The recipe for this white, gluten free, regular size bread loaf is based on the yeast dough, flexible enough to be used for practically anything: bread, buns, pastries, scrolls, flat, ciabatta type bread, brioche type buns, etc. The only difference in the recipe for plain bread is the reduced sugar quantity. The dough is very easy to prepare, I made it more than 10 times now, to bake variety of products, and it never failed, or gave problems at any stage of dough preparation, proving or baking. The flour mix for this bread is simple – millet and white rice flour, and tapioca starch/flour in equal quantities with addition of golden flaxseed flour, now readily available in Australian supermarkets.
This bread differs from my other gluten free loaf recipes, as well as from many other typical gluten free available bread recipes, which have several systemic specific features. Gluten free yeast bread loaf needs a delicate balance of the dough texture to rise and to keep its shape, and to not be deflated when cooled down. Too dense dough will have problems rising, the softer the dough, the better yeast works. With well risen dough there is always a problem of proper baking, to make sure that the middle of the loaf would not be too wet and the texture would solidify in cold bread. Practically all types of gluten free yeast bread need to be completely cooled down to be nicely and easily cut.
The recipe, presented below, addresses all these issues and gives a bread loaf that raises without difficulties (I do it in a very warm, switched off oven). It is the only bread that did not shrink during baking, if anything, it had even risen a bit during initial baking stage. The loaf top did not cave in and it was possible to slice the loaf when it was still very warm. The loaf was fully baked and was not wet inside at all.
In terms of taste and texture, the bread is light and soft, without having an empty feel, as some types of sandwich bread I had before coeliac era had. Light and airy, this bread still has some body to it. All these features were possible to achieve with introduction of extra quantities of protein to support the texture of the loaf. Protein came from natural sources – eggs and sour cream. I noticed a long time ago, that sour cream is a better source of fat in gluten free bread dough. Calculation of the same fat content as in a rich yeast dough I make with butter, but introduced into the dough in the form of sour cream, brings along a lot of protein as well. Sour cream in terms of wet or dry ingredients is considered as wet, replacing butter and water. The dough is so structurally sound, that I considered baking the loaf not even in a regular size bread loaf pan, but in a wide one (13cm x 23cm).
Another specific feature of this bread is the presence of sometimes truly large air pockets in the middle of the loaf, which is absolutely perfect for making French toast.
This bread is delicious without being toasted, but for a longer storage, keeps well frozen.
I freeze bread slices on a wire rack first, and transfer it later into a plastic container or zipped bag.
Ingredients:
- 100g rice flour (Well and Good)
- 100g millet flour (Well and Good)
- 100g tapioca flour (Well and Good)
- 20g golden flaxseed flour (Waltanna Farms)
- 20g sugar (you can decrease sugar quantity to 15g)
- 6g sea salt (Saxa non-iodised)
- 6g xanthan gum (Well and Good)
- 100g full fat 35% sour cream (Coles brand), room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temparature
- 1 sachet (7g) instant dry yeast
- 130g warm water
extra
- butter to grease the pan, if not using paper liners
- butter to brush on top of the loaf to make the crust a touch softer if desired
Preparation:
Bread dough preparation details with step by step photos can be found here.
- use all mentioned in the recipe 20g of sugar to dissolve in warm water, before adding yeast to the liquid
- grease baking pan with butter, or (better) use loaf pan paper liners
- wet silicone spatula and collect all the dough from the bowl
- wet your hands, shape the dough close to the shape of baking pan
- drop the dough into the pan
- spread it evenly in the pan using wet hands
- cover the pan with a cling wrap
- let the dough rise in a warm environment until it doubles in volume (I switch the oven on for 3-5 min to warm it up, switch it off, leaving only the lights on), in my case the dough more than doubles in size
- the time depends on the temperature of wet ingredients to make the dough and the temperature of the environment for dough rising
- bake in preheated to 190-200C, time depends on your oven and the type of the baking pan you use (mine was 45 minutes)
- I took the risk and baked in my normal regime for baking scrolls and pastries, from the warm oven, I simply took the cling wrap off the pan, switched the oven to 200C, my bread was ready in 45 minutes
- let the bread rest, I do it in switched off oven, but this bread did not need to be completely cooled down, it can be cut and consumed still warm
To make French toast soak bread slices in eggs, lightly mixed with milk or water, fry them in butter on both sides until golden brown, serve with jam or sugar. I like it with some aromatic sugars, Panela, coconut, or Demerara.
I would consider this bread as the easiest yeast gluten free bread from my own recipes. In terms of taste it is a good, if not excellent quality, white sandwich bread, but it is not my favourite, I like my more dense and chewy, grey in colour bread, made from more heavy flour mix with buckwheat and quinoa flours, and with coarse flaxseed meal, adding a nice bite to the texture of the bread. I always liked dense, heavy, dark bread, with a chewy texture and strong crust, which I can replicate now gluten free. But for those who craves quality white bread, in its gluten free version, this is the one.
Cooking Without Gluten 