Gluten Free for Life

Gluten Free Rustic Bread

I got the idea for this bread from watching a video on BreadTopia.com demonstrating his version of the New York Times “No Knead Bread”. The ingredients are completely different but the baking method is very similar. This is a bread that can easily pass as a traditional whole grain wheat bread - it tastes similar to rye, slices like a dream and the flavor just gets better for about three days kept sealed in a plastic bag on the counter. Make yourself a pastrami on rye-like sandwich. It’s so good you may be crying by the time you finish eating.

1 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup potato starch
3/4 cup arrowroot or cornstarch
1/2 cup teff flour
1/2 cup corn flour (not starch)
3 teaspoons guar gum
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup GF beer at room temp
1/2 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lecithin
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Covered clay baker or cloche

In a large bowl stir together the beer and water (temperature should not exceed 110ºF). Sprinkle yeast and lecithin over the top of the liquid. Add the olive oil, eggs and cider vinegar. Stir once the yeast is hydrated.

In another bowl, blend together the flour mix, guar gum and salt. Beat one cup of the flour mixture into the yeast mixture and blend until no lumps remain. Add the rest of the flour a little at a time, beat (or knead by hand) between additions until all the flour is incorporated. Use enough of the flour mixture to achieve the right texture, soft and only slightly sticky. Place the bowl in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator 12 hours or more.

Baking Instructions: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and dump onto a lightly floured board. Use potato flour (not potato starch) if you have it. It helps the bread develop a nicely browned, crispy top crust. Lightly knead the dough six or eight times to smooth it out. Form the dough into a tall, oblong loaf shape and place it on a piece of parchment paper about 18 inches long. Lift the short sides of the parchment up and close the top using metal clips or clothes pins. You don’t want it tight, it’s just to encourage the dough to rise upwards and not spread out too flat. According to the size and activity of the dough, you may have to drop the sides of the parchment and cover it with plastic wrap before it has finished rising. If you do, spray the dough with cooking spray first.

While the dough is rising, place the lid of your clay baker or La Cloche in water to absorb moisture.
Because the dough is cold it should take 60 to 90 minutes (approx) to rise. Keep an eye on it and about 30 minutes before you think it will be ready to bake, place the lid on your baker, put it in the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees.

When the dough in ready (slightly under double in size) open the parchment paper and sprinkle the top lightly with sorghum or potato flour. (Optional: oil the blade of a double edged razor (carefully!) or very sharp paring knife and cut diagonal slashes about 2 inches apart and 1/4 inch deep across the top of the bread. The slashes reduce the surface tension of the dough and keep it from cracking. It also helps it to rise a little more.) Lift the bread using the parchment and place the bread (with the parchment) into the baker.

Bake covered for 40 minutes, then remove the cover and bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until the internal bread temperature reaches 200-205 degrees. Check the bread about 10 minutes after the lid comes off. If it’s browning too quickly, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the top.

Remove from the oven when done and cool about an hour before slicing. If you don’t like a crispy crust, brush the top with olive oil or melted butter while it’s cooling. This bread keeps well and actually gets better the second and third day. It makes great sandwiches. It can be sliced as thin as you want without being crumbly.

Notes:

• I’ve made this recipe with and without eggs, it’s good both ways, the bread will just be slightly more dense without the eggs. Add 3 or 4 tablespoons additional liquid to compensate for the eggs.
• Stir in a couple teaspoons of fennel or caraway seeds for even more of a rye flavor.
• You can make this bread without the beer but the flavor is better with it. Add a couple teaspoons of sugar, honey or agave syrup to the yeast mixture to replace the sugar in the beer.
• A cast iron dutch oven can be used in lieu of the clay baker. Just form your dough into a ball shape instead of oblong.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 at 12:09 pm and is filed under Bread Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.