Best Gluten Free Bread and Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons water, warmed to 100 - 115°F
• 1/4 cup instant non-fat dry milk (optional, but very helpful)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, agave, or honey
• 1 1/2 cups of your favorite gluten-free flour or combination of oat, sorghum, white rice, brown rice, or millet
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons potato starch or (cornstarch - not potato flour)
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch (or cornstarch)
• 1 tablespoon xanthan gum or 4 teaspoons guar gum (or a mixture of both)
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or salt
• 4 egg whites (3 for rice flour based breads)
• 1/4 cup of cooking oil (extra virgin olive grape seed oil, etc.)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 170-200°F; the lowest it goes. Optionally, allow your dough to rise in an 80 to 84 degrees F environment.
2. Add yeast, sweetener of choice, and if using, dry milk, to the warm water; stir and allow to sit for 5 or more minutes to activate and proof the yeast. (This will cause the mixture to become foamy on top. If it doesn't, that means you heated above 120 degrees F or your yeast is too old.)
3. To a large bowl, add flour(s) of choice. If you wish to make it more nutritious, substitute no more than a 1/4 cup rice bran, oat bran, millet, amaranth, teff, corn, buckwheat, or qiunoa flour. for some of the flour above. These are heavier flours. (Bean flours are of a medium weight but can make a moist or gummy bread.)
4. Add the starches (Bob's Red Mill makes a non-GMO cornstarch.), gum and salt; whisk together well; set aside.
5. Beat the egg whites using an electric mixer until it is foamy, about 30 seconds.
6. Add oil, vinegar, yeast mixture; mix for a about 10 seconds.
7. Add in the flour mixture all at once; blend until all dry ingredients are moistened enough not to fly out of the bowl; beat for 4 minutes on high speed. (You want the dough to be loose, not stiff at all. You should be able to spread it out using a silicone/rubber spatula.) If it is too stiff, add additional water. If it is too loose, like cake batter, add more flour (not starch).
8. Oil an 8 x 8 x 4-inch (or 9x-inch) loaf pan; add dough to the pan; sprinkle the top with filtered water and smooth out with a rubber spatula.
9. If adding a topping such as oats, sesame seeds, etc. add them to the top of the bread; with moistened fingers pat them gently into the top of the dough.
10. Turn oven the off; place the pan in the center of the oven; leave door open 4 - 6-inches; allow the dough to rise until the dough reaches about 1/2-inch over the top of the pan, measuring from the center. Rice-based breads rise faster, usually in 25 - 35 minutes, where heavier dough takes up to 45 minutes. If the dough cracks on the top, it ready to bake.
11. Once risen, remove from oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
12. Optionally, you may slice the top of the bread with a serrated knife, diagonally, in 2 - 3 places. This often allows steam to escape during baking.
13. Place loaf pan back in the oven and bake 37-40 minutes. (If you bake by temperature, bake until it reaches 200°F.) Rice breads bake faster and heavier breads need as long as 1 hour or more.
14. Immediately remove bread from pan and place on cooling rack.
15. Slice with a serrated knife, electric knife or electric slicer.
16. If your bread turns out gummy, bake it longer next time or at a higher temperature, tenting with foil when it almost reaches your desired color. If the bread sinks in the middle or sides, bake it longer next time or at a higher temperature. Alternatively, you can also reduce the liquid a little.

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