We have tried various GF breads including bakery made and those found in the frozen food section of the grocery store. None have been particularly great, but they have generally toasted pretty well or made a good grilled sandwich. Well, I am excited to share this bread recipe! I have now made it several times with consistent results and the best part is: it makes great sandwiches!
Tender Gluten Free Bread
(recipe adapted from Barefeet In The Kitchen)
1 cup white rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)
1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup sweet rice flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. I make this with my KitchenAid mixer, but you could use a hand mixer.
With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the warm milk. The mixture will be crumbly at first but will start to form a dough once all of the milk is added. After the milk, add the 1/4 cup softened butter, cut into small slices. Mix until thoroughly blended.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing between each egg until thoroughly combined. Once all the eggs have been added, beat the mixture at high speed for 3 minutes. THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT! The mixing adds air to this thick batter which helps take the place of the missing gluten creating a fluffier loaf of bread.
After 3 minutes, the batter will resemble a thick, buttercream icing. It will not look like a typical yeast dough. The dough will be very sticky. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and leave the batter in the bowl for the first rise. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap letting it rise for 90 minutes. It won't completely double in size, but it will puff up considerably.
Lightly grease a 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan with butter. Gently stir the batter down. Scrape it into the prepared pan. The dough should still be wet and not at all knead-able. It should remind you of a very thick batter at this stage. Using dampened fingers, smooth the top, eliminating as many wrinkles, bubbles or creases as possible. The smoother your loaf is before the final rise, the smoother it will be once baked.
Loosely cover the pan with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap and let the dough rise again for 90 minutes. It will likely just crown over the rim of the pan. Near the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
(The dough will be delicate so avoid touching it as any marks will remain in the finished loaf.)
Bake the bread for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and immediately turn your loaf out onto a cooling rack. Brush lightly with melted butter to help keep the crust soft. Slice when completely cool.
ENJOY!
I made heart shaped cut-out cookies for Valentine's Day. This is a recipe I adapted from an old family recipe passed down from my Grandmother, Vivian.
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Mix
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
With your mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs mixing between each until well blended, followed by vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine baking mix, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla mixing until well blended. The dough will be soft. Chill for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into 4 sections. Roll out each section on a GF floured surface to about 1/8" thickness. Use desired cookie cutters. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until edges are slightly golden brown.
Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes then transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
