First Successful Attempt of Gluten Free Sandwich Loaf


If you are on gluten free diet, you will know how hard it is to find gluten free bread that's eggless. Most gluten free bread has eggs in it to replace the gluten and to give better texture to the bread. Eggs also make the bread less crumbly. In Vancouver area I found gluten free loaves sold at Costco under Little Northern Bakehouse brand are the best in term of texture and they're eggless. Costco's pricing also make them more affordable. I think last I bought was like CAD10 for 2 loaves. But that's quite a while ago.

With seasons getting colder and pandemic still looming. Keeping bread in the freezer seems like a waste of space. Beside nothing better than taste of freshly made bread. 💓😍

So I'm on a quest to find that gluten free sandwich bread recipe that I could easily recreate at my own kitchen. So far this one came out pretty good. Though not without a few negative things.

Thank you to Lindsay Cotter for her Easy Homemade Vegan Bread, this is the link to her site. She uses Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. I found a posting by Flo and Grace about composition of flour used to make up Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free AP. I came out with my own version based on that recipe - see my notes here.



The recipe below has been adjusted to what I had on hand when testing out the recipe

INGREDIENTS

192 gr besan flour
96 gr sweet potato starch
48 gr tapioca starch
48 gr millet 

2/3 cup (158 gr) warm water 95-105℉ for proofing
3 tsp sugar
3 tsp dry active yeast

1 tbs baking powder (make sure it’s not expired)
2 + 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp fine kosher salt
2 tbsp avocado oil
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1/2 c to 2/3 cup warm water (extra as needed) *Note* Adjust water usage depending on flour. You want the consistency to be somewhat sticky but not runny. The more water you, the softer the bread.

INSTRUCTIONS

Proof yeast. Place active dry yeast in 2/3 c warm water (95-105℉) and mix with sugar. Let is sit for 5 minutes.  If it bubbles, it’s active. Set aside until ready to use.

The original recipe calls using stand mixer. I don't have one 😅 so I hand mixed the dry ingredients. Then add the yeast mixture in. Stir with the spatula then add oil and vinegar. Mix well, then add 1/2 cup of warm water until you get soft sticky dough, similar to pizza dough. If the dough seems too dry (depending on the kind of flour you’re using), mix in any extra water only as needed (2 tbsp – 1/3 c should be enough ).

Shape the sticky dough to the shape of the bread pan. Place the dough straight into a parchment lined bread pan – 8×4 or 9×5 pan. Spread dough in pan with wet hands.

Cover pan with cotton towel and place in a warm place until doubled in size. The dough usually takes 70 minutes to 90 minutes to rise. Longer if your environment is cold or too dry. See notes for tips!
After dough has risen, gently score the top with serrated knife, dust with flour, then bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 35 to 55 minutes (internal temperature needs to reach 210-212). Brushing with 1 TBSP melted vegan butter 10 minutes before done (optional).

Let bread cool on counter for 10 minutes to 15 minutes before slicing into it. This bread is freezer friendly!




My loaf came out dense. The baking time was pretty long - about an hour and 10 minutes. The outer layer was hard. The texture inside was nice once I could get over the outer later. 😅

Upon reading the recipe again, I realized both times (the loaf and also the buns) I didn't let the dough rise enough. I was operating on assumption that gluten free bread is different. 😏






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