Basic Slicable Loafpan Gluten-Free Bread

I am happy to present a revised, simplified gluten-free loaf of bread, xanthan and guar gum-free as ever, faster than the soaked recipe I posted previously to prepare. Family-approved. I've been using some version of this for months, but as Ambrose's preschool teacher requested a formal recipe I rolled up my sleeves and wrote down some numbers as I went. Enjoy!

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1 1/2 c warm water
1 tbsp dry active yeast
1/2 tbsp salt
2 c white rice flour
1/2 c buckwheat flour
1/4 ground flax
2 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients first, then stir everything else in willy-nilly. No need to knead. Turn into a buttered bread pan (if your home isn't gluten-free, be sure there are no traces of wheat bread crumbs on the pan!). Let rise 2 hours. Bake 400 F for 30 m, then pop out of the pan and continue to bake on bread stone, or oven wire racks, for 10-15 minutes till golden-brown and very fragrant. Let cool fully before slicing.

tomatoes in winter (well, technically spring I guess!)

Sometimes, you just need the taste of sunshine in your mouth!

Ketchup, fermenting with kefir whey - the recipe is a mix between that of Beautiful Babies and The Joy of Cooking - strained tomatoes, kefir whey, apple cider vinger, diced red pepper and onion, ground mustard powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, crushed chillis, a dash of ground cloves, a bit of ground cinnamon, a bit of smoked paprika... excited! Last time I tried fermented ketchup it was the recipe from Nourishing Traditions, which includes fish sauce, and it just got fishier and fishier, ew. I have high hopes for this one, it smells fabulous! It will stay out several days to ferment then go in the fridge.

Cherry tomatoes were on sale, so I have some tomato-basil foccacia rising for my dear Tony.

GF bread video

Howdy folks! Today my lovely in-laws came raving about the bread I served them last week, recipe here, and they insisted on buying some flour to use to make some at home. It inspired me to bake my own batch. As I hummed along it really occurred to me that some of you bakers might think you've gone wrong when you see the texture of the dough, so I've made a video of me forming the loaves to reassure you that this is quite normal! Sorry for the awful lighting, and happy baking!

soaked gluten-free bread

OH MY GOD I JUST ATE A TUNA SALAD SANDWICH FOR LUNCH!! IT HAS BEEN MONTHS SINCE I'VE HAD A SANDWICH!! OR BREAD, FOR THAT MATTER!!

(Deep breaths)

This recipe is heavily adapted from The Wheat-Free Cook, which I found at the library and is really a delightful little gem (it's totally GF, not just WF), full of chestnuts and wine sauces and fennel and coffee cake and lovely things. I changed the flours, the liquid, and the preparation method - but I am very grateful to the book for being an awesome springboard.

So without further ado...

In the evening, combine:

1/2 c each buckwheat flour, ground flax, rice flour and corn flour (you can sub the corn and rice flours for other light flours like potato, possibly quinoa, etc. but I recommend keeping the buckwheat or at least the flax; don't attempt this with no flax)
1 c yogurt (full-fat, strongly fermented if possible, definitely with live cultures)
1 1/2 c water

(Why do we do an overnight soak? For an intro to soaking to reduce phytic acid, you might read some of Katie of Kitchen Stewardship's posts on the subject - Exploring Soaking Grains: What are Phytates and Phytic Acid?, or see her entire list of posts on the topic, Soaking Grains: An Exploration. You can also get the pioneer research paper that started the whole internet soaking/phytic acid awareness phenomenon from Amanda Rose's website, here, which I have purchased, printed, and recommend.)

In the morning, preheat the oven to 400 F, then stir in:

1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or butter)
1 egg, beaten

Mixture will be wet (if you are not familiar with the texture of wet dough, like in the AB5 method, you may think your dough has gone horribly wrong and that you have some kind of thick pancake batter - FEAR NOT! You have it exactly right!). Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. With wet hands, split dough in half and form into two rounds on the cookie sheet, flattening and evening them to about 3/4 inch tall or so (work calmly but quickly, as it is very wet and will slip through your hands if you dilly-dally). Sprinkle some extra rice flour on top.

Bake 30 minutes on the parchment paper, then move directly onto your baking stone and continue for another 15-20 minutes (or if you have no baking stone, of course just keep them on the sheet, or try putting them directly on the wire racks of the oven), until the crust is a deep golden brown.

Let cool on wire racks.

For a sweet version, include 1 c raisins or dates in the evening soak, and stir in 1/2 tbsp cinnamon and 2-3 tbsp honey in the morning, to taste.

Update: There is now a follow-up video post in which you can see me forming the loaves, so if the texture seems impossible to you, watch this first before trying to fix it or throwing it out! Check it out!

gluten tortillas

For Heather, who requested my recipe! It's from The Joy of Cooking, I believe (long since copied into my notebook).

2 c glutinous flour (wheat, kamut, spelt, rye...)
1 tsp baking power
1 tsp salt
1/4 c lard (home-rendered, like from the drip tray of a Foreman grill or similar, not Crisco!), butter, or coconut oil, in order of preferability
3/4 c hot water

Sift dry ingredients, then work in lard as you would for pastry. Add hot water, mix, then knead 4-6 minutes by hand or machine. Let rest 20 minutes. Preheat cast iron pan (or whatever you have) over medium-low heat (I use one setting below medium). Divide into 8-12 balls (depending on size desired).  Roll them out on a floured surface, one at a time. Cook about a minute on the first side, till the pockets of air have been growing rapidly for about 5 seconds (the expansion of these pockets starts slow, with small, slow bubbles, then gets rapid; we are watching rapid action), then flip. Cook the second side about 10-20 seconds. Each side should have a handful of light brownish spots. Transfer to a large plate and cover with a cloth, stacking each on top of the other as you go. Once all cooked, seal in a Ziploc bag. Note that if you let them sit out they will get hard; to be flexible they must maintain moisture, which is why you trap them while hot under a cloth and why you must put them in plastic (or use a beeswax cloth!). Note also that this process does not work for gluten-free tortillas, like corn tortillas, which must be made with a tortilla press (no, I don't own one, yes, it's on my amazon wishlist, teeheehee!) - rolling does not work with gluten-free doughs unless you have certain extras like eggs, or xanthan gum, and even then it's usually very delicate business!

I make these often for taco night, when I just make myself taco salad (eg taco fixins in a bowl with no bread). Ambrose also loves them as a snack.

There you are, Heather! Sooo much cheaper than buying them! ;)

Lunch

Zataar, onion, garlic & mozzarella flatbread!

flour tortillas

This is my normal tortilla recipe - from the Joy of Cooking. But I wanted to poke around online a bit for something else... while it's worked fine in the past, it calls for lard, and I never have lard, so I always go through this confused "butter or oil?? butter or oil??" conundrum when I want to make them (yes, my life is hard).

So I found this recipe - I love this blogger: "I am so in love with these tortillas that I found myself just staring at them with a silly grin plastered on my face, amazed at what I had made. My friends think I’m a little nuts for my obsession, and maybe I am, but who cares? It may have taken me many years, but at last I have cooked homemade flour tortillas I am pleased and proud to not only eat myself but to share with the world." LOL hahahhha. Don't you love her? She sounds like a Leek Geek at heart.

Will be making them shortly to go with these lentil tacos - I'm pleased at the prospect because as long as I've been buying lentils (about 10 years now!) I've stuck to red, because they cook so fast, but I decided to branch out and get green. They are slower, but hold their shape better when cooked, and have a bit of a different flavour. I'm also eager to see how they compare to TVP tacos and tofu tacos. The goodness is simmering on the stove right at this moment (I'll be out most of the afternoon so I want to have supper ready to slap together when we get home!).

What is your tortilla recipe?