Gluten-free Baguette Recipe from Gluten-free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day


Photo credit: Stephen Scott Gross
I recently reviewed the new book Gluten-free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe François.  They have given me permission to share one of the recipes with you.  It's one that I've tried several times and I've gotten to love making it on a regular basis.

If you don't have the book in hand yet, here's a recipe to get you started.  It's reprinted with permission
from the Bread in 5 team.  You can take a look at GFBreadin5.com for more information.

Gluten-Free Baguette
Recipe adapted from Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and used with permission
©2014, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François

Makes eight ½-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
This beautiful and crispy loaf is the symbol of France. Our gluten-free version is just as gorgeous and delicious.  We brush the top of the loaf with egg white wash to create a glossy crust, but in a pinch, water will do.
Ingredients

6½ cups of gluten-free all-purpose flour (see GFBreadIn5.com/GFmix)
1 tablespoon granulated yeast
1-1½ tablespoons kosher salt [or 2 tsp. table salt- Gina]
2 tablespoons sugar or honey
3¾ cups lukewarm water (100°F or below) [I sometimes had to use more - Gina]

Cornmeal or parchment paper, for the pizza peel

Egg white wash (1 egg white plus 1 tablespoon water), for top of loaf

·       Mixing and storing the dough: Whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and sweetener in a 5- to 6-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

·       Add the water and mix with a spoon or a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle.

·       Cover (not airtight), and rest at room temperature until the dough rises, about 2 hours.

·       The dough can be used immediately after rising, though it’s easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 10 days. Or freeze for up to 4 weeks in 1-pound portions and thaw in the refrigerator overnight before use.

·       On baking day: Dust the surface of the dough with rice flour, pull off a  ½ -pound (orange-size) piece, and place it on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal (use plenty) or parchment paper. Gently press and pat it into a log-shape with tapered ends, using wet fingers to smooth the surface. Allow to rest for about 40 minutes, loosely covered with plastic wrap or a roomy overturned bowl. During this time, the dough may not seem to rise much, which is normal.

·       Preheat a baking stone near the middle of the oven to 450°F (20 to 30 minutes), with an empty metal broiler tray on any shelf that won’t interfere with rising bread.

·       Brush the top with egg white wash, and then slash, about ½-inch deep, with a wet serrated bread knife.

·       Slide the loaf onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until richly browned and firm.

·       Allow to cool completely on a rack before eating.
The authors answer questions at GFBreadin5.com, where you’ll also find recipes, photos, videos and instructional material.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I made this bread yesterday i halved the recipe but The result I got was a very dense and hard bread. very bland also I don't know why because I followed the recipe properly is there any way this recipe can be written in grams I converted everything to gram myself but maybe I got it wrong. thanks for your help
February 25, 2015 at 11:44 PM
Gina said…
The book has all the ingredients in grams, and they may have a table somewhere on their website. I think the issue with this recipe, as I discussed in the review of the book and noted in the recipe, is that I had to add a lot more water than what they suggested. If the dough comes out too dense it doesn't rise properly and therefore doesn't develop lots of flavor.
February 26, 2015 at 1:58 PM
Eric Cerda said…
I'm curious about how much extra water you were using to make this recipe, in general. I made it a couple of times as well, but found I had to add more water, also. But then I was sort of winging it and I think I just plain added too much water because the baguettes were cooked to temp, but kept a sticky crumb inside, and sometimes a little too dense.
November 3, 2015 at 12:27 AM
Gina said…
It's been a while since I have used this recipe but my notes say I added an extra 100g of water to this recipe, or almost a cup. I also noted that I should keep adding water until my stand mixer stopped straining to mix it, or that I'd definitely need to use the paddle attachment rather than the dough hook. I was mostly using the psyllium husk version of the recipe. I suspect that it would vary based on how humid it is out - the recipe creators live in St. Louis, which is pretty humid. The first time I made it was an unusually dry summer day in Oregon. I hope that helps!
November 3, 2015 at 6:23 PM
charlottemama said…
Don’t understand why the recipe calls for so much yet you only use an “orange-size” chunk of dough for the baguette? Wouldn’t it make more sense to just list half the ingredients, or are we supposed to
Make 4 baguettes?
March 30, 2021 at 2:39 PM
Gina said…
Hi Charlottemama,

This recipe makes a bulk of dough and that you store in the fridge. The idea is that you can grab a different size ball of dough for whatever you want to make from the bulk ferment. So you could bake something different each day. The dough saves pretty well for, if I remember, about a week, probably more. So if you want two baguettes you grab two orange sized chunks of dough, then save the rest for your next bake. Thus the "5 minutes a day" concept. I hope that clears up the confusion!
March 30, 2021 at 7:25 PM
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