Wednesday 16 December 2020

I make - Gluten Free Seeded Loaf

It's been a long time since I tried making gluten free yeasted bread again. This recipe is a good one hitting on taste, texture and look fronts. Soft for two days after baking and fabulous as toasts afterwards.

I've tried it a few times, with various flour mix. All work pretty well. My contribution is to add some chia seeds. I think it improves the texture (and the nutrition) further. This will be my stand-by bread for a while.


Gluten Free Seeded Loaf, slightly adapted from The Loopy Whisk 

1.5 tsp active dried yeast
1 tbsp sugar
390 g warm water, divided into 150 g for the yeast and 240 g for the psyllium husk
20 g psyllium husk (rough husk form)
310 g gluten free flour (your favorite blend*)
1 tbsp chia seeds + 2 tbsps water (optional)
7 g (1 rounded tsp) table or sea salt
12 g (2 tsp) apple cider vinegar
Up to 1/2 cup mixed seeds, nuts and/or oats, such as linseed, sunflower seeds and walnuts

Grease and line a 2lb/900g loaf tin.

Tip: Dimensions of a 2lb/900g loaf tin: 8.5 inch/21cm long, 4.5 inch/11cm wide and 3inch/7cm high.

In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, sugar and 150g warm water. Set aside for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the mixture starts frothing.

In a separate bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and 240 g water. After about 15 – 30 seconds, a gel will form.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, chia seeds mixture (if using) and salt, until evenly combined.

Add the yeast mixture, psyllium gel and apple cider vinegar to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough until smooth and it starts coming away from the bowl, about 5 – 10 minutes. You can knead by hand or using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. 

Add about the mixed seeds/oats and knead them into the dough until evenly distributed.

Transfer the bread to a lightly oiled surface and knead it gently, forming it into a log that comfortably fits into the 2lb/900g loaf tin. Transfer the dough into the tin (seam side down) and gently press it down to even out the top.

Tip: This recipe works really well with just a single rise. But, if you want to do two rounds of rising, first place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Then proceed with this step.

Lightly cover with cling film and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour 15 minutes – 1 hour 30 minutes or until approximately doubled in volume.

Place the proofed bread into the oven on the middle rack, pour boiling hot water into the bottom baking tray, spray the bread 4-5 times with water (optional), and close the oven door.

Bake at 480ºF (250ºC) with steam for 15 minutes – don’t open the oven doors during this initial period, as that would allow the steam to escape out of the oven.

After the 15 minutes, remove the bottom tray with water from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 430ºF (220ºC), and bake for a further 60-70 minutes in a steam-free environment. The final loaf should be of a golden brown colour. If the loaf starts browning too quickly, cover with a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up, and continue baking until done.

Tip: If you don’t like your bread to be moist, I recommend you remove the loaf from the baking tin and bake it directly on the oven rack for the last 15 minutes (keeping the top covered with aluminum foil, shiny side up). This will help dry out the middle of the loaf even more – just note that this will also further crisp up and dry out the crust.

Remove the baked loaf out of the baking tin immediately out of the oven and transfer it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before cutting into it.

Storage: The gluten free bread keeps well wrapped in a tea towel in a cool dry place for 3 – 4 days.

*The original recipe calls for: 130 g buckwheat + 100 g tapioca + 90 g millet 

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