Four days without any commitments – it was a little luxurious!
The last five months has been hectic, chaotic, and more. Race in the door from one thing and begin working on the next, with barely anytime to stop and take stock! I had classes to run in different towns throughout the region, events to attend as a guest, study to try and keep up with, assignments to write, meetings to attend, precious family events to join in, planning to do, produce to be preserved, and a book to begin working on!
My gluten free sourdough journey began as one of frustration, of reading recipes that read like "War and Peace" they went for pages and pages, and they never worked! I'd get inspired, get my starter going, prepare and bake two or three loaves, then put my notes away and give up, they were awful. Then one day I pulled out all of my notes, poured over them, making adjustments to the ingredients here and there, and simplifying the whole process. I have now been making gluten free sourdough for a few years, and sharing my recipes and knowledge for almost as long.
The following morning line a tin with baking paper (refer to notes).
Whisk together the psyllium husk, water and molasses and set it aside for 5 to 10 minutes, until it becomes gelatinous.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly, shaping it to fit into the loaf tin.
Carefully place the dough into the lined loaf tin, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and set aside in a draft free warm place for 3 to 4 hours (if it is warmer you can reduce the time to 2 to 3 hours).
Preheat the oven to 240˚C.
Remove the plastic wrap, lightly dust the top of the loaf with brown rice flour or buckwheat flour, and then, using a razor blade or tip of a sharp knife, score the dough. Place the loaf on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200˚C and continue to bake for an additional 40 minutes.
Remove the loaf from the oven and after removing it from the tin, place it directly onto a rack and allow to cool completely before cutting.
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With many thanks and kindness,
Julie.
Some may be aware that I run the occasional “Knowledge Sharing Session”/Cooking Class in our region, and one of the most popular sessions is my Gluten Free Sourdough. In these sessions I encourage those attending to line their loaf tins with baking paper – the main reason is because of the long rising time for the loaf – if the tin doesn’t have a non-stick coating, or even if it does, it may be scratched or damaged, then no matter how well you grease the tin, it would more than likely begin the rusting process during the rise due to the moisture in the loaf – not really desirable.
At a recent session, I had forgotten to pack enough of my baking paper, and had to use a different brand to what I usually do. Tins were lined, loaves made and set aside to be taken home for proving and baking, then we started to prepare some dishes using the gluten free soudough discard, as well as a loaf of bread that I had baked at home and brought along.
What’s for dinner? I had no idea! So I thought, I’ll make a focaccia, I’m sure something will come together then.
Whipped up a batch of my baguette recipe, spread it onto some baking paper to rise, and wandered off to do a few things. When I returned it was still the same – it hadn’t risen! Tilted my head this way and that, yes, it still hadn’t risen… Then a light bulb moment – I hadn’t added the yeast – no yeast, no rise!!!
I’d already washed up and put away the stand mixer, and being lazy, just reached into the drawer for a bowl , scraped the dough/batter into the bowl, sprinkled over the dry yeast, used up a bit of elbow grease and mixed and mixed by hand. There were little dots of yeast through the batter, I kind of new that it wasn’t right, but perservered, put down another sheet of baking paper, spread out the dough/batter, and set it to rise… Did a few more things, still no rise.
OK, out comes the stand mixer, again, scraped in the dough, spread it out, went away did some more jobs, come back, a little bit of rise… finished the top off with sprinkling of salt flakes and freshly picked rosemary and put it in the oven to bake.
I make all of my gluten free bread, have done for some years now. For a light white bread this is quick and easy, delicious, and versatile, making great bread rolls, loaves, baguettes and foccacias, toast, crostini and bruschetta. However, while it is a bread, it is a batter mix, not a dough mix, so you need to be wary when deciding how to bake it. I have given instructions for baguettes, if you want to prepare a loaf, you can line a loaf tin and bake in the tin – if your tins are non-stick, just spray with canola oil. For a more rustic loaf, spread thickly on a lined tray or in a lined slice tin, or similar. If you would like something with seeds etc, try my Gluten Free Bread with Seeds.
Line the baguette pans with baking paper, folding the ends to enclose and prevent spillage.
Using a stand mixer, blend the flours, sugar, yeast, xanthan gum and salt on low speed to combine
Add the water, olive oil, egg whites and vinegar to the dry ingredients.
With the mixer on high (Kenwood speed 4-5), beat the mixture for 3 minutes. (The mixture will be a smooth batter, not a dough.)
Using a wetted spoon, spoon the dough/batter into the lined French baguette pans. Smooth the top with a wet spatula.
Drizzle over a little olive and, using a flexible spatula, carefully coat the top of the baguette with the oil.
Set the baguettes to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Bake for 35 minutes in preheated oven.
Remove the baguettes from the trays and place directly onto the oven rack and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Bon appétit!
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