Gluten-Free Bread Machine Bread

I have to admit, we have a lot of kitchen toys. But we use them all! One fun gadget is a bread machine that we secured on Craigslist for $10. I always poo-pooed bread machines, but when I decided to stop eating wheat, and discovered that storebought GF breads are gross, a bread machine suddenly seemed much more appealing. Don't get me wrong. I love the alchemy of traditional bread making. From activating the yeast, to rising the dough and beating it back down; fresh homemade bread has always been the pinnacle of good home baking. But as a person who works sometimes, it sure is nice to be able to throw a bunch of stuff into a receptacle, close the lid and press "go".

When I first stopped eating wheat, I began reading and experimenting with GF recipes I found on various other food blogs. Like them, I used xantham gum and tapioca powder etc. I used proprietary GF baking mixes and a bunch of rice flour. While getting okay results, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was using ingredients whose origins were dubious, as well as weird and slimy to the touch. The bread was lacking in some fundamental goodness. After some thinking and researching, I decided that I would try baking bread without these things (which, by the way, are all designed to replace the sticky, gummy qualites of gluten) and instead use other more natural sticky gummy ingredients. The top three that came to mind were ground flax seed, chia seeds, and eggs. Other experimental bloggers seemed to concur.

After a bunch of trial and error, I feel that I have a pretty good recipe that is also very flexible. The bread, while not as sturdy as a wheat bread, has a good crumb and moist texture. You can add pretty much anything you want to the recipe as long as you keep the ratio of wet to dry consistent. If it looks too wet or too dry in the first 10 minutes of mixing, you can adjust accordingly.

I haven't tried making this without the machine. When I do I will report the results with due diligence as I realize most of you may not actually have a bread machine...or a wish to use one. 

This is another in my series of recipes dealing with my consistent surplus of fresh almond pulp. Stay tuned for more.

rising in the machine

Basic Gluten Free Bread Machine Bread

1 cup almond pulp
3 cups other flour, or a mix.
   Try oat flour, millet flour, lentil flour, quinoa flour, or corn meal
1 cup ground flax meal
3 teaspoons chia seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon active yeast
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (optional)

1 cup warm water
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs honey
2 eggs

Combine the first group of ingredients in a bowl. Put the second group of ingredients into the bottom of the bread maker's receptacle. Pour the dry ingredients on top of the wet. Secure the receptacle and bake.....Easy

I have tried almost all the settings on my machine, getting good results with both "whole wheat", which takes 3 hours and 40 minutes, to "express bake" which takes a mere 80 minutes. I think the longer the better though, so if you've got the time, go for that one. In the first few minutes, keep an eye on the bread. If it is too wet, like brownie mix, add a little flour of some sort. If it seems too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water at a time, slowly until it looks like it is holding its own shape but moist enough to settle into the shape of the pan.

If you'd like to add any other flavorings or ingredients, go ahead and do that after you've poured the dry onto the wet. Some of our favorites: olives, chopped pepper, black pepper & herbes de provence, sun dried tomatoes, jalapeno. Or go with a sweet bread and add sugar and cinnamon along with raisins or other dried fruit.