Wonderful French Bread

This bread truly hits the spot. It satisfies any bread cravings you may have, and you can make it in under an hour.  My recipe is adapted from Carol Fenster’s recipe in Gluten-Free 101. It’s a small book, but contains some great bread recipes and is well worth the price. She also has some recipes on her site Savory Palate. One important part of baking this bread is a trick that Carol discovered—putting the dough into a cold oven and turning it on to bake. The dough rises as the oven warms and produces a nice French bread crust.

I love Carol’s original recipe and only decided to vary it because I was out of her flour mix. Since I was going to play with the flour ingredients, I decided to also make it dairy free. I think you could play with the flour mix yourself and get good results if you follow the instructions. Being in a hurry and having several interruptions when I made this, I’m not sure it turned out as well as it could have. One loaf in particular ended up with some very large air pockets which I did not have with the original recipe. However, the flavor was terrific.

A French bread pan is required to give the loaves their shape and help them bake properly. When I finally bought one, I wondered why I had waited so long. If you don’t find one at a store, you can find French bread pans at Amazon.

Gluten-Free French Bread

Ingredients

• 1 c. sorghum flour
• 1 1/2 c. potato starch
• 1/2 c. tapioca starch
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tb. sugar
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. guar gum (or xanthan)
  
• 1 1/2 Tb. instant yeast
• 1 Tb. olive oil
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 tsp. cider vinegar
• 1 c. warm water (105 – 115 degrees)

Instructions
In the bowl of your mixer, combine the dry ingredients. Add the olive oil and egg whites and mix to incorporate. Add the vinegar and most of the water. Beat for 2 minutes, adding the remaining water if needed to make a soft dough. (I added the whole cup, but a little less might have been better.)

Spoon the dough onto the pan and carefully shape with a spatula. Because the dough is soft, it will go through the small holes in the pan. Don’t press hard when shaping. If you like, you can brush the top with beaten egg white. Use a sharp knife to cut several slits in the top of each loaf. Place the pan in a cold oven on a middle rack. Turn the oven on to 425 degrees and begin timing for 30 – 35 minutes. Cool the loaves on a wire wrack before slicing. It’s okay to slice them while warm, but not when they are hot.

This recipe is linked to Slightly Indulgent Mondays at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free.

Linda
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