And Sometimes I Follow...

 

 "Oh what grief these loaves have caused, but pray I that their sweetness be greater than the weight of their cost."

       That was the Facebook status I posted right before I attempted my latest GF bread experiment. A friend saw several GF recipes in the local paper, and thinking of me, sent the clippings my way. It turned out that the bread recipe she forwarded was from one of my favorite GF cookbooks, "The Gluten Free Girl and the Chef," by Shauna James Ahern and Daniel Ahern. This was one I had copied for my own collection, but to see it turn up in the local small town paper seemed a sign. I thought I'd give it a go, reminding myself that even the worst of my bread endeavors had been edible, (toasted and drowned with enough butter or jam). 

     The ensuing difficulty stemmed not in the complexity of the recipe I had set myself to follow, but the fact that I had in deed decided to follow the recipe, to the letter. That meant no substitutions as I am often wontonly want to do. It meant measuring carefully, as I am frequently lax about. No pinch, dither, and dash, but neatly measured cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons. It meant a trip to several different stores, (gods forbid any one stock all of these things despite frequent begging, read whining), after realizing that while yes I did posses all of the necessary ingredients, I did not have them in the required amounts. By the time the running around was done, (made it to one store with 5 min. to spare before they closed), I had just about lost the steam to bake. But I'd come this far, and knowing myself it was highly unlikely to happen any other night of the week. (I'm lazy as well as reluctant).

       So I gathered my supplies, pulled my instructions close, clipped on my iPod and set to the task of building bread. Now normally I approach baking as a sort of chemistry experiment. Which flours do what, how much liquid is necessary, what fat, sugar, salt, rising agents, binding agents. It can get complicated, but so far even the worst of my failures have been fit for human consumption, and I've seen some of the accidents of others turn into what we now jokingly call food for the gods. But my goal with this particular venture was to follow a recipe exactly and create the "Crusty Bread That Even Those Who Eat Gluten Might Like".

       I'm not going to recount the whole recipe here as I encourage you to find a copy of the book and experience its wonderfulness for yourself. I will tell you that the bread uses potato starch, almond, oat, and millet flours, and has a earthy nutty taste and smell that is a delight to the senses. The honey acts as a natural preservative and if they last the loaves will keep for at least a week in the fridge. My one caution, (that I wish had been in someones instructions), do not try to handle the dough, it's like trying to knead cake batter. I suggest pouring the dough onto your cookie sheet and shaping with a spatula. Otherwise I followed the instructions to the letter. And the result...

       I would follow this recipe anywhere. I've made probably a dozen different types of GF bread at this point. Some fairly close to their original recipes, some so far removed that they have become my own. But at the end of the day all those loaves are pretty standard if not exactly created equal. They make great toast and awesome grilled cheese. They look like bread and cut like bread, and I am happy. But Gluten-Free Girl's loaves kick their little GF buns! This is the bread that I would make fresh to take to a dinner party or potluck. Sliced thin and toasted it makes the most exquisite bruschetta, top with olive tapenade, or slivers of fresh mozzarella and pepperoni... you get the idea. For once there was no accident here.

Best. Bread. Ever!

     I have a few comfort food standbys that I turn to when my tummy is unhappy, cereal in warm weather, toast and tea in cool. I came home from work the other night, in a fog of migraine pained haze only to find that I had no bread for toast. No amount of sad face, or cat cajoling was likely to make more appear. My options were to get back into my car and go to the too bright store to spend obscene amounts of money for some frozen cardboard masquerading as gluten free bread... or I could pull out my Wall-E wanna be bread machine and make my own. 

     Who ever imagined that baking would be the most rewarding use I would find for my Bio/Chem degree?  I used to bake my own bread years and years ago when I worked for a place that was in the process of opening a bakery and I thought it would be a cool skill to have. But it was messy, and I got bored... enter my first bread machine. Add ingredients in order, (I like order, and measuring cups), let machine do all the work, enjoy fresh bread. I like fresh bread, (really, who doesn't?), that first piece that's really too hot to eat, that the butter just disappears into while the smell fills the house. Yeah, that's the stuff.

     Baking is chemistry, and my kitchen it is an experiment, not always successful. But sometimes...

This is the recipe for the best loaf of gluten free bread I have made to date. Cobbled together from several other recipes and repeated 3 times so far it is flavorful with a dense, moist crumb and keeps for at least 2 weeks in the fridge. I will be the first to admit that there are a lot of ingredients in this bread, but once you have everything in your kitchen you can probably get ~6 loaves out, and most of this stuff is pretty standard in GF baking. So here goes.

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Xan's (Gluten Free) Multigrain Bread

3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup teff flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup oats

3 Tbsp millet or quinoa

2 Tbsp almond flour

1 Tbsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp honey

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 tsp cider vinegar

     Add all all of the ingredients into your bread machine in the order that it recommends. (Wet then dry in my case with the yeast in a well in the middle, the underlined things are optional.) The dough should have a thick cake batter like consistency, if too wet add more garbanzo flour, if too dry add water. (It should just pull away from the sides when the paddle turns it). This makes a 1.5 lb loaf, and I use the medium crust setting.

     There will be pictures when I find a loaf that hasn't disappeared.

     Some accidents should be enjoyed...from my kitchen to yours.