Wednesday, December 28, 2011

My Chef Tess Gluten Free Bread (Whole Grain and Divine!)

 I have heard the cries of my gluten free friends for far too long and I'm finally happy to report that I've perfected my own recipe for remarkable tasty gluten free bread. Auntie Em can now have a sandwich on something besides rice cakes. Hallelujah! Or in her words, "Halle-freakin'-loooooja!" 


I tried several recipes from a lot of different sources and never really found one that I liked enough to post on my blog. I'm picky about bread.  Some of the loaves I saw were pretty...ugly. They didn't look like sandwich bread. In fact, the number one complaint I hear about converting to a gluten free life...is the lack of really good bread. Gooooood bread. Bread that tastes like the bread you "left behind" to become gluten free.  So, I've been playing with some good GF flours and starches...and look! It slices like bread, it is mild and nutty whole grain bread not overloaded with simple starches. Auntie Em is also diabetic so we can't go crazy with the starch.  I went so far as to get several different gluten free bread mixes to see what they were using. Still...this homemade one has been the best to date. 
 Look! It's really bread!

You will need some Tapioca flour.

Here's the 411. Tapica flour is also known as Tapioca starch. This flour, made from cassava root is primarily used to thicken sauces or add chewiness to lighten baked goods. The 4 lb bag was right around 7$ at Honeyville Farms in Chandler, AZ. 

You will also need some good  whole grain sorghum flour. I really adore how sorghum bakes.  I found this at Preparing Wisely in Mesa, AZ. I prefer the fine grind if you can find it. 

You will also need brown rice flour. I got some outstanding Honeyville Farms  brown rice flour that I used in conjunction with the sorghum. It was a remarkable. 

Next you'll also need some Xanthan gum. 
It mimics gluten in baked goods and is 100% natural. 


 Chef Tess Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
1/3 cup egg whites
1 egg
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
1 1/2 cups warm skim milk (or soy milk)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
2 cup whole grain sorghum flour ( I love Twin Valley Mills Sorghum flour)
1 ½ cup Honeyville Farms  brown rice flour
1T active dry yeast

Directions:  In a gallon size mixer bowl combine salt, xanthan gum, tapioca flour, sorghum flour, and brown rice flour.


 Combine egg, egg whites, vinegar, olive oil, honey and milk in a bowl. Add the yeast to the wet ingredients.


Combine wet and dry ingredients and knead by hand 3-4 minutes. Honestly, you can use a spoon.

 The dough doesn't look like regular bread dough. It's more like a thick ice cream...but not cold...and sticky as heck-fire. Yes. Heck-fire is sticky. 

Form into a rough ball. Allow to sit 5-10 minutes. This gives the dough time to absorb the moisture so it can be formed into a descent loaf. Yeah. Most of the recipes I saw ended up more like a batter bread and the loaves looked really pathetic. Sorry to anyone who has made those posts and said they are great. I didn't see many that even looked like a normal loaf of sandwich bread. One even said, "look at this gorgeous loaf!" I was looking...alas. I digress. 


Sprinkle counter top with ¼ cup extra sorghum flour. Put dough on counter and gently form into a loaf by rolling into a log shape. Use a light hand and cover with more flour if needed.


 Lightly grease an 9 inch by 4 inch bread pan.   Leave uncovered on the counter 45 minutes. I slashed the top of the loaf with a knife just before baking so it would look more like regular baked bread when it raised in the oven. Don't be afraid, but it won't raise much on the counter.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 350 degrees 60-65 minutes until 170 degrees internal temperature.


 When bread is finished, let cool 10-15 minutes before removing from pan.


 Slice with a very sharp bread knife after bread has cooled. Wrap tightly after bread cools to reserve moisture. 


I've found that letting the bread cool completely before slicing is the best for great thin slices. 

 The texture, flavor, and keeping quality are amazing. Just be sure to keep the bread in a plastic bag. Yeah baby!  Bread is back!
There you go! Make some gluten free bread! 


Get the printable recipe Here.

For those here local, remember I'll be teaching  a free class on gluten free baking Tuesday Jan. 3rd at 10 AM at our local Honeyville Farms store in Chandler. This will be  a wonderful class for those wanting some great pointers on baking and cooking with a gluten free lifestyle. 

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

8 comments:

mlebagley said...

STEPH! The gluten free fairy delivered the goods today and I'm making a loaf of this tomorrow! I'm SO EXCITED! Gluten free bread that actually is shaped in a loaf, and looks like real bread...I might actually get to make ham and cheese french toast again! Yahoo! Round that out with a plate of gluten free chocolate chip cookies and I will officially be one happy gluten free soul! Yay for yummy food without the tummy ache! Thanks SO MUCH!

The Gatherers said...

Thanks so much! Can't wait to make this!

Connie said...

I'm looking to use this in my food storage, so I'd like to know if I can simply use powdered eggs in place of the egg and egg whites? If so, how much? Can I use granulated honey (or sucanat or date sugar)? If so, how much liquid do I need to add? Can I use coconut oil instead of olive oil?

I guess I should really ask: how can this recipe be converted to a ready-to-go food storage recipe?

Many thanks, Tess. I'm really enjoying your blog and videos!

Chef Tess said...

Connie I'll have to work on that. What a great idea!!

Anonymous said...

Hi your bread looks awesome. Hoping to tackle it soon. Just have a few questions. 1. I see that you don't say anything about proofing the yeast. And your recipe doesn't call for instant bread yeast. Is proofing not really necessary? 2. Can I use liquid egg whites in the carton? 3. I mix my own flour blend with 70% whole grain and 30% starches from glutenfreegirl recipe. Can I use 4 1/2 cups of that in place of your individual flours? Thanks so much

Anonymous said...

Hi, this bread looks great. I've been baking GF bread for 6 months now with ok results. Your method and others I follow are quite different. I'm anxious to try I just have a couple of questions. 1. Can liquid egg whites be used? 2. There are no directions to proof the yeast and you don't state to use instant yeast in the recipe. How necessary is proofing? 3. All breads I've made say to bake to a temp of 200 and usually takes about 30 minutes. Yours is quite opposite. Does it really take almost an hour to bake this loaf to your suggested temperature. 3. And I've never kneaded GF bread, just plopped in the loaf pan after mixing it up and let it rise. Hope to try this one soon.

Unknown said...

Can rice or coconut vinegar be use? Cannot do white or cider vinegar here

The Happy Potter said...

any chance of an egg-free gluten-free bread?