) Use oven mitts and immediately turn the bread out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool. Enjoy!

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