Whenever the neurotic mom passes by a bakery that sells good sourdough bread, like Gjusta in Venice Beach, she buys one or two boules for her family. She can eat gluten, though it might give her headaches. Sometimes she takes a risk and eats a slice with almond butter and jam. During the pandemic, she had more time and patience to make gluten-free sourdoughs but these days she can barely keep herself alive, let alone the needy starter. For a long time she has been experimenting with gluten-free yeasted bread recipes; constantly trying to come up with a good recipe which she can make while waiting for the kettle to boil.
One day she did. She was surprised herself when it came out chewy and airy like normal wheat bread. It didn’t have the gummy, weird texture that many gluten-free bread recipes. She found the perfect flours and psyllium husk ratio. As soon as it cooled down, she sliced it thick and made herself a slice with peanut butter, harissa and sliced tomato. “Good thing I filmed the process” she thought to herself. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have remembered which flours she used and the measurements.
Basic & Easy Gluten-Free Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1 cup fine brown rice flour
- 1 cup millet flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 ½ cup lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 2 teaspoons psyllium husk powder
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Put the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk them together.
- Pour 2 cups lukewarm water into a mug or cereal bowl. Add the yeast and flaxseed meal, and whisk to combine. Stir in the psyllium husk and honey and whisk until the mixture thickens and resemble a gel, about 1 minute.
- Pour the wet mixture into the flour bowl and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. Then use your hand to knead it until the dough comes together. If the dough is too sticky add a little bit of rice flour. If it's too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.Line a loaf pan with baking paper. Roll the dough into a log and place it in the lined pan. Cover with a clean, moist kitchen towel and put the pan in a warm spot (I put it near a sunny window but not in direct sunlight) until it doubles it size. About 1 – 1½ hours. Take a picture of the log before you cover it so you can compare later.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Bake the bread for 30 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the pan and put it, facing down, back in the oven, straight on the wire, and bake for 10 minutes.
- Let it cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing it.
- If you want it to last for a week or two, when it cools down, slice it and put it in a ziplock in the freezer. No need to thaw before toasting a slice in the morning. Just put a slice or two in the toaster for 2 -3 minutes.
