I’m baaaaaack. Last week was the usual craziness-before-a-holiday that we can expect, and then I got sick with a fever and headcold on T-giving Day (what we all wish for, right?). So, blogging took a back burner.
However, I was feeling a bit better by this past Saturday, though I must have still been a bit foggy-brained from my headcold, because I actually believed I could take the plunge and make my first attempt at baking GF bread.
How did it go? All I can say is I wish I would have tried this sooner!
What gave me the kick in the seat to give it a try?I’ll admit that the very idea of making bread has had me wary for years, let alone attempting to make it GF. I’ve NEVER made bread before, and it always looked to me like something you have to master. All I had were visions of me trying to knead a glop of uncooperative “dough” (my pie crusts have been utter failures when it comes time to roll them out), the yeast having gluten, the dough not rising, or the bread coming out like a brick, or…you get the picture. (anyone else share in this “fear” of bread-making?)
It was two things really:
One, when I read that GF bread dough doesn’t even get kneaded – in fact you skip that step completely!
You just:
1. mix the batter (don’t even have to let the yeast soak either)
2. put it in the loaf pan and let it rise
3. throw it in the oven!
That’s it! Getting to skip steps makes ya kind of happy about GF bread versus gluten-filled, right?
Two, that there seems to be a very safe yeast by Red Star. After some research, this article by GlutenFreeGirl is what thoroughly convinced me to try it. This company goes beyond being just a producer of quality yeast and is really reaching out to GF consumers.
Need more convincing? Well, once you taste this bread, you won’t feel like you’re missing out on gluten-filled bread either. How about that? ;)
I used this recipe from Karina’s Kitchen for my back-bone (I’ve referred to her blog to inspire and help me for years now!), but I changed several ingredients, and also changed the process a bit as I don’t have a bread machine. Here goes!
You’ll Need:
Dry:
– 1 & 1/2 cup sorghum flour
– 1 cup tapioca flour/starch
– 1/2 cup brown rice flour
– 2 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 packet (or 2 & 1/4 tsp) rapid/instant dry yeast (I recommend Red Star yeast)
Wet:
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tbsp honey
– 1/2 tsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed ftw!)
– 2 eggs, beaten (or 2 tbsp flaxseed meal + 6 tbsp warm water. combine in separate dish and let soak a few mins)
– 1 & 1/4 cup warm (110-115 degrees F) water
*Note: All ingredients should be room temperature before starting so that the yeast will rise. Also, humidity and temperature affect dough – bread will rise higher on a hot day.
* This recipe makes 1 loaf
To Start:
– Combine wet (except the water) and dry ingredients in separate bowls.
– Using a hand beater or a mixer on a slow setting, add the dry mix into the wet in intervals.
– Still using the mixer, pour water into dough and mix on med-high setting until batter is a nice and semi-thick consistency.
– Pour dough into the bread loaf pan, then cover pan with plastic wrap and set in a dark corner to let the yeast rise for 45 mins to 1 hr.
– After dough has risen, heat oven to 350 F, remove plastic from pan, and bake in oven for 1 hour.
– A good test to know if the bread is baked thoroughly is sticking a baking thermometer into the bread – it should read 208 F when done.
