GLUTEN FREE WHOLE GRAIN BREAD IN A BREAD MACHINE

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     Thanks to my friend, I now have a bread machine (she gave me her old one that was never used).  After a thorough cleaning to de-glutinize it, I began to experiment with baking gluten free bread in a machine.  Why did I not do this before?  So easy, so good, so fresh, so inexpensive, so much better than any store bought bread. 

     Today I am posting about a great recipe I found on the Gluten Free Real Food blog.  This recipe makes a whole grain artisan type loaf. I followed the recipe as written.  The person who created this recipe won first prize at a bread baking contest that was for all bread including wheat based recipes.  It can be made dairy free. 

     I love the taste and texture of this loaf.  It is not light and fluffy, it is firm and lightly dense like a whole grain bread.  I was really missing the hearty whole grain type breads and this fits the bill.  You would not know it is GF unless told.  

     I have made this bread quite a few times. My older machine does not allow for customizing a baking cycle and does not have a gluten free bread setting, so I had to experiment.  The first time I just let the machine go through the entire “Sweet Bread” cycle, which is closest in recommended times to the recipe.  It came out great.  Then I decided to cut out some of the time by skipping the punch down and second rise cycle before baking it. The bread came out better this way, a little lighter because gluten free bread does not need that second rise.  Punching down the dough only makes it denser.  

     I had to take the loaf pan out of the machine before the punch down cycle.  I reset the machine to “Bake”, put the pan back into the machine without locking it in place (to keep the bread from deflating) and let it go through the bake cycle.  I set my loaf to “Light” since I do not like a very thick dark crust.  

     If you have a newer machine that allows you to customize the cycle or that has a gluten free bread cycle you don’t have to worry about all the resetting and taking the loaf out of the pan.  If your machine has a GF bread cycle use it with this recipe.  If the machine allows customization use the recommended settings.

     When my machine dies I will definitely get one with a GF cycle to make it even easier to make bread.  Meanwhile I am experimenting with other bread machine recipes, so far this one is my favorite.   I like this recipe so much that I mixed a few bags of the dry ingredients to keep on hand so that I can quickly make a loaf of bread when I want to.

A bag of dry ingredients ready for bread baking at any time.

WHOLE GRAIN GLUTEN FREE BREAD IN A 

BREAD MACHINE

Makes one 1.5 lb. loaf

Ingredients

Wet

3 large	Eggs
1 tsp.	Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup	Vegetable Oil (canola, olive, coconut, etc.)
1 1/3 cups	Milk or Nondairy Milk - warmed to 110℉
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp.	Honey
3 Tbs.	Brown Sugar

Dry

1/2 cup	Sorghum Flour (or millet, buckwheat, quinoa or amaranth flours)
1/2 cup	Millet Flour (or sorghum, buckwheat, quinoa or amaranth flours)
1 cup	Teff Flour (or brown rice or white rice flours)
1/2 cup	Tapioca Flour (or other starch such as potato or arrowroot)
1/2 cup	Corn Starch (or other starch such as potato or arrowroot)
1 Tbs.	Xanthan Gum
1 1/2 tsp.	Sea Salt
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. for top of loaf (optional)	Seeds of choice: Sunflower, sesame or flax Mix in 1/4 cup to the batter.  When the batter is finished mixing, top the loaf with 2 Tbs. of seeds if desired.

Yeast

2 1/4 tsp.

Yeast (I used Saf-Instant)

Directions

1. Take the pan out of the bread machine.  (This will save clean up of the machine from liquids and flours sneaking over the pan edges as you add them.)
2. Add all the wet ingredients to the pan and mix well.

   

   All wet ingredients mixed in the pan.

3. In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients (except for the optional 2 Tbs. seeds to top the loaf).

   

   All the dry ingredients in the bowl.

   
   

   

   Dry ingredients well mixed.

4. Add the dry ingredients on top of the wet ones in the pan.
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

   

   Dry ingredients on top of wet ones.
   Note the hole or well for the yeast.

   
   

   

   Yeast added to the well.

6. Place the pan into the bread machine and snap it in place then close the lid.
   
   
7. Use the Gluten Free Bread Cycle on your machine or set the machine to these settings:           No preheat
   Knead 1 - 5 minutes
   Knead 2 - 15 minutes
   Rise - 60 minutes
   Bake - 50 minutes
   Temp. 340℉
        On my machine I cannot customize settings, I chose the cycle closest to these times which was the Sweet Bread Cycle.  I pulled the pan out of the machine after the first rising cycles but before the punch down cycle.  Then I reset the machine to the bake cycle.  I put the pan back into the machine without snapping it into place (to prevent deflating the loaf) and then ran the bake cycle.  I used the “light” color setting.
8. During the first mixing cycle use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the pan to help it along. 

   

   Mixing cycle started.
   Note the dry flour around the edges.

   
   

   

   Using a spatula to scrape down the sides while the machine is mixing.

9. After the mixing cycles are done, reach in and pull out the mixing blade.  Then smooth out the top of the loaf with wet hands or a silicone spatula. No photos of this step because both hands were too messy to hold a camera.  (You do not have to do this step, it just leaves a smaller hole on the bottom of the baked loaf.)

   

   Dough after both mixing cycles have ended.
10. After smoothing out the top of the loaf sprinkle the loaf with 2 Tbs. of seeds, if desired.  

    

    Raw dough smoothed out and sprinkled with sunflower seeds.

11. Bake the loaf as per instructions in step #7 above.

    

    Raw loaf after rising cycles.

12. When done, invert the loaf onto a wire rack.  Turn right side up and allow it to cool before slicing and eating.  Take the loaf out of the pan as soon as you can.  The crust will get soggy if it cools in the pan.

    

    Baked bread cooling on a rack.

13. This bread keeps well at room temperature for 3 days.  After this you will have to toast the bread before eating.  Freeze slices for longer storage.  

    

    Close up of a slice of fresh & delicious bread.

WHOLE GRAIN GLUTEN FREE BREAD IN A BREAD MACHINE Makes one 1.5 lb. loaf Ingredients Wet 3 large Eggs 1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (canola, olive, coconut, etc.) 1 1/3 cups Milk or Nondairy Milk 1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. Honey 3 Tbs. Brown Sugar Dry 1/2 cup Sorghum Flour (or millet, buckwheat, quinoa or amaranth flours) 1/2 cup Millet Flour (or sorghum, buckwheat, quinoa or amaranth flours) 1 cup Teff Flour (or brown rice or white rice flours) 1/2 cup Tapioca Flour (or other starch such as potato or arrowroot) 1/2 cup Corn Starch (or other starch such as potato or arrowroot) 1 Tbs. Xanthan Gum 1 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. for top of loaf (optional) Seeds of choice: Sunflower, sesame or flax Mix in 1/4 cup to the batter. When the batter is finished mixing top the loaf with 2 Tbs. of seeds if desired. Yeast 2 1/4 tsp. Yeast (I used Saf-Instant) Directions Take the pan out of the bread machine. (This will save clean up of the machine from liquids and flours sneaking over the pan edges as you add them.) Add all the wet ingredients to the pan and mix well. In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients (except for the optional 2 Tbs. seeds to top the loaf). Add the dry ingredients on top of the wet ones in the pan. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well. Place the pan into the bread machine and snap it in place then close the lid. Use the Gluten Free Bread Cycle on your machine or set the machine to these settings: No preheat Knead 1 - 5 minutes Knead 2 - 15 minutes Rise - 60 minutes Bake - 50 minutes Temp. 340℉ On my machine I cannot customize settings, I chose the cycle closest to these times which was the Sweet Bread Cycle. I pulled the pan out of the machine after the first rising cycles but before the punch down cycle. Then I reset the machine to the bake cycle. I put the pan back into the machine without snapping it into place (to prevent deflating the loaf) and then ran the bake cycle. I used the “light” color setting. During the first mixing cycle use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the pan to help it along. After the mixing cycles are done, reach in and pull out the mixing blade. Then smooth out the top of the loaf with wet hands or a silicone spatula. No photos of this step because both hands were too messy to hold a camera. (You do not have to do this step, it just leaves a smaller hole on the bottom of the baked loaf.) After smoothing out the top of the loaf sprinkle the loaf with 2 Tbs. of seeds, if desired. Bake the loaf as per instructions in step #7 above. When done, invert the loaf onto a wire rack. Turn right side up and allow it to cool before slicing and eating. Take the loaf out of the pan as soon as you can. The crust will get soggy if it cools in the pan. This bread keeps well at room temperature for 3 days. After this you will have to toast the bread before eating. Freeze slices for longer storage. ***UPDATE After making this recipe several times I have found some things to work really well: 1) Most important is to warm up the milk or dairy free milk to about 110℉. This gets a great rise on the bread and makes it lighter and fluffier. 2) Using the Express Bake Cycles on the machine works really well. I found the 58 minute Express Bake Cycle to work the best.

***UPDATE
After making this recipe several times I have found some things to work really well:
1) Most important is to warm up the milk or dairy free milk to about 110℉.  This gets a great rise on the bread and makes it lighter and fluffier.
2) Using the Express Bake Cycles on the machine works really well.  I found the 58 minute Express Bake Cycle to work the best.