Gluten-free Breads and Pastry?

[Mjx]

. . . .

I do find as I research more and talk to people who are gluten-free that what they miss the most are not sweets but an ordinary sandwich made with soft white bread. And when some of the well-known bakers (Lepard, Rinehart) are coming up empty, I suspect it will be the hardest to replace. . .

 

Definitely. Before the verdict of a comprehensive starch intolerance was reached, and after a crushingly disappointing rice flour loaf that looked and smelled gorgeous, but turned to library paste when chewed, I eagerly tried every alternative flour/powdered starch that crossed my path. Surprisingly (?), for 'breadiness', various flatbreads and crackers seemed far more satisfactory than loaves. None of the wheat/grain-free recipes I tried was particularly satisfactory, and I was happier with the results I got form tweaking standard recipes. When making these, in addition to using my 'flour of the moment' instead of wheat flour, I generally replaced all, or nearly all the liquid in the standard recipe with egg white. Slack doughs and batters definitely gave better results than firm doughs.

[Franci]

Anna, if you need any sweets, I have a good number of very good almond/hazelnut cakes and cookies. They are all very very good.

 

For something more American in taste, I tried this and it was really very good, I could not tell it was gluten free. I didn't convert everything in grams, only on my notes I have 1 cup coconut flour=120 g

 

I already posted the pictures on Egullet

 

 

 

Also, if you need a banana bread. It doesn't have any sugar and to be honest, I didn't miss it!

 

 

 

Also, for crackers, I already mentioned in the past,  I absolutely adore these crackers. It's important make them very thin and dry them well.

 

I know the name is pretentious...instead, the life changing bread on the same blog I didn't like at all.

 

 

 

 

[Anna N]

Thank you, Franci. Those crackers even appeal to me.

I am not claiming victory by a longshot but today I made the sandwich bread from the King Arthur site. I made the cheese bread variation and had to sub in white rice flour for some of the brown as I did not have enough. Additionally I sent the brown rice flour for a few twirls in the Thermomix.

Of all the bread recipes I have tried so far this one rates the highest. It does not have that morguish cold clammy feel to it, doesn't crumble and word came back that it toasts well. These breads have the lifespan of a gnat so it was sliced and frozen immediately. Time will tell if it is worth repeating. I suspect the cheese does more than improve the flavour. It also has three whole eggs, some milk and some butter. In other words the sort of ingredients one would find in a normal loaf of enriched bread. It still is not the kind of bread one would sit and eat for the sheer pleasure but it may well make a good sandwich.

Edited to add a couple of photographs

Just out of the oven. It overflowed the bread pan and "pooped" hunks of dough into the bottom of my oven and I had to sort of chisel it from the pan.

The crumb.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[caroled]

Anna the crumb on that bread looks so moist and tender. 

[Anna N]

Anna the crumb on that bread looks so moist and tender.

I have to tell you the most annoying thing about this bread is that even before I had finished my dinner the slice I had kept had already started to dry out and harden. How sad is that?

Today I made a repeat of the gluten-free blueberry muffins which I have made and posted about before. Aside from almond flour replacing the all-purpose flour they contain nothing but good ingredients and easily pass muster.

They do not dome nicely so are a little less attractive and I am sure their calorie count is horrendous but they make a fine snack.

Edited because I do know the difference between their and there.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

So beyond white sandwich bread what the gluten free people seem to want the most is a decent pizza crust. Yesterday I was able to replenish my supplies so today I thought I would give it a shot. Preliminary research led me to a recipe on Epicurious which dates back to 2008. It received excellent reviews. Until it was time to shape it it could not have been easier. But the shaping is enough to put one safely within the padded walls of a psychiatric ward for the severely disturbed. The dough is so sticky that no amount of olive oil on the hands and on the dough can mitigate the frustration of trying to thin it out.

My first attempt.

My second attempt.

You can see that I have nibbled somewhat at that first attempt tearing off small pieces to taste. It is not Neapolitan pizza dough but nor is it horrible. I am going to top it shortly with what ever ingredients I can find in my fridge and pantry and see how the final product turns out.

My suspicion is that people who are posting reviews have been eating gluten-free products for a long time and anything that is even reasonably edible gets high marks.

I am also hoping to make the crackers that Franci linked to.

[Franci]

So beyond white sandwich bread what the gluten free people seem to want the most is a decent pizza crust. Yesterday I was able to replenish my supplies so today I thought I would give it a shot. Preliminary research led me to a recipe on Epicurious which dates back to 2008. It received excellent reviews. Until it was time to shape it it could not have been easier. But the shaping is enough to put one safely within the padded walls of a psychiatric ward for the severely disturbed. The dough is so sticky that no amount of olive oil on the hands and on the dough can mitigate the frustration of trying to thin it out.

 

 

And if you follow something along the lines of pao de queijo?

I have not tried this but given how much I like pao de queijo and his chewiness,  it might be good.

 

Also, as I wrap, I'm always being curious about the "tapioca" the Brazilian crepe. I have some tapioca starch, I'll try, maybe tomorrow and report back

[Anna N]

Thank you, Franci.

Sooner or later someone will tell me to get a life! Felt that my first efforts at pizza today were worth pursuing. Extrapolated from the bread with the cheese in it to pizza crust with cheese. Made up another batch of the recipe but stirred in 50 g of micro-planed Parmesan before pouring the batter out of the mixing bowl. Not really sure why this batter was so much thinner than the one I did this morning. Surely not the fault of the cheese. Since I converted all volumes to weights the two batters should have been pretty much identical. This one was much more spreadable and instead of using olive oil and fingers I used a wet offset spatula and was able to spread it very thinly. This however presented another problem. It is covered loosely with plastic wrap for 20 minutes before going into the oven. The plastic wrap took a layer of dough with it when I removed it even though I had oiled it. Damn I think this is going to be a usable pizza crust. I nibbled a little of it and then sent it on its way. I shall await a report.

The underside.

[Anna N]

I made the crackers, Franci, and they are awesome. No photos as they are all gone. I will roll them thinner next time and cook them longer.

Gluten-free fudgy brownies made using teff, sorghum flours and tapioca starch. I am not a brownie expert but I suspect it would be difficult to detect that these were gluten free.

Edited to change dinner to thinner.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[Bakkone]

Great stuff!

 

I've just begun my quest for good GF bread. After having some gluten free bread at Per Se i NYC i know it is possible to have some amazing bread without gluten.

 

So thank you for all your hard work. Im gonna do some experiments and try to join in.

 

Has anyone of you tried any gluten substitutes like the "Freedom gluten replacement"?

 

/D

[Anna N]

This is the sorghum sandwich bread from the King Arthur site. I did not use their prepackaged flour but followed the recipe for the brown rice flour they suggest. I put my brown rice flour into the thermomix for a few whirls at top speed. This bread although it is not white would make fine sandwiches I think. It is not nearly so stodgy as ones I have tried before. I just ate the heel with some butter on it and found it quite palatable. Still not bread mind you!

[weinoo]

I made a really great Spanish Tarta de Santiago recently.  Almonds, lemon, orange, and eggs are its primary ingredients. There are plenty of recipes - I used on from Penelope Casas' The Foods of Spain.

[Anna N]

I made a really great Spanish Tarta de Santiago recently.  Almonds, lemon, orange, and eggs are its primary ingredients. There are plenty of recipes - I used on from Penelope Casas' The Foods of Spain.

Yes there are many, many sweets and such that are by nature gluten-free or can be easily made gluten-free with little harm. The hurdle is making breads, rolls, flour tortillas, pizza etc. Those damned gluten strands defy replication.

[GlorifiedRice]

Dont forget Besan flour!

 

I wonder if whipping mashed potatoes till they get gluey would sub for gluten in another type of Gluten Free flour. That or Nagaimo puree...