If you are living with celiac or gluten allergies, then you know just how expensive it is to buy that loaf of gluten-free bread. Not only is it expensive, but the texture and taste often leave something to be desired. Part of the reason for that is that most of these breads are based primarily on rice flour which is a very dry flour that results in a more “brittle” loaf. The other reason is that this bread often comes frozen, losing some of the initial appeal that it would have if fresh.

However, I’ve been just plain chicken to tackle baking my own bread. Perhaps it’s all those horror stories about the finicky nature of yeast. Maybe it was the trauma left from watching my mother take a loaf of bread out of the oven that hadn’t risen properly. Perhaps it was the fear of having to compete with my dear departed Aunt Lucille – the master baker. Whatever the reason, I thought bread from scratch was beyond me.

Well, dear readers – I have conquered bread! After experimenting with a number of recipes (and having at least one colossal flop), I have devised a loaf that has a lovely, crunchy crust and a soft, pliable slice that might just make you a bread lover again! While many gluten free breads also specify a heavy-duty mixer, this bread can be made completely by hand.

You don’t even need a bread machine.

This bread is also packed with nutrition. Coconut and garbanzo flours, combined with flax meal, mean that this loaf is more than just a pretty face: you will get some fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals for your bite. In fact, the crazy combination of flours, starches and meal is what makes this bread work well.

You can make substitutions in order to handle other allergies. If you have dairy allergies, avoid butter and stick with a suitable oil. If you have egg allergies, use egg replacer rather than egg whites. The bread can be made in a completely vegan version with the right substitutions, and still perform well.

If you follow the recipe as I have it here, I believe this qualifies as a low oxalate bread – as long as the slices are not overly generous.

Here’s my recipe. Enjoy!
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Monique’s Gluten Free Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 corn starch
1/4 cup flax meal
1/4 cup garbanzo bean (chick pea) flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 Tablespoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons honey or sugar
2 cups warm water (1 cup freshly boiled plus 1 cup cold from the tap)
2 Tablespoons dry active yeast
2 Tablespoons butter (melted) or oil (I use grapeseed oil)
3 egg whites, beaten until bubbly (but not foamy)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or other vinegar)

Instructions:

1. Put flours, xanthan gum and salt in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly to ensure that all ingredients are blended well.
2. In another bowl, put egg whites, oil and vinegar. Whisk or beat until foamy.
3. In a third bowl, dissolve the honey or sugar in the water. Then add yeast.
4. Wait until the yeast mixture foams well – about 5 to 10 minutes. Once foamy, blend it into the dry ingredients.
5. Add the butter or oil, vinegar and egg whites to the mixture. Continue to mix and blend for about 3 minutes, until the dough is a somewhat drier version of cake-batter consistency.
6. Prepare a loaf pan by oiling it and then sprinkling rice flour on it. This will prevent the bread from sticking.
7. Spoon the dough into the prepared loaf pan.
8. Cover the pan with a damp tea towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk – it can take as much as an hour (depending on the temperature that you are rising the bread at), but should be about 45-50 minutes generally. (I let the bread rise on top of the stove that is preheating.) Don’t try to have the bread rise faster by putting it in an environment that is too warm, because this will result in bread that rises – and then falls.
9. Preheat oven to 350 F.
10. Bake for about 50-60 minutes. If the bread is getting too brown on top, cover with tin foil to help protect it while it finishes baking. When the bread is done it should sound “hollow” when tapped with a spoon.
11. Remove from pan. Allow to cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
Tags: gluten-free, low oxalate, recipes