I had another one of those long days today. Great, but long. I was out of the house and on my feet from early this morning, and only came back after dark. I almost left you without a post for today, but then decided to maybe just post something simple.And what better than this super simple bread recipe that I'm about to throw together for the fourth time in less than 5 days?
I learned about this recipe on a facebook cooking group I'm on- and it is super frugal, super easy, super simple to make... so if you're either short on cash, time, or ingredients, this is the recipe for you.
Originally this recipe was intended to be used with white flour, but people in the group used this recipe to make whole wheat and spelt bread, so I decided to try it out and see if I could use it to make gluten free bread. I tweaked it a drop, and used my favorite gluten free flour combo- green buckwheat flour, short grain rice flour, and xanthan gum, upped the yeast a drop... and voila- terrific gluten free bread, super cheap, and super easy.
The kids and I ate it, warm, dipped in olive oil made from my mother's olive trees, and it was quite a treat. My kids pronounced it as the best bread I've ever made, and one of the best foods I've ever made ("But not the best, Mommy, because your pizza is yummier than this bread"), which was a really nice compliment. I don't know if I agree- I do like some of my other bread recipes a lot, but for simplicity and costs' sakes, this recipe wins, hands down.
I've used this recipe so far to eat plain, make cheesesteaks, and to make tuna melts...
I can't tell you how this recipe would work with other gluten free flour mixes, but why not give it a try? Just note that I think xanthan gum is necessary in this recipe- don't try it without it, or it won't rise and the texture will be off.
Super Simple Bread- Gluten Free and Wheat Flour Recipes- Vegan and Sugar Free
Ingredients for Gluten Free Bread1 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 cups short grain rice flour
1 1/2 cups green buckwheat flour
2 cups warm water
Ingredients for Glutinous Bread
1/2 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt
3 cups flour- all purpose wheat, whole wheat, spelt, etc...
1 1/2 cups warm water
Instructions:
1. Mix all the ingredients together until uniform. You want it to be a looser dough if you're using gluten free flours (hence more water in the gluten free recipe) since gluten free bread doughs need to be wetter in order to rise.
2. Let rise 1 1/2 to 10 hours. You're supposed to let this rise overnight, but I find 1 1/2 hours to be more than enough. If using a shorter rising time, keep it in a warm place to rise. (I turn on my oven for about 3 minute, then turn it off and place it in the oven to rise.)
3. Shape the bread- I usually just plop the dough onto a lined baking sheet and make a few small loaves from it, trying not to play with it too much so it doesn't loose the air bubbles- you probably don't have to worry as much with the gluten alternative. But either way- it needs no kneading.
4. Feel free to put on toppings if you want- just sprinkle them on. I used sesame seeds one time.
5. Bake at 350 until starting to brown on top- about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the loaves.
6. Let cool before eating,
Enjoy!
Do you have a super simple bread recipe you ever make? What's in it? Does this look like a recipe you'd try?
Tags
breads
dairy free
egg free
frugal recipes
frugal strategies
gluten free
made from scratch
recipes
refined sugar free
starches
sugar free
vegan
half a teaspoon of yeast to 3c (regular) flour is very little. i use about 3 tsp yeast to that size recipe. plus a bit of sugar (used to use honey but can't be bothered) and some olive oil in the dough. that's my standard go-to bread recipe. usually i use half whole-wheat flour, but not always. also, regular bread absolutely needs to be kneaded until elastic. and is best baked bread-oven style- very hot oven with steam (place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven), on a preheated stone surface (i used terra cotta quarry tiles), for maybe 15 minutes or until it releases from the tiles. nowadays i just use a regular baking sheet, not preheated, for a normal length of time at normal heat, plus i oil the tops of the loaves to keep the crust from getting too hard.
ReplyDeletei will say that all of this goes stale in minutes, so must be eaten or frozen immediately.
I recently received a digital food scale for Christmas, and I must say it makes life SOOOO much better if you're as picky a bread baker as I am. I bought, with a bunch of gift certificates, a book with nothing but bread recipes, and so far I am thrilled with it, but all of the measures are given in grams instead of by volume, and I do think it does make a difference, because there's none of this "and if it's still tacky, add more flour" nonsense. The dough turns out right every time, and the timing for the rises is usually right on the money.
ReplyDeleteThe typical ratio of flour:water in most bread recipes is about 5:3; a little more water will be needed if you're using whole grain recipes, but that will need time to soak, which needs to be factored in to the kneading process.