The main challenge of baking gluten-free bread is that gluten is the best food yeast eats in order to allow the process of leavening. There are several mix of gluten-free flours available on the market nowadays.
However, the secret to bake a perfect gluten-free bread is to use the right proportion of hydration and fat.
In my recipe, I used a ready-made mixture (Leila Preparato per Pane e Pizza) as follow: rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, some sugar (it is essential to feed the yeast), salt, xanthan gum, baking soda and potassium bitartrate.
Ingredients
- 500 ggluten-free flour
- 450 mllukewarm water
- 25 mlextra-virgin olive oil
- 5 gdried yeast
- q.s.seeds (optional)
Preparation
– sift the flour onto a large bowl;
– in a separate bowl, melt the yeast into the lukewarm water;
– wait few minutes or till it starts making a white foam on the surface, then pour it on the sifted flour;
– mix well then start kneading;
– knead till you start getting a ball of dough;
– keep on kneading while adding the extra virgin olive oil;
– transfer the dough into a large bowl, cover it with kitchen towel and put it to rest in a warm place, away from air drafts (i.e. the switched off oven);
– after 1 hour your dough should have doubled its size;
– place it inside a dusted loaf baking tray;
– cover your loaf with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest in warm place, away from air drafts (i.e. the switched off oven) till your static oven reaches the temperature of 230 degrees;
– if you like, you can top your bread with seeds;
– put your loaf into the oven, and after 5 minutes low the temperature to 200 degrees;
– bake for about 40 minutes or till golden brown;
– allow the bread to cool down before slicing it
