Gluten-Free Blueberry Bread

Gluten-Free Blueberry Bread

Gluten-free Blueberry Bread

adapted from Real Food Made Easy‘s Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread

which was adapted from a Betty Hagman recipe

Here is my ingredients & proportion for this particular loaf:

Dry Ingredients:

• 80 g teff flour
• 30 g sorghum flour
• 160 g Bette’s Featherlight Mix (1/3 Cup each: cornstarch, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, plus  1¼ teaspoon potato flour)
• 2 Tablespoons almond meal (I grind almond sliver in an electric mini chopper)
• 3/4 teaspoon xantham gum
• 3/4 teaspoon guar gum (I don’t have this so substitute same amount of xantham gum, per The Cook’s Thesaurus‘ advice)
• 1/2 teaspoon Redmond real salt (red tinted salt)
• 1 teaspoon agar powder (or gelatin)
• 1  ½ teaspoons nutmeg **
• 2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast (I used Gold instant yeast)
• 6 Tablespoons dried blueberries (I had just that exact amount, coincidentally) **

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup or 4 Tablespoons Agave Nectar **
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon chia seeds soaked in 6 Tablespoons + 1/4 teaspoon warm water
• 1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons warm water (72º F – 75º F)

Equipment:  one 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pan.

** denotes my changes/substitution

Method:

Soak the chia seeds.  Mix the dry ingredients.  Measure oil and sweetener.  Add water and mix well.  Tips: measure the oil first then use the same spoon to measure the liquid sweetener so it won’t stick to the spoon; it works beautifully.

dry & wet mixtures

Mix in the wet ingredient mixture, the soaked chia seeds with the dry ingredient mixture.

mixing the dry and wet mixtures

The dough comes together nicely, feels and looks just like wheat-based dough.  I love the light brow reddish color that imparted from the teff flour.

mixed dough

Grease the loaf pan.  Scoop the dough into the prepared pan.  Spread it out evenly and try to fill the corners.  Loosely put a greased saran wrap on top and leave it at room temperature for 1.5 hours or until the dough rises above the pan but not fall out of it (about 1/8 inch).

I went out to grab a bite to eat and came back 2 hours later to a well-risen loaf ready to be baked.

well-risen loaf

The covered saran wrap comes right off and you can see the dough is very airy filled with lots of bubbles:

risen loaf

Turn the oven on 15 minutes before baking.  Bake the loaf at 400º F for 55-60 minutes, until test insert comes out with a few dried crumb or internal temperature registers 205º F.  Let the loaf cool completely on a rack.

Note: I did turn the oven down to 385º F the last 12 minutes so keep an eye on your loaf and check your oven’s temperature.

Well, here is a close-up of the crumb.  I am surprised how well the crust and crumb held together as a loaf.  Its color is stunningly beautiful, don’t you think?  It tastes delicious, just slightly & delicately sweet –thanks to the agave nectar–, the spice nutmeg goes well with the blueberries (I wasn’t quite sure when I first played with the idea in my head) which offers little bursts of sweetness here and there carrying out real blueberry flavor.  The chia seed was quite well blended in in the bread probably because it was soaked, unlike its pronounced taste in another gluten-free bread I baked just 2 days ago.

porous, moist, and blueberry studded crumb

I was quite taken when a chewy texture of bread hits my palate when I took the first bite into a slice; however further chewing reminds me that this is gluten-free bread I am eating because as I continue chewing, the crumb sort of crumbles into texture that tastes similar to that of cooked cream of wheat.  Not in a bad way, no!  How could it not be good with all the beautiful ingredients that made up the loaf?  What it would not be is an equal alternative to wheat bread although many people will voice their different opinions strongly.  I am quite satisfied with it and have been eating some with and without butter at breakfast and lunch.

It is the next best thing for people who are no longer able to eat  wheat bread. I am glad I can still enjoy wheat-based goodies but now appreciate gluten-free ones.  Wheat or wheat-free I like quality bread such as this one.

I am so pleased that I have already thought of a new flavor for  next loaf.  I am thinking perhaps dried pitted tart Montmorency cherries with a few small chunks of 70-percent-cacao chocolate scented up by just a splash of Tahitian vanilla.  That sounds really decadence.  Stay tuned.

A few things I’ve learned:

Baking gluten-free bread is non-threatening and no extra skills are required.

I would try adding egg to see if it helps taste & texture not that it needs improvement.   The original recipe used

soaked chia seeds as an egg alternative.  We are not vegan here and we love egg so egg will be in next loaf.

Happy Baking Gluten-Free Bread!

Gluten-Free Millet and Amaranth Artisan Bread

gluten-free crusty artisan bread

I am still working on the picture and detailed method for this post, please come back for more update later today.  Thanks.

Gluten-Free Millet and Amaranth Artisan Bread

My ingredient

** denotes my substitution

Dry Ingredients:

• 288 g high protein gluten-free bread flour mix (2 Cups) **
• 60 g millet flour (1/2  Cup)
• 60 g amaranth flour (1/2 Cup)
• 2 1/4 teaspoon xantham gum
• 2 teaspoon agar powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoon chia seeds (or substitute flax-seed meal or shelled hemp seeds)
• 2 Tablespoon Roasted Golden Flax seeds **

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 medium-size egg  **
• 1/2 Cup cold water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 Cups club soda at room temperature

Method:

Flour mix (by volume): 2 parts garbanzo bean flour, 1 part millet flour, 3 parts tapioca starch, 3 parts potato starch.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Place a lidded 3 quarts dutch oven in the oven to preheat.  Let it heat for at least 20 minutes.

Combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, whisk to combine.  Froth the egg.  Mix in the wet ingredient using 1 1/4 cups of club soda.  Mix the dry into the wet mixture.  Adjust liquid to achieve a thick-batter dough.

mixed dry ingredients

baked loaf

Pour the dough into the pre-heated pan.  Do this quickly.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 25 minutes with the lid on.  Ater that take the lid off and continue baking the loaf for another 25 – 30 minutes until the crust turn dark brown.