How To Make Fluffy Gluten Free Bread
Being celiac or gluten intolerant can be far from easy. It involves a lot of time closely reading food labels and asking waiters about ingredients, not to mention a complete avoidance of most breads and pastas.
Finding a delicious gluten free bread is also a tough feat -- they're either too eggy (as eggs are commonly used to bind in place of gluten), too dense or taste like cardboard.
Enter this light, fluffy, bouncy and delicious gluten free bread recipe.
Made from a mix of rice, sorghum and tapioca flours and potato starch, this gluten free bread holds together well and slices like regular bread. You can even create variations of the bread by adding seeds or rosemary and olives to the dough.
Once you've got your loaf, you can use the slices just like you would normal bread -- try sandwiches, bruschetta, avo toast and cheese toasties.
Gluten free bread recipe
Recipe by Helen Tzouganatos, celiac food blogger of Hungry and Fussy.
"Finally, a great gluten free bread recipe that delivers a delicious, soft, moist loaf that bends and bounces and does everything normal bread does," Tzouganatos said.
"I tested every imaginable gluten free flour combination and consumed copious amounts of bread during the 'production phase' to perfect this recipe. I can proudly say my kids devour this beautiful bouncy loaf once it hits the kitchen bench.
"My favourite variation on the basic white loaf is rosemary and olive bread. The combination of plump juicy olives and fragrant rosemary reminds me of bakery bread in Greece. A drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt flakes on the dough prior to baking results in the most beautiful golden crust, so ensure you don't skip this step. You are now officially a gluten free baker."
Prep time: 15 minutes plus one hour rest. Cooking time: 55 minutes.
Makes one loaf.
INGREDIENTS
1¼ cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 x 7g yeast sachet
1 cup (120g) tapioca flour
1 cup (120g) sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
¾ (120g) potato starch
½ cup (70g) sorghum flour
2 teaspoons salt flakes
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
2 eggs lightly whisked, room temperature
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
METHOD
Add sugar and yeast to lukewarm water. Whisk together and let it stand for 15 minutes until mixture foams.
Sift flours, salt and xanthan gum together in a mixing bowl.
Add eggs, olive oil, vinegar and yeast mixture and beat to combine, scraping down sides halfway.
Spoon mixture into a 20x10cm loaf tin and cover with cling wrap. Allow bread to rise in a warm place for one hour until it doubles in size.
Preheat oven to 200°C. When oven is ready, drizzle olive oil on dough to create a golden crust when baked.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out dry.
Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool. This helps your crust stay crispy. Cool before slicing.
Tips
Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing to complete the cooking process. If you cut the loaf when it is hot, it may be gummy inside.
Brush your cling wrap with oil so the dough does not stick to it when rising.
Store in an airtight container once completely cool.
Variations
Rosemary and olive bread: Add two cups of pitted Kalamata olives and two tablespoons of chopped rosemary to dough mixture and mix to combine. Prior to baking, sprinkle rosemary and sea salt flakes on loaf and drizzle with extra olive oil. This loaf requires an extra five minutes of baking time due to extra moisture and volume from the olives.
Five seed bread: Add one tablespoon of each of the following seeds to dough mixture and combine: pepita seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, linseeds and chia seeds. Prior to spooning the dough into the tin, sprinkle sesame seeds on the base and sides of the tin to create a seeded crust.