The Bread Baking Babes Go Gluten-Free!

When I started blogging I'd never heard of gluten-intolerance. It wasn't until I found Gluten Free Girl that I learned that gluten, the protein in flour that gives bread its structure, made some people sick. And after I learned that, people with gluten issues started popping up all around me.

My sister baked gluten-free treats for her knitting group, my daughter has a gluten-intolerant friend in her Bible study group, and my chiropractor, one of my favorite people to bake for, informed me that he was trying out the gluten-free lifestyle, too.

How timely, then, for Mary, this month's host kitchen, to choose a gluten-free bread for the Babes' challenge. And a no knead bread, at that!



Gluten-free loaves are specially suited for no knead because the kneading is there to develop the gluten strands. No gluten means no need to knead! It just lots of long, slow, cool rising.

Once I'd gotten all the special flours, it was quite easy to put this loaf together. The only time I ran into trouble was on the second rise. The directions say to let the loaf rise for 2-1/2 to 4 hours, until the dough is 1/8-inch above the pan rim. Well, I walked by my rising loaf after an hour and freaked - it was already there! I quickly turned on my oven, but by the time it had preheated, the dough was woofling down the sides of the pan.



I baked the loaf pan on top of a cookie sheet. Good thing - it caught all the dough dribbles that would otherwise be now encrusted on the bottom of my oven. After chiseling off the burnt dribbles, the bread released easily from the pan. The dribbles were actually my husband's favorite part. He said they made great crackers. He recommended that if I made the dough again to just spread a thin layer on a pan and make it all into crackers.

Did we all love it? Meh. But then we're spoiled by lots of good bread here. For someone forbidden to eat most breads, I'd imagine this would be a huge treat. I'll find out when I take some to my chiropractor.

Thanks, Mary, for picking this fun and really different recipe! Please check out what the other Babes came up with (Blogs on the sidebar). And if you'd like to bake along and get a Bread Baking Buddy badge, you have till March 31st to bake your bread, post it, and send a link to Mary.


Gluten Free No Knead Hearty Seeded Sandwich Bread
from Nancy Baggett's Kneadlessly Simple

1 2/3 cup white rice flour, divided (may need more depending on your dough)
1/2 cup cornmeal or brown rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup flax seed or golden flax seed meal
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/3 cup ice water
1/3 cup corn or canola oil
1/4 cup molasses (not black strap)
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup plain yogurt, drained of excess liquid
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Tablespoon of mixed seeds (millet, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, etc)

First Rise:
In large bowl, stir together 1 1/3 cups of white rice flour, cornmeal or brown rice flour, tapioca flour, flax seed meal, salt, yeast, and 2 Tbsp seed mixture. In another bowl, whisk together water, oil, molasses and mix thoroughly with flour mixture. If too stiff to blend, add more water to form a barely firm dough. (This confused me. It's not at all a dough, it's a very thick batter.) Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. For best flavor, refrigerate dough for 3 - 10 hrs then let stand at cool room temperature for 12 - 18hrs. Dough will stiffen as it stands and it is alright if it doesn't rise very much.

Second Rise:
Whisk egg and set aside 1 Tbsp to brush top of loaf. Stir the yogurt, baking powder, and 1/3 cup white rice flour into the remaining egg. Vigorously stir the yogurt mixture into the First Rise dough until completely mixed. If it is too soft, you can add more of the rice flour (white or brown, doesn't matter which). Turn dough into a well greased 9" x 5" loaf pan and brush a little oil on top of loaf. Brush the reserved egg and seeds over the surface. Using a well oiled serrated knife, make a 1/2" deep cut lengthwise down the loaf. Cover the pan with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap.

Let dough stand for 2 1/2 - 4 hrs in a warm room until dough extends 1/8" above the pan rim (mine reached this point in an hour under a warming light). Loosen plastic wrap as dough nears top of pan to prevent dough from smooshing down.

Baking:
15 minutes before baking, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake bread on the lower rack for 55-60 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. If the top starts to over brown, cover with a piece of foil. Continue baking until a skewer inserted comes out with few crumbs or the internal temperature of the bread reaches 206-208 degrees. Bake for 5 minutes more. Remove bread from oven, and leaving bread in pan, let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely before slicing.