
If there is one recipe I am currently in love with, it is this recipe...
For those of you who have been reading my blog for years, even before I went gluten free, you'll remember that making bread was never my strong point; I flopped more loaves of bread than I can count.
And then once I started making gluten free foods, I had to learn from scratch how to make bread again. I've had many flops and many successes when it comes to making gluten free bread.
The biggest problem I've had, though, is that
gluten free bread nearly always comes out better with eggs;
the ones that I've found that are egg free are good, but the texture isn't perfect. And another recipe
uses a whole bunch of different flours, which I don't always have in the house. And they're also not the most nutritious flours either...
But even the most perfect gluten free bread recipe, I've found, tends to not taste so great when it isn't fresh out of the oven.
I pretty much thought I'd be stuck with mixing a bunch of different flours and needing to bake bread fresh from scratch whenever I wanted it... until I went to my friend, Susie's, house.
Susie is an awesome baker, and a family member was recently diagnosed with celiac, so she's switched to baking gluten free. She asked me for tips on how to cook gluten free, and one of the things I told her is that I like the combination of untoasted buckwheat flour and short grain rice flour, since they both have nice textures and hold together nicely. (My
pizza recipe made with untoasted buckwheat flour and short grain rice flour is amazing!) With that, Susie figured out this recipe for gluten free rolls, based on her gluten standard bread recipe, and when she gave me two rolls to taste... my kids didn't let me eat them myself- they gobbled them down, absolutely loving them.
Susie told me makes these rolls and freezes them, defrosting them as needed. I begged her for her recipe since it was so awesome...
And then, knowing me, I can't leave well enough a lone... I tweaked her recipe, so that I can make it refined sugar free, with less xanthan gum, etc...
It works well with half the amount of xanthan gum Susie put in hers, and since xanthan gum is the most expensive part of the recipe, I am happy to cut back on that since it greatly reduces the cost. I haven't been able to tell much of a difference, if at all, from the batches with more xanthan gum vs less.
The yield is a fluffy, moist bread, that works best as rolls. I have made it in loaf pans, and it does work well as bread loaves, which I slice into bread for sandwiches, but it just doesn't get as fluffy or rise as much that way (its close, but not exact). These rolls, as I said, can be frozen, but they also stay good for a few days fresh.
 |
You can see it didn't rise perfectly this time, that the middle of the
loaf was more sunken in than the sides. I've discovered that leaving it to
rise longer, the second time, prevents this, and the bread is fine. |
It tried adjusting the ratio of rice to buckwheat flour (1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour and 2 cups rice flour instead of 2 cups buckwheat flour and 1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour) and while they both tasted good, on a side by side comparison taste test, the batch with the higher ratio of buckwheat to rice flour tasted better- higher rice flour gave it a slight slight aftertaste, for some reason. So I go with the higher buckwheat version, but if you want more rice than buckwheat, go ahead, it works as well.
The best thing about this, though, is that I am able to make an easily portable bread mix- I brought along a few batches on vacation- and it was perfect. I made a bag of (dry) sweetener and yeast, and put it inside a bigger bag filled with flours, xanthan gum, sweetener, and salt. To cook, I took out the little bag, dumped it into a bowl with 1/2 cup warm water, then after 5 minutes of proofing added the big bag and 2 1/4 cups water and 1/4 cup oil, mixed it well and let it rise for 30 mins. Scooped it into rolls, and baked it for 20-30 minutes. Perfection. Great sliced and filled with sandwich fillings- the kids got regular yellow cheese and ketchup, I got sheep gouda and lettuce. Amazing sandwiches....
I'm still experimenting, to see if I can just mix all the ingredients together and not need to proof the yeast separately...
But as I said, I am in love with this recipe. It works perfectly for me, the bread flopper... And its easy and gluten free, and naturally egg free. You have no idea how appreciative I am of my friend Susie for this. My kids love it, my husband loves it, I've gotten lots of compliments on it from other people (gluten eaters).
In other words... if there's any recipe of mine I recommend, it's this one.
Just a note- make sure that the buckwheat flour you're using in this recipe is
untoasted buckwheat flour. I have no idea if it would work with toasted buckwheat flour, but I suspect not, since they have different textures and tastes...
P.S. If you're not gluten free and want a
perfect homemade bread recipe- try
these two out, they're amazing.
Buckwheat Rolls- Gluten Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free Option