Thursday, February 28, 2013

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!

4 comments:

  1. Have I ever told you that you're a genius?

    If not--

    YOU'RE A GENIUS. This looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ps: what is it like? Is it soft? hard? does it keep for a while like gluten breads?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's very soft! It keeps as does any other grain bread, at room temp for a few days or longer in the fridge.

      Delete
  3. Any replacement for the yogurt?

    ReplyDelete