Gluten-Free Toasting Bread

Good gluten-free scones and bread have become my new challenge.   And I love the challenge.   At first I wondered why there are so many people who are having difficulty with gluten.   The book Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat and Lose the Weight by William Davis MD points out that in the last fifty years, wheat has been made to resist environmental conditions, has increased yield per acre, and has undergone genetic changes.   It is no longer “our Grandmother’s wheat”, and all the changes have affected our bodies.   That made sense to me, and so now I have had to learn how to make baked goods that are more than just acceptable.

The gluten-free scones I have been making have been good, but still taste like gluten-free baked goods.   I have been using 2 parts white rice flour, 1 part potato starch flour, and 1 part tapioca flour, and I will probably still use this mix to replace wheat flour in some recipes.   But this week I received a new cookbook, The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar Free Baking by Peter Reinhart and Denene Wallace.   I have been a follower of Peter Reinhart since I first met him when he spoke on bread baking at a B&B conference in 2004.   The recipes use nut and seed flour, and the recipes that I have made this week have been very, very good.   I really like their bread named “Toasting Bread”.   I love this bread toasted, especially with peanut butter.   The recipe follows:

Gluten-Free Toasting Bread

Preheat the oven to 375 deg, line the bottom of a 4 ½ by 8 inch loaf pan with parchment paper, and mist with spray oil.

Combine in a smaller bowl:

2 cups brown or golden flaxseed meal

2 cups pecan flour

¼ cup sesame seeds

¼ cup whole flaxseed (optional)

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xanthan gum

½ tsp salt

In a large bowl add:

1 ½ cup unsweetened soy milk or other milk

8 egg whites

¼ - ½ tsp liquid stevia

Add the flour mixture to the liquid ingredients and stir vigorously with a large spoon for 2 minutes to make a thick, sticky, slightly aerated batter.   Pour into the prepared pan, filling it to about ½ inch from the rim of the pan.   Bake for 45 minutes, then rotate and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes.   Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 5 min before removing the loaf from the pan.   Cool for at least 15 more minutes before slicing.   Store the bread in the refrigerator.

- Mary