Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
Friday, April 17, 2015
Gluten is a wheat protein that gives bread it's structure. Unfortunately, more people are showing sensitivity to gluten in bread. Especially American wheat products.
And although you'll never get quite the same structure as regular flour, this recipe comes close. However, before committing your life to a gluten free existence, read the article What's wrong with our wheat? It's got a few ideas that just might free up your ability to eat wheat without adhering to a strict gluten free regimen.
Now this recipe is an adaptation of many I have tried, tweaked and worked on over the years - and features a sourdough starter. This is important because this type of yeast can make bread more digestible.
Instructions:
Throw the starter and 1 1/2 cups flour into a large bowl. Stir it up - it should be like a batter. Cover loosely and let sit 8-12 hours at room temperature.
Now add the sugar, salt, and xanthan gum and put it all in your stand mixer. Mix till combined
Using your stand mixer, mix in the milk, butter, eggs and the remaining flour beating all the time; the mixture will be moist at first, but once all the milk and flour is added, it'll firm up. It'll still be a soft dough.
Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Now beat at high speed for 2-4 minutes, turning the batter smooth and thick. It's more of a batter than a dough at this point.
Cover the bowl and let rise until nearly doubled. Depending on temperature, it should be 1-3 hours. When done, scrape down the sides (this will deflate the batter)
Prepare a 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pan by greasing it. Scoop the dough into the pan and level it using your wet fingers or a wet spatula.
Cover with greased plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until the loaf barely crowns above the rim. This could take as little as 45 minutes or as much as 2 hours. It depends on the yeast that you have in your area. Since the yeast isn't standardized, but natural based on your location - not only will the flavor differ from place to place - but the speed of rise will be different as well.
When it's almost ready, preheat the over to 350°F.
Bake the bread for about 40 minutes, until golden brown. Start peeking at the bread at about 35 minutes - but don't open the oven.
Ingredients:
| Item | Amount |
| King Arthur Gluten Free Multi Purpose Flour | 2 3/4 cups (divided) |
| Active Sourdough Starter | 1 cup |
| Sugar | 3 TBS |
| Salt | 1¼ tsp |
| Xanthan gum | 1¼ tsp |
| Milk | ¼ cup |
| Butter, Soft | 4 TBS |
| Eggs, large | 3 each |
Tips:
Wild yeast from a starter reacts differently from place to place. Some or more active - some more sour. You get what you get. You'll even find that they change during the seasons so you'll have a slightly different Summer bread than a Winter one. Crazy. But this is what will make your bread - uniquely yours.
So when you leave a comment, make sure you let everyone know where you baked it (city and state) so they can compare!
Low-Fat Options: It's fairly low-fat as it is.
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