Crusty Gluten-Free French Bread

This is the promised bread recipe I made with my Red Lentil Soup the other day. I was inspired by Shauna at the Gluten-Free Girl blog, and her crusty boule bread recipe. I made a few adjustments to some of the ingredients. It was really easy, just took a few hours to make because of the yeast rising process. I have not made a yeast bread in a very long time. It was actually quite fun and reminded me of making yeasted home grown pizza dough as a kid. Oh those were the days...

I think a good bread recipe like this is one to have up your gluten-free-sleeve. It sometimes seems impossible to find a good soup or salad bread from a store for the gluten-free. I have had no luck where I live at least, so I am led to experiment and make a loaf of my own. I was pleasantly surprised how this loaf turned out and decided that it wasn't all that bad to be gluten-free :) I know, I sometimes have to convince myself of that in certain food situations. I have been doing this diet for almost 4 years now and it seems very natural, until I find myself at a traditional Italian restaurant or pizza parlor and I am reminded of my restricted diet. If you are like me, you settle for making the gourmet gluten-free Italian meal at home or in some cases find a gluten-free restaurant that has a fabulous menu that you can splurge on only for special occasions. And that is why this bread is so important. You can make it for a very fair price and share it with any Italian meal, soup or stew and you will not be disappointed or wishing for the real thing. OK, I can't promise you won't be wishing for the real thing, but it is a darn good substitute. And, who doesn't like the smell of home baked bread in their kitchen?!

I sliced the pieces pretty thick here, but you can really probably get a good 20 pieces out of this loaf. I also wrapped up the loaf in some parchment and rosemary as it was cooling to add a little aroma and flavor to the crust. It turned out beautifully! I shared this loaf also with friends along with my red lentil soup and it was tasted and enjoyed (which made me feel even more normal).

Crusty French Recipe

1 1/3 cup of warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 packet of active dry yeast

3 TB of honey

3 TB of olive oil

2 whipped eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup of millet flour

1/2 cup of brown rice flour

3/4 cup of sorghum flour

1 1/2 cup of tapioca flour

1 TB of xanthan gum

1 1/2 ts of sea salt

Instructions:

In a large glass measuring container or bowl, pour the warm water (use a water/meat thermometer to test the warm water at 110- 115 for perfect water temp for dissolving yeast). So you measure and test the water and then pour the yeast packet and mix with a spoon and let sit and dissolve for around 5 minutes. In the meantime, in a large mixing bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together will with a whisk. Then in a smaller bowl mix all the other wet ingredients minus the water and yeast and have that ready for mixing. After 5 minutes, dig a hole in your dry mixtures and pour in the water and yeast, then pour in the other wet ingredients and mix well with a spatula. Mix until all the parts are together but be careful to not over mix and make the batter tougher than it needs to be. Use tapioca flour if you need a little more flour on top to mix with your hands. Roll/spoon into a ball in the bowl and drip a little more olive oil around the base.

Then cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit and rise for 2 hours in a warm place. A good warm place may be sitting on the stove top if you have the oven on, or wherever it is warmest in your kitchen. Let rise for 2 hours so that it is doubled in size. Then pull out of bowl, dust with more tapioca flour or oil and roll into ONE oblong loaf on a large baking sheet, dusted with flour if you prefer. Once you have a nice tight bread roll, then you can use a serrated knife and cut a design on the top. Then cover with the clean kitchen towel again and let rise for another 45 minutes on the stove.

After rising again, put in a preheated 425 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Bake until the crust is a golden brown and the loaf makes a hollow sons when you tap it with a knife. Pull from the oven and let rest and cool for at least 3 minutes before cutting into it. Serve fresh with some olive oil and herbs, or as your favorite dipping utensil.

Like I said, I made this to pair with a hearty lentil soup and even after sharing with friends had leftovers for the next two days. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the coming of fall in these cooler parts and I have to say... it feels nice to have a slice of dipping bread with soup. Almost surreal.

Hope you have a happy weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Much love to you!

xoxo

Stephanie