Gluten-free Gourmand

I recently heard from a reader who is new to gluten-free bread baking and is really delving into it.  Eric from San Francisco had a lot of great questions for me about why I created some of my bread recipes the way I did.  He also asked me to flesh out some of the bread-making methods I use.  He had a couple of great photos he shared with me and he's been nice enough to let me show them to you! Eric: Your recipes and methods work well! I cannot believe how well. GF Bread that actually rises and that is workable, who knew?! Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge. I'm new to Celiac so this has been a really tough time. Baking calms me and your blog has really helped me accept my fate and inspires me to bake more! I have a few questions, if I may: 1. Regarding baked and uncut bread. How long would it stay "fresh" on a counter? Do I need to cut, wrap and freeze it if unused in the same day? I was hoping to store some baguettes out, uncut for a fe...

For all of you bread lovers out there, this holiday season has a special treat for you:   Gluten-free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day , a new book in the "Bread in 5" series by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François.  Released on October 21st, this book is just for you gluten-free folk, with beautiful, stunning photos of crusty, golden-brown loaves of bread of all shapes and sizes, and a comprehensive list of recipes for everything from baguettes to doughnuts.  I was lucky enough to get an advance copy so I could try some of the recipes and tell my readers what I think. I was excited to try these recipes because the first gluten-free bread I ever made was from a recipe adapted from one of the original Bread in 5 books and published on Gluten-free Girl .  It wasn't

Xanthan gum and guar gum have been the default binders for gluten-free baking in the United States for years.  However, these substances have their limitations.  They have no nutrient value, for starters.  Then there's the fact that they don't give you much in the way of flexibility or strength in your final baked good.  Did you ever make a gluten-free cupcake that tasted like cardboard and crumbled apart in your hand as you tried to eat it?  Even though you put twice as much liquid into the recipe than you would have for "regular"flour?  You can blame xanthan gum for that. The best binders out there for your gluten-free baking may not be what you thought they were.  Chia, flax, and psyllium are the "it" girls of gluten-free bread baking right now.   I'll tell you why and how. Chia Seed  Origin: Mexico and Central America Remember the Chia Pet?  The same seeds that you might have used to coat a clay doll to grow green "ha...

This winter I came up with many new bread recipes which I published here on my blog.  All of them involved my bread mixes which came out last fall and which I ship anywhere in the United States.  One day on my Facebook page I got this comment from a reader in response to my vegan sandwich bread recipe: Samantha Matete and I ended up swapping a bunch of messages about gluten-free bread making which eventually resulted in my blog post about how to make your own gluten-free bread flour blend .  Samantha ended up trying some of the ideas that I threw out.  I was excited to see pictures of her loaves once she did some experimenting. Here are some notes from Samantha about what she did on these loaves of bread: "Well I am definitely hooked on your bread recipes that I have been querying you about! The first 2 photos are following the vegan sandwich bread recipe and method. The 3rd photo is following the teff bread recipe and the 4th was a reci...

There is an updated version of this recipe here:  http://glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com/2013/12/BouleBreadRecipe.html I'm sorry for the absence of new recipes lately.  I've been really busy with some major career events.  I'll post more on that in the weeks to come, but the long and the short of it is that I should have more time to post to the blog now that I've re-arranged my whole work life.  I'll be delving into some great recipes, including the ultimate bread recipe: sourdough.  I've been working on creating a nice, tangy, flavorful sourdough recipe for you, complete with an easy-to-use starter.  Keep checking back for that!  In the meantime, I have another nice traditional boule bread recipe for you to munch on. For those who have been following my gluten-free bread recipes , I'm giving you another in the series.  This one is very similar to the Traditional Round Loaf recipe.  In fact it's the same but you get a larger loaf, about...

Here's a recipe that uses traditional methods for a traditional round loaf (or boule) with a crisp crust and a chewy center.  I have a bunch of quick and easy bread recipes on this site.  Now it's time for a more traditional take on making bread.  The beauty of my bread flour mix  is that the dough can be handled a lot like traditional bread dough; it can be handled, kneaded, and shaped. You will get better, more consistent results with this recipe if you weigh everything - including the water.  However, I have given you volume measurements just in case you haven't yet bought a digital kitchen scale. Traditional Round Loaf Recipe makes one 1-pound loaf Mix in the bowl of your stand mixer or whisk together by hand: 225g (about 1 cup) warm water, 110-120 degrees 15g whole psyllium husk (or 10g ground psyllium husk) 2 tsp apple cider vinegar Add to the bowl: 225g GF Bread Flour ,  1 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp yeast (about half a ...

My last post on the Best Gluten-free Sandwich Bread Ever generated a flurry of interest and responses. All of them were about wanting to try the recipe.  Most of them, however, were from people who couldn't.  They really, really wanted to.  However, they can't get the unique Gluten-free Gourmand No. 7 Bread Flour .  It's not their fault!  It's just that due to things like food regulations and exorbitant shipping prices I only ship my specialty baking mixes within the United States.  What's a gluten-free baker to do if she lives in Australia (or Canada, or New Zealand)? Now, I'm all about promoting my beautiful, artisan flours that are lovingly tested in small batches to make sure they have fewer than 10 ppm gluten.  I'm also very dedicated to bringing my customers more recipes to enjoy.  However, my blog didn't start out to sell flour.  I started blogging to share what I know about gluten-free baking, about how rewarding it can be to make ...

Whenever I see that a recipe has been made vegan, I'm immediately suspect that it has been made to be flavorless.  This is not the case with vegan bread.  After all, a traditional french baguette is only water, flour, yeast, and salt.  Bread is supposed to be made vegan.  Once you get the gluten-free part down, the vegan part should be easy, right? Well... it did take me several tries to get this.  For my baguettes and small round loaves I can get it to rise just fine without the eggs.  However, sandwich loaves have more volume and need a little something extra for the vertical lift I was looking for.  Fortunately, by the time I got done with it I'd crafted the best gluten-free sandwich bread I'd ever made. To make it egg-free, this recipe calls for just a little bit of flax seed to give the dough some extra structure so it can rise well.  It also gives the bread great flexibility, so your sandwiches can stay together.  I ended up lik...

I had never made naan before last week.  The only reason?  I had no idea how easy it is!  It's really one of the fastest breads you can make.  I can start making naan when my boyfriend calls in the take-out order and have it ready when he comes back with the food.  You don't really need to let it rise - the bread is leavened with baking soda as well as yeast.  The yeast adds flavor, the baking soda adds fluffiness.  The result is a very chewy, flexible flatbread.  Now you no longer have to be jealous if your boyfriend gets bread with his Indian food.  In fact, he'll probably want some of your naan hot off the grill. Gluten-free Naan Recipe makes 4 large naan In a large bowl, whisk together: 250g - about 1 Cup - warm kefir or yogurt 15g whole psyllium husk (or 10g ground psyllium husk) 2 tsp apple cider vinegar When the mixture has thickened, add to the bowl: 225 g  GF Bread Flour Blend 12 g sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp...

I know that I've got a good bread recipe if, after first tasting a loaf, my boyfriend immediately plans on making a sandwich out of it.  If the bread is just okay, I get an unconvincingly encouraging "That's good!"  If it's great, I get, "We could cook some bacon and make a BLT with melted cheese!"  Then, even if it's 11:00 at night after a heavy meal, he will make that sandwich. If you have been following my blog or Facebook lately, you know I've been obsessed with bread.  I've been making dozens of baguettes, trying to get it right. I got the recipe to work ages ago - but they didn't look that great.  I tried everything under the sun to get the crust to brown.  It's easy when you cook the loaf in a dutch oven like I do with my boule bread .  However, the baguettes are too long to fit in the pan.  Finally I figured out how to simulate the environment of a dutch oven without the dutch oven.  You just trap your steam with parchment ...

I've heard about using applesauce as a fat substitute and decided to try it out.  This recipe is very similar to my standard Sandwich Bread Recipe , but there were enough changes to warrant posting the entire recipe again.  To my surprise, this variation on the recipe provided lighter, fluffier bread. Gluten-free Sandwich Bread Recipe You will be placing your risen dough in a COLD OVEN.  Do not pre-heat! In a medium bowl combine: 450g GF Bread Flour Blend 2 Tbsp sugar or honey 1.25 tsp salt 1 packet quick-rise yeast In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine: 2 eggs 4 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 cup warm water (100-115 degrees F) Mix the ingredients with the paddle attachment on medium until the mixture begins to froth.  Stop the mixer and add: 30g whole psyllium husk (or 20g ground psyllium husk) Blend the psyllium husk into the wet ingredients until the mixture thickens quite a bit, 2-3 minutes.  Stop the mixer and ...

Rustic boules or round loaves have been made for thousands of years by people all over Europe.  It is one of the oldest forms of bread making there is.  Round loaves used to be cooked in simple clay ovens.  The fire would be built inside the hollow oven then swept out once the clay walls were very hot.  The bread would then be placed on the hot oven floor and the openings were stopped up to trap the heat  and steam inside, giving the bread a nice crunchy crust.  As the oven gradually cooled, the bread would gradually stop cooking, giving the inside a tender crumb.  This recipe uses a technique that simulates this ancient way of baking, but in reverse.  The bread goes in a cold oven to help it rise more than it would at room temperature.  Placing the bread in a heavy stock pot or dutch oven helps trap the moisture to get a nice crisp crust.  The bread finishes at a high temperature to brown the outside. This recipe makes a 1-lb loaf....

You, my readers, have asked for a dinner roll recipe, so you shall get one!  Dinner rolls are actually not too difficult or time-consuming. These dinner rolls are perfect for the holidays.  They are light and fluffy with big pockets of air that make them perfect for soaking up butter, olive oil, or gravy. Yeasted Olive Oil Dinner Rolls Whisk together with a fork in a medium bowl: 225 g GF Bread Flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp sugar or honey 1 packet yeast In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together with a fork: 1 egg at room temperature or warmer 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 3/4 cup warm water (100-115 degrees) Once that is whisked, add: 15g whole psyllium husk (or 10g ground psyllium husk) Mix the psyllium husk into the wet ingredients for about one minute, or until the mixture begins to thicken.  Add most of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix with the fork until it starts to come together.  Mix in: 2 Tbsp ...