My Gluten-Free Bread Recipe

Buying gluten-free bread at the supermarket is ridiculously expensive. And some of it tastes like Styrofoam. I have been experimenting with baking my own. I really like the way I've been making it lately. It is a rather short loaf but the flavor and texture are good. I like to watch my carb intake so, to me, smaller slices aren't a bad thing.

Roxi's Gluten-Free Bread

Preheat oven to 100 degrees (or warm).

In a small bowl, soak 1/2 C. of rolled oats in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain. Set aside.

3/4c. warm water in a measuring cup. Add to this:
2 Tbs. Organic sugar
1 Tbs. yeast

Combine these dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl:
1/2 C. white rice flour
1/2 C. brown rice flour
1/2 C. tapioca starch
1/2 C. corn starch
1/4 C. powdered milk
2 1/2 tsp. Xanthum gum
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Beat all these together in a small mixing bowl:
1 egg
2 egg whites
2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 C. honey

By now your yeast should be trying to crawl out of the measuring cup. Add it, the oats and the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a mixer. Once combined stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Now mix on a medium setting for 4 minutes.

Spoon into a buttered bread pan. Smooth the top as best you can. Place it into the preheated warm oven and let it rise until it is just past the top of the pan. If you let it rise too much it may fall after baking.

Once it is risen, turn the heat up to 300 degrees and bake until it is brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Let it cool completely before slicing. Store it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. It's especially good toasted.

Enjoy!

Ant Wars

For the past couple of years I have been fighting a losing battle with these beastly little creatures. I have tried everything. Pellets, sprays....things that I hate using......but to no avail. Still they keep coming. But I think I may be turning the tide. I am making my own ant poison using water, molasses and borax. This photo is from day 2, when there were still quite a few ants clustered around the bait. Each day there are fewer and fewer live ants, and more dead ant carcasses for me to sweep up. I am hoping some of the ants are living long enough to make it back to their nest and share some of this treat with the queen. The borax seems to work well. Once they eat it they wander around aimlessly until they fall over, convulse, and die. I'd almost feel sorry for them if I didn't loathe them so much.


On a more appetizing note, I think I have perfected my bread recipe. This is a loaf from the last batch, which was made using some of the barley flour from the Hairy Porter. This bread is soooo good.

Getting Gardening Fever

The chives are sprouting, the camellias are blooming, the daffodils and tulips are sending up leaves and I am getting a serious case of spring fever. I have an overwhelming urge to go out and dig in the dirt. Unfortunately there is no time to do so this weekend. Yesterday was International Pipe Smoking Day and I spent most of it at Smokey Joe's, in Fife, WA, hanging with my homeboys. I did manage to get the hefeweizen bottled before celebrating, but not much else was accomplished besides drinking lots of beer and smoking lots of pipes. But hey, that's what the holiday was all about.

That left today to get most of my housework done. As of now I have done 6 loads of laundry, took the husbeast out to lunch (used my $20 of food for $8 Groupon), bought 2 books on gardening, and am in the process of baking some bread. Here are the 2 new books I picked up.




I used my $10 off Groupon. I probably could've got a better deal on Amazon but I wanted to be able to leaf through the books before buying. Still, 2 books for $25 is not too shabby. I was hoping they had a book on seed saving but no such luck.

Today is also "bread baking" day. I am trying something different. I ground the spent grains, then double sifted them to get most of the chaff out. Here is the chaff.


And here is the nice malted barley flour that went into today's loaves.


This is the bread dough before going into the warm oven to rise.


My friend Kristine came over to feed her bees today. The bees weren't all that keen on her poking around in their hive and are very active. Here is Singha sitting near the hive entrance watching "kitty TV".

Mr. Wine II

I wanted to start a raspberry melomel today, but then realised I don't have any more small fermenters that have a wide enough opening for a straining bag. Darn it. I have been looking on Craigslist and Freecycle for an unwanted Mr. Beer but no luck yet.

This morning I was sifting through the junk mail, tossing things into the recycling, when I happened upon a coupon for Cost Plus World Market. My favorite! $10 off your $30 purchase. Hmmmmm...I wonder if they have any wine racks? I hurried on over there and, sure enough, they had a 20 bottle stacking wine rack in pine. The price? $34.99. I used my coupon and got it for $24.99 plus tax. Next time I get a coupon I'll pick up another.

After I dropped it off at home it was time to head in the opposite direction, to K-Mart, to pick up a couple of curtain rods and 4 shower curtain liners. I want 2 liners for each bathroom so when they need washing I can just hang up the second set. K-Mart had the rods, for $1.99 a set. But they had absolutely NO shower curtain liners. Are you kidding me? None? Nope. So I went next door to BigLots and got 2 each in cream and white. $2 per plus tax. While in that area I couldn't resist checking out the local thrift store, Thrift City. This is not the nicest or cleanest thrift shop. Kind of dicey. But I did manage to find a few bargains. And everything there was half off the sticker price. I found a cute sweater for Reggie for $1.50, 10 cotton appliance covers for $5, curtains for my bathroom for $2.50, a woven cotton throw rug for $1. Then, as I was wandering the aisles, I spotted it. Is that....A MR. BEER???? Sure was. For $1.50. Woot!!! And then, at the other end of the store, 8 Mr. Beer plastic bottles! At $.40 each. That means I grabbed all the important parts of a Deluxe Mr. Beer Kit for under $5. When I got it home I discovered that the tap on it has a leak, but I will just plug it with a rubber stopper as shown in the picture.


I now possess 16 of those plastic bottles. I don't want to put beer in them, but they are awesome for making sparkling hard cider and other quick, fruity summer beverages. You add sugar when you bottle and let it carbonate until you can no longer squeeze the bottle. That's how you know it's ready. Then you just pop it into the refrigerator to halt the carbonation. And you have a nice, cold, fizzy, alcoholic drink. I plan on putting them to work this summer.

This afternoon it was time to pitch the yeast into the strawberry rhubarb wine. I like to give the liquid a good stirring to get it oxygenated then just sprinkle the yeast on top. I store my bulk wine yeast in the freezer and by sprinkling it I let it take it's time getting used to the temperature. As it soaks up the liquid it adapts slowly.


I made this little fermenter out of a bucket that held some sort of grain. I had the husbeast drill a hole in the lid so I could fit it with a bubbler and I also made 1 and 2 gallon marks on the side with a magic marker.


Today was baking day and the husbeast suggested I grind some of that spent grain I dried, and add it to the bread. Sure, why not? Here is our grain mill. It's attached to a big, heavy old computer desk that we have in the brewing room.


Here is the dried grain in the hopper.


And here is the finished flour. I wanted it rather coarse so my bread can have some texture.


I plan to add 2 cups of this flour along with 12 cups of regular unbleached flour. That will make 4 loaves. Here's hoping they're GOOD loaves this time.

Everyday Bread Recipe

My husband requested I make some "white" bread. He also asked for thicker slices. I am happy to oblige. I am using a modified version of this recipe for white bread from Food.com. Here is my version:

Willoughby Daily Bread
1 tsp. sugar
6 3/4 tsp (3 packages) yeast
2 cups warm water
Mix together in a bowl, with a whisk, and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add:
1 cup sugar
4 cups of warm water
Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes. I put mine in my KitchenAid mixer.
Add:
3 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (one stick) melted butter
6 cups unbleached flour
Mix on slow speed for 3 minutes. Pour into a very large mixing bowl. Add:
7 cups of unbleached flour (a cup at a time)
Mix with a wooden spoon after every addition.
Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, adding more unbleached flour as needed. Put 1/4 cup of oil in a large bowl. Roll dough around, to coat all sides. Cover with a cotton dish towel and place in a warm, draft free place and allow to rise until doubled. Pour out onto a floured surface and punch down. Cut into 4 pieces, form into loaves and place into 4 large buttered (or oiled) loaf pans.
Melt 2 TBS. Butter and brush tops of loaves.
Again cover and let rise until doubled. Remove cotton towel. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake loaves for 35 minutes or until they are deep brown and sound hollow when tapped. Allow loaves to cool before slicing. This bread freezes well.

Makes 4 large loaves.

HINT: I allow my dough to rise in the oven, with just the oven light on. Then I leave the pans in the oven while it preheats. Be sure to take the towel off, before baking. LOL

Simple Beauty

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I think this rolling pin is gorgeous. It was a gift from a former employee. She was quite a bit older than I, and this rolling pin had belonged to her mother. What possessed her to pass it along to me? I have no idea. But, I have to say, it is one of the most appreciated gifts I've ever received. I use it every week, to roll out my bread.


You can tell it is quite old. The green paint has been rubbed off the handles. And the wooden roller has a lovely patina. Best of all, it works perfectly.

Apple Butter Time

Come along with me as I make a batch of crock pot apple butter. It doesn't get much easier than this. You start by making a big batch of apple sauce. Get your largest saucepan. Fill it 1/4 to 1/5 full of water. I think I filled mine about 1/5 this time, since apple butter needs to be quite a bit thicker than applesauce. Stir in 1 Tbs. lemon juice. Pick a whole lot of apples. I don't count them. I just quit once the pot is full. Wash the apples, cut them into quarters and remove the stems and most of the seeds. Don't worry if you miss some seeds, as they will be removed by the food mill. Add the prepared apples to the pot. Bring the water to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Stir the pot full of apples (and you want it very full) until the apples are cooked and falling apart.


When the apples are ready, place your food mill over a large bowl, ladle in some cooked apples, and crank for all you're worth.


When you've cranked out all the apple sauce, empty the peelings and other yucky stuff remaining in the mill, into another large bowl.


When your bowl of apple sauce gets full, empty it into your largest crock pot (I think mine holds 6 or 7 quarts) and start over. When all the apples have been milled your crock pot should look like this.


At this point all you'd need to do is add a couple cups of sugar, and you'd have applesauce. But we are going a step beyond that. You'll still add the 2 cups of sugar. But you'll also add 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice.


Mix it all together well. Before you cover it to cook you'll want to put a couple of spacers between the pot and the lid, so the moisture can evaporate and the apple butter cooks down and gets thick. I use chopsticks.


Now cover it with the lid, set it on low, and leave it for a long, long time. I started mine early in the morning, and let it cook until late at night.


I took the lid off and stirred it every few hours, but that's not really necessary. You want it to be very dark and thick, not runny. Some recipes say it's done when a wooden spoon stands up in it, by itself....but I can get a wooden spoon to stand up in my applesauce, so I don't think that's a good indicator. You want it to be thick enough to spread on a biscuit or toast, and not run off or soak right in. This is what the finished product should look like.


My apple butter was actually finished last night but I was too tired to can it up. So I set the crock pot on warm, removed the spacers, replaced the lid and let it remain plugged in until this morning. Then I turned the heat up to high to make sure it was hot when I canned it. I then ladled it into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4" head space. I tightened the rings well and inverted the jars for 15 minutes then flipped them back over. They all sealed just fine. I now have 12 half pints of apple butter to add to my pantry.


I also have a partial jar to enjoy now. To celebrate, I baked a couple of loaves of fresh whole wheat bread.


How does some buttered toast with apple butter sound?

Even Better Bread?

Its hard to imagine my home baked bread being even more delicious. But I'm all for improvements. I stumbled across this Homemade Dough Enhancer recipe while visiting the "Chickens In The Road" blog (link in my sidebar). Since commercial dough enhancers can be pricey I decided to give this recipe a try. Here I have assembled my ingredients, all except the vital wheat gluten that I got in the bulk foods section of Fred Meyers (Krogers).


The canning jar contains the mixed ingredients. Now, do you notice anything wrong with this picture? In my zeal to get the bread baking, today, I completely left out the ground ginger. Rats! Too late for this batch of bread, as its in the oven rising as I type. But I will be sure and add the ginger to the remaining enhancer. I made a triple batch so it should last a while. I am using 2 TBS. per loaf since my bread is 2/3rd whole wheat flour. I will let you know if the enhancer actually enhances the bread enough to justify the added cost.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

The weather is still rather damp and dreary, although I do see the sun peeking through now and again. Maybe tomorrow will be dry (fingers crossed). Since I can't dig in the dirt I'll play in the kitchen. Today's adventure is making my first batch of cinnamon raisin bread. This is a childhood favorite and reminds me of my great grandmother's house. When I was a child, I thought she had fascinating things in her home. A box of old Lincoln logs and vintage metal cars, lots of greeting cards and Red Rose tea animals on the mantle, and in the kitchen there were always Archway oatmeal raisin cookies and some delicious cinnamon raisin bread. She wore her hair in a tight bun so I was surprised to see how long her hair was when it was down. I remember watching her use a curling iron that was heated with an oil lamp. I was very young back then so those are some of my only memories of her. I love oatmeal raisin cookies and cinnamon raisin bread to this day.


CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD
1 1/2 C. milk
2 C. raisins
1 C. warm water (about 110 degrees F.)
2 (1/4 oz) packages of yeast, or 4 1/2 tsp.
1/4 tsp. sugar
3 eggs
1/2 C. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. butter, softened
4 C. whole wheat flour
4 C. all purpose flour

Filling:
2 Tbs. milk
1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. cinnamon

2 Tbs. butter, melted

Directions:
Warm milk in a small saucepan on stove until just a bit warmer than 125 degrees F. Remove from heat and stir in the raisins. This will allow them to plump. Set aside.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. stir in the 1/4 tsp. of sugar. Let sit until foamy.

With a large mixing bowl on your stand mixer, mix together eggs, sugar, butter, and salt. Mix in yeast. Mix in the cooled milk and raisins slowly, so you don't cook the eggs. Mix in the whole wheat flour, one cup at a time. Remove from mixer and start stirring in the all purpose flour, one cup at a time, until it is too stiff to stir. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading, adding more of the AP flour as needed to produce a good dough. Knead for about 12 minutes. Shape into a ball and place in a large mixing bowl that has been coated with corn oil. Roll the ball around in the oil to coat all sides. Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm, draft free spot to rise. I like to heat up my oven slightly, then turn on the light in there and use the oven to let the dough rise. You need to let the dough rise until its doubled.


Meanwhile mix together the sugar and cinnamon, for the filling, and divide that between 3 small bowls.


Remove the blob of risen dough from the bowl and place onto a floured surface. Gently punch it down with your fists. Roll the dough out into a square and then cut it into 3 equal (or as close as you can get) pieces.


Now roll each piece of dough, one at a time, out into a rectangle. You want the width to be about the length of your bread pan. Don't roll it too thin. You want it about 1/3" thick, and much longer than it is wide. Rub the rectangle with 1/4 of the milk and sprinkle with one of the little bowl fulls for cinnamon sugar.


Now roll it up tightly, starting at the shorter end. Use some of the milk to help pinch and seal the seam and both ends. Place the loaf,seam side down, into a pan and repeat that process with the remaining 2 thirds of dough. You should end up with something that looks like this.


Brush the tops of the loaves with the melted butter. Cover and return to the warm oven to rise for a second time, again until doubled. Remove the towel and, leaving the pans in the oven, preheat it to 350 degrees F.


Now bake your loaves for approximately 30 minutes. You want them to be nice and brown but not burnt. The finished loaves should sound hollow when lightly tapped.

Remove from pans and place on cooling racks. Do not slice until completely cool.

NOTE: This recipe is an adaptation of "World's Best Cinnamon Raisin Bread" found on Recipezaar. In this inital batch I used 1 cup sugar and 3 Tbs. cinnamon, for the filling, like the original recipe shows, but I feel that is too much and I will use half that amount in future batches. This is supposed to be cinnamon bread...not cinnamon rolls. Having so much sugar in there made it hard to roll the dough tight enough. Mine tended to want to come apart. It's still good, though, and it'll be even better next time.

Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

Today I decided to try my hand at making bread. I really don't like most commercially available breads, and those that I do like cost too much. Besides, I like to know exactly what is in what I'm eating. I had today off from work, and the weather was too rainy to work in the garden. It was the perfect time to do some baking. I made a visit to YouTube and found a series of videos from epicurious which show how to knead, proof and shape the dough. I had planned to use a recipe I'd found on the web for beginner white bread, and substitute some whole wheat flour for half the white flour. But when I went to the grocery store, to purchase the whole wheat flour, I found this recipe for Honey-Whole Wheat Bread on the back of the package. It sounded like just the recipe I was looking for. It was easy and called for wholesome things like butter and honey. Thanks to the video, I successfully kneaded the dough and it rose well. Here it is all shaped and in the pans, ready to rise for a second time.


I baked it for about 5 minutes less than the recipe recommends. I was afraid it might burn if I left it any longer. Here are the finished loaves cooling off.


I had read somewhere about greasing the bread pans with butter and sprinkling them with cornmeal, which is what I did. It isn't the most attractive thing, but it does make a nice crunchy crust. I'll probably continue to do that in the future. I also brushed the top of the loaves with melted butter before baking, although the recipe didn't mention to do that. The bread turned out perfectly. I had 2 pieces of peanut butter toast for dinner and it was the best toast I ever ate.