Laura T.'s blog

I haven't been around on here for a while with my gluten free creations as I've been trying to sort out my health once and for all. After switching to a different medical practice, I have found out that my diagnosis of coeliac disease was not justified and that all my issues were in fact down to something much simpler which can be treated with regular supplements and diet (I already had a healthy diet, but need to incorporate more of certain foods). Whilst I am annoyed and frustrated at having spent so much time, effort and cash and gluten free foods for the last 6 months or so, I am very happy to say:

I CAN EAT BREAD AGAIN!

I'm sure I'll be around a lot more as I get back to proper baking. I even have a bread stall at a craft fair next weekend! Now I just need to re-learn m=some old techniques and try to acquire some new ones...

I created a new starter last week from just cornmeal and water (150% hydration) as a bit of an experiment. It has a really nice sour smell to it and I've been so excited to bake with it. This is my first loaf using the new starter. It was really tasty, slightly sour. My husband really loved it!

• 200g 150% hydration cornmeal starter
• 500g water
• 30g psyllium
• 350g flour - 100g cornmeal, 75g white rice, 75g sorghum, 100g corn starch well combined
• 10g salt

Mix the starter and psyllium with the water and beat until a gel is formed. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Mix and knead until a smooth dough is formed. Cover in an oiled bowl and leave to rise until approximately 2.5x the original size. Form into a boule and place in a floured banneton. Cover and prove on the bench for about 40 minutes. Retard in the fridge over night. In the morning, lift out the bread and prove at room temp whilst preheating the oven to 250c. Turn out eh dough and slash the top. Egg wash if desired. Bake on a stone, with a couple of ice cubes in the bottom of the oven, until well browned. Leave to cool COMPLETELY on a rack before slicing.

Before going gluten free, I used to love making Jason's Coccodrillo Ciabatta. So quick, easy and delicious! I wanted to try to create something similar with my gf flours and this is what I came up with. If you enjoy the taste of sorghum, you'll definitely appreciate this one. :)

• 400g flours, mixed to combine - 150g sorghum, 100g rice, 150g corn starch
• 5g yeast
• 15g salt
• 20g psyllium
• 660ml water

Mix the psyllium with the water and beat until a gel is formed. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Mix and knead until a smooth dough is formed. Cover in an oiled bowl and leave to rise until approximately 2.5x the original size. Pat and stretch on a floured baking sheet to create very flat ciabatta shapes. Prove whilst preheating the oven to 250c. Just before baking, flip the ciabattas over. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until golden. Do not cut the bread until it is fully cooled.

Sorry about the terrible slice! I need a new bread knife!

I decided to try making a straightforward baguette, as a quick alternative to my overnight version. It turned out pretty nice. Enjoyed it with the first bottle of this year's elderflower sparkling wine. Will write about this on my blog too.

• 400g flours, mixed to combine - 100g sorghum, 100g cornmeal, 100g rice, 100g corn starch
• 7g yeast
• 12g salt
• 25g psyllium
• 600ml water

My last sourdough starter had an unfortunate accident in which it ended up all over my kitchen floor, along with pieces of its glass container. So, I started a new one and yesterday it was ready to use. I fed it about 2 hours before making this recipe. It turned out really great! Nice and reasonably light with a good amount of sour flavour.  

• 150g 100% hydration starter (mine is mainly rice and sorghum flour, with a little red teff)
• 400g water
• 21g psyllium husks
• 11g salt
• 110g corn starch
• 110g stone-ground white rice flour
• 150g sorghum flour
• 40g very coarsley ground quinoa (I just bashed it up in a mortar and pestle)
• Brown rice milk, for glazing (optional, but gives a more attractive finish)

1. Dilute the starter in the water and whisk in psylliu until emulsified.
2. Leave covered for 30 minutes.
3. Sprinkle over salt.
4. Mix together the flours and quinoa.
5. Add to the starter mix and knead until it comes together to form a dough.
   Note: You only need to knead until it comes together, as gluten free bread does not require development of the gluten strands through kneading - just make sure it's well mixed and smooth.
6. Form a ball and leave to rise in the fridge overnight in a covered and oiled container.
7. The next day, knock back the dough and form into two bâtards.
8. Cover and leave to prove for an hour.
9. While the bread is proving, preheat the oven with a stone to full temp (This is 250c on my oven).
10. Uncover the loaves, brush with a little brown rice milk, slash and transfer to the oven.
11. Bake for about 25 minutes, turning halfway through if neccassary, until a dark reddish brown colour is acheived.
12. Leave to cool COMPLETELY before cutting the bread, otherwise the texture will be gummy.

Wrote about this on my blog the other day and thought I may as well post it her too :)

Bread Flour – 450g
180g corn starch (often called cornflour here in the UK)
125g sorghum flour
85g stone ground white rice flour
60g red teff flour

And there you have it! Blended together, these make a really great versatile flour. This much flour will require around 20g psyllium dissolved in 450ml water, 10g salt, and 7g of yeast to make a basic loaf. My favourite additions to this at the moment are sundried tomatoes and basil.

I made baguettes with no wheat and it was good. Like, really good. Better than I could ever have hoped. I know that some of the processes I follow aren't ideal when it comes to traditional bread-making, but without gluten it seems that everything changes.

Despite being gluten-free, these have a great holey crumb and are lighter even than the ciabattas I used to make with wheat. The flavour was lovely and tangy from the sourness.

Recipe

150g 100% hydration white rice & red teff starter
175g white rice flour
175g potato starch
25g psyllium husks
420g water
12g salt

• Mix together the water and psyllium, stirring until a gel forms.
• Incorperate all of the ingrediens, except the salt, with the gel.
• Form a ball and leave to rise in a covered bowl at room temp for aprox. 2 hours.
• Add salt and knead to thoughroughly incorperate.
• Recover and transfer to the fridge - leave for around 12 hours.
• Remove from the fridge and leave to come up to room temp for about 2 hours.
• Divide and shape into 4 baguettes.
• Cover and prove at room temp for a further hour.
• Brush with water, dust with rice flour and slash.
• Bake at 235c for 30+ mins with steam for the first 10 mins (until nicely browned)