Anyway, back to the baguettes.

Somehow Jen and I started talking about bread baking. I told her that I’d never made a gluten-free baguette in my life. Jen said, “Oh Amy, it’s so easy. Just make the dough into the shape of a baguette.”

Duh. I should have known that. That’s what you do with wheat dough, right? And it’s not like I didn’t have a baguette pan in my pantry. (I have a habit of buying kitchen supplies and not using them in a timely manner. Like the English muffin rings, the mini springform pans, the 10-inch cake pans, the truffle dishes, the wire cake stand…I should stop there.)
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Read the rest of Baguettes

© Amy Green for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2012. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us

I use this for more than just sandwiches – I’ve made french toast, used it to dip in soups, and even packed a slice or two in my lunch when I have a long day of classes. It holds up beautifully.

This bread doesn’t taste like sourdough.  Instead, I’ve purposely used a small amount of starter in this recipe to help create a lighter loaf.  It does, though, have a more complex flavor than any of the other gluten-free breads I’ve had.

Please forgive me upfront for being a little more technical than I usually am.  I’ve been playing around with this recipe based on what I’ve learned about wheat-based sourdough starters and bread baking in school.  The only way to ensure that you can replicate this at home is to tell you exactly what I did.

Weighing versus Measuring

Professional pastry chefs weigh (or scale) their ingredients – and most weigh the liquids.  It’s more precise than using measuring cups. Grams and ounces are the two different units of measure used. I prefer grams because it’s more precise than ounces.

So, yes, the recipe is in grams.  I could roughly translate it into cups and tablespoons, however, it wouldn’t produce the same results and you’d have a failed loaf of bread.  I’d rather have you frustrated with me about the measurements than because of expensive ingredients that end up in your trash can.

Making it Pretty

Before popping the loaf in the oven, I used a fine mesh strainer to sprinkle flour over the top of the bread dough.  Then, I took a very sharp serrated knife, sprayed it with cooking spray, and cut three slashes in the top of the bread. Professional bread bakers call this ‘scoring’ the loaf.  I’ve found that my gluten-free breads bake better with a slash about 1/4 inch deep.

It also lets the bread expand during the baking process and create the gorgeous, irregular holes that one finds in wheat bread. This makes me happy deep down in my soul.

Oven Temperature

A hotter oven will set the sides of the loaf so that it doesn’t collapse when it comes out of the oven. I’ve baked this loaf at 350°F and 375°F and I like how the top looks better at 350°F but the loaf has more stable sides when baked at 375°F.  The loaf in the picture was baked at 375°F – try both in your oven and see what works best for you.

Determining Doneness

You can tap it and look at the top if you want.  I’ve been using an instant read thermometer and baking my loaves to an internal temperature of 206°F – 210°F.  This has been producing a loaf with a nice crust and a crumb that’s moist without being wet.

Pushing Your Limits

You may not be comfortable with how I put this recipe together – and I’m sure that it will push some of you outside your normal comfort zone.  This recipe makes a fabulous loaf of bread.  And, honestly, I think that’s worth it.

Other helpful posts:

• Perfect Bread with pictures of my proofing box
• Sourdough Starter

Please don’t e-mail questions:  Instead, leave any questions you have in the comments section.  Though I love your e-mails I am not able to answer all the questions that are sent to me.  If you leave your question in the comments section, I can reply and everyone else will be able to see my response.  It saves me from answering the same question five times.

Have fun baking!

© Amy Green for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2011. | Permalink | 81 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Bread Baked with My Soursdough Starter

I’ve been playing around with sourdough since I started my Breads & Rolls class in January.  My mom wasn’t a bread baker so I didn’t start to understand how bread baking works until we studied it in school.

I’m hooked.  In love. Amazed. Intrigued.

After a month of watching my starter grow and baking some incredible loaves of bread, I thought you’d like to see it too. There are so many different ways to make a starter and feed it, or keep it going. This is just what I’m doing right now – and it’s by no means the only way. It’s just one of many.

A Happy Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter

If you’ve never made a sourdough starter before, here are a few things you should know:

• Don’t worry if your gluten-free starter goes completely flat when you stir it – it’ll rise back up.  There’s no gluten to hold the gas in.
• Baking with sourdough starters is less predictable than baking with manufactured yeast because you don’t know exactly how much yeast is in the starter.
• The wetter the starter, the more enzyme activity there is. It’s more active due to the larger amount of water.
• You can leave it on the counter and feed it once or twice a day if you bake often.
• If you don’t bake often, it can be refrigerated and feed a few times a week.
• Sourdough starters can also be frozen for up to a year.  (But really, what fun is that?)

Think of your starter like a pet – it has to be fed regularly to keep the yeast alive and active.

This starter uses equal parts water and flour by weight. Don’t hate me.  You’re going to need a scale.

Why?  It’s more exact and, quite frankly, it’s easier.  Your bread will be more consistent and the results will be much better. I promise.

A starter should be fed at least 3 – 5 times before the first use. The older it is the better the flavor.  Don’t expect a great sourdough flavor after two weeks. Like all good things, it needs to be nurtured over time.  Still, even if your starter is young it will add lightness and flavor, both of which most gluten-free bread desperately needs.

Sourdough Starter from the Side - See the Little Gas Bubbles...

Here’s what I did to get started.  Have fun.  Bread recipes soon to come.

• Ryeless Rye Bread from Gluten-Free Goddess
• Perfect Gluten-Free Bread from A Year of Slow Cooking
• Gluten-Free Bread from Flour Arrangements

Find more recipes at Miz Helen’s Full Plate Thursday!

Resources:

DiMuzio, Daniel T.  Bread Baking: An Artisan’s Perspective.  John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, 2010. Print.

© Amy Green for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2011. | Permalink | 62 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Cooled & Ready to Slice

Here’s the gluten-free bread I’ve been telling you about.  It really is nearly perfect.  It doesn’t sink or collapse. It doesn’t fall apart the next day. I tastes great.  And, it’s healthy, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free too.

Joe loves his sandwiches.  He brought home a loaf of Jewish Rye the day before I made a loaf of this bread.  I walked into the kitchen and saw him slicing my bread for a sandwich.  When I asked him why he wasn’t eating the rye bread he smiled and said, “Honey, I love your bread.” Then he kissed me on the cheek.

Proofing Bread in a Plastic Box...Keeps in the Warmth & Humidity

Earlier today I told him we were having soup and salad for dinner.  Immediately he asked if I was going to make my bread.

Of course I am.

A Little Flour Science

One of the things I love most about being in Pastry Arts School is that I learn things about baking that otherwise I’d never figure out.

Yes, it’s mostly gluten-full but often I can apply most of what I learn to being a better gluten-free baker. Take this, for example:

• During World War II there was a flour shortage and French bakers added fava bean flour to their mixes because it increased the strength of the dough.

If you don’t believe me you can read it in Daniel T. Muzio’s book, Bread Baking: An Artisan’s Perspective. It’s the textbook for my Breads & Rolls class, and there’s nothing gluten-free about it.

Still, it helped me understand why my flour mix works so well.

Covered & Rising

I used my flour blend for all the recipes in my new book (which should be released very soon!). I’ve shown you here before how you can substitute it one for one in just about any recipe with spectacular results, like in this Red Grape Olive Oil Cake.

This recipe as been inspired by many different sources, Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special, The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, and much of what I’ve learned about good bread baking in school.

So, if you’re up for a lot of fun and really good loaf of bread get out your measuring cups and start baking.  (Or your digital scale…you’ll notice I included the weight, too. I’m back in school and thinking like a professional baker again…though I’m no where near professional!)

© Amy Green for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2011. | Permalink | 166 comments | Add to del.icio.us

I always look forward to seeing what Maggie has whipped up and today is no exception.  Bagels.  My first bagel making experience was in Fundamentals of Baking and it wasn’t easy to make them look good – and those were made with wheat.  I’m sure you’ll agree that Maggie’s bagles sans gluten, dairy, and eggs are a work of art.

If you want to chat with us on Twitter, you can follow Maggie here.  Make sure to subscribe to her RSS feed as well – I love seeing her in my Google Reader.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Bagels from Maggie at She Let Them Eat Cake

I’ve been participating in Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesday’s for a few months now.  In fact I base my blogging schedule around it because I admire Amy so much and love the chance to connect with Amy and her readers once a week.

The Love of A Wife & Mom Heals

I’ve only been blogging for 9 months and I’ve learned so much in that short time period.  I originally started blogging because my husband encouraged me to do so.  I’ve been baking gluten-free goodies for him for about 6 years since he was diagnosed with celiac disease.

But in December our 3 year-old son was diagnosed with a gluten, dairy, and egg sensitivity, and that obviously changed everything.

Since then all of my recipes have been made with him in mind.  We are all on the same diet for simplicity and safety’s sake.  I don’t want to fight that Why can Mommy eat that but I can’t? battle.  And I don’t want anyone getting sick because of gluten crumbs in the almond butter.

Eating Healthier Gluten-Free

None of us seem to miss what we’ve lost because we feel better and we’ve noticed the changes in everyone.  Food has become our fuel, our energy source.

Most of my baking focuses on every day foods that we might otherwise miss out on living on a healthy gluten-free diet.  Today I decided to include my recipe for gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free bagels.

Who doesn’t love a bagel?

Really, they’re much easier to make than you think. Especially after diving in the first time. They get easier.  It’s just like baking bread. It seems scary but it’s not.  And the result?  Homemade bagels with healthier ingredients.

Imagine being able to bite into freshly made gluten-free bagels that YOU made? It’s really one of life’s greatest foodie pleasures.

© Amy Green for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2010. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us