Gluten-Free Makeovers (11 page)

Tips
:
If using a non-dairy butter spread, cut and freeze for 15 minutes before using.

Avoid pressing or kneading the dough with your hands as this will soften the butter. Cold butter produces a flakier, lighter crust.

This all-purpose
bread makes great sandwiches and toast and is the basis for the Apple Caramel Monkey Bread on page 33. It was inspired out of necessity, for who among us doesn’t need a great sandwich bread? This is a staple in my kitchen.

Spray an 8½ × 4½-inch or 9 × 5-inch loaf pan with vegetable spray.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, add the flour blend, milk powder, brown sugar, and yeast and mix to combine. Mix together the water, eggs, and vegetable oil in a separate bowl. Add to the dry ingredients. Beat on low for 1 minute. Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth, shiny, and has thickened.

Scrape the dough into the prepared pan. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free area until the dough rises to the top of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake on the middle rack for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top sounds hollow when tapped and the internal temperature reads 190° to 200°F.

Remove and turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.

Combine the eggs, water, and vegetable oil and pour into the bread pan. Combine the flour blend and milk powder. Spoon over the wet ingredients. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. Follow the instructions of the machine for proper setting or pick a setting that allows for one knead and rise cycle and a 50 minute bake time.

Avoiding Dairy?
Use Vance’s DariFree or powdered soy milk in place of powdered milk (see Simple Substitutions, page 265).

Dairy-free

A former restaurateur
with a classical culinary background and a great deal of curiosity, my friend Priscilla Martel has a better understanding of gluten-free baking than most gluten-free people I know. As such, she made sure that the fine professional baking tome,
On Baking
, contained a representation of gluten-free recipes. This one is adapted, with permission, from her book.
*

Lightly oil a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan.

Combine the rice flour, tapioca starch/flour, flaxseed meal, xanthan gum, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg with the oil, milk, and yeast. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and beat on low speed for 1 minute, or until blended. Add the vinegar and beat on medium speed for 4 minutes.

Scrape the dough into the prepared pan. Coat a rubber spatula or a sheet of plastic wrap with vegetable spray and smooth the top. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free area to rise to the top of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake 60 to 70 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 190°F to 200°F. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and freeze any portion not used within three days.