The Best Gluten Free White Bread!

When I ask you all what the one thing is that you've missed most since going gluten free, I have a feeling that a resounding cry will go up to the heavens of "warm, homemade bread".

 

You miss that chewy, soft texture, that crunchy crust, that warm, yeasty aroma. You want crunchy, golden brown toast, not a crumbling heap of "bread" with jam. You want a good ole reliable sandwich, not a brick of disgustingness that tastes like rancid beans and sticks to the roof of your mouth. You want warm bread, right out of the oven with butter melting into all the crevices, not a big eggy mess that squishes under your bread knife. 

You want this bread.

 

This recipe is actually based on my pizza crust recipe which was based on this Udi's Copycat Recipe.

I love Udi's, but this... this is much, much better.

I call this bread "batter". It's really not doughy like gluteny bread dough. Also unlike gluten bread, gluten free bread does not need to be kneaded... it only needs to be needed (sorry). You just beat it up, flop it into a greased pan, let it rise once, and then bake it!

If you don't believe me that this bread is totally awesome, let me just tell you that my older sister... the bread connoisseur of this family, the sister who sneaks out in the dead of night to spy on all the bakeries and learn their secrets, the sister uses baking stones, sourdough starters, biga, poolishes, and all the other weird things that only true bread fanatics know about... that sister claims that this bread is some of the best she's ever tasted. 

The Best Gluten Free White Bread

3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
3 egg whites
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups Tapioca Flour
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2 cup Potato Starch
2 teaspoons Xanthan Gum
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

In a large bowl combine the water and yeast. In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. After one minute, add the brown sugar, olive oil, and vinegar to the water and yeast. Once the egg whites are stiff, slowly pour in the water mixture while continuing to beat on medium speed. Mix together the flours, starch, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder and add to the wet mixture. Beat for one minute until smooth. Pour into a well greased bread pan. Let rise in a warm, moist place until doubled (about an hour). Score the top if you want with a sharp knife. Bake at 350ºF for about 45 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting (if you can bear the suspense). If you're not going to use the bread immediately, you can freeze a sliced loaf and just get out a slice as needed and let it thaw on it's own, in the toaster, or in the microwave. If you don't freeze it, it will dry out in a day or two.

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Fresh Basil Quinoa {With Olives, Tomatoes, Chicken, Red Bell Pepper and Cukes}

Ah, quinoa! So hearty, so healthy, so proteinaceous, so delicious, so easy to pronounce! If you're new to gluten free world, perhaps you're not yet acquainted with it. It's one of the grains you can actually eat! So if you're getting sick of rice, it's about time you give it a try. You can buy it here on Amazon if you can't find it at the store.

By the way, I was lying before when I said it's easy to pronounce. It actually goes against all human reason and even against that video I just linked to. That was just a little joke. Heh. It's actually pronounced keen-wah.



The real reason I made this quinoa though, was to take pictures of my basil. Ain't it purty? I know, I've been talking about making an herb garden for a while and you probably thought I would forget about it like so many of my other schemes. But I bet you weren't expecting this:



Okay, so the dill is a little sad and the sage is not very... sagey, but I still love it. Seriously, I don't know what's up with that sage. I'm starting to think it's actually a weed because it doesn't look like any sage I've ever seen. 

But getting back to the quinoa...

This is just something I threw together with anything I could find around the house. Don't worry too much about exact measurements and stuff. Just make it the way you like it!

Fresh Basil Quinoa

1 cup raw quinoa
1 cup chopped, cooked chicken (I used rotisserie) 
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 can of olives (I left them whole because I was lazy, but you can chop them if you want)
1/2 of a white onion, chopped
1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 of a large cucumber, chopped
 A handful of fresh basil, chopped

For the dressing:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup light olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sugar

Cook the quinoa according the package instructions and chill.  Add all the vegetables and basil and stir it up. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the quinoa. Chill until ready to serve.

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