My first experiment using Expandex

Left to right: Recipe #1, Recipe #2, Celiac Specialties Pumpernickel Breads

Summary

Here is what we were trying to achieve:

• Gain some experience using the new Corn Products International Expandex modified starch in baking bread.
• Compare the results of Expandex baking at home to two very find bakery products – pumpernickel and hamburger buns – obtained from Celiac Specialties, LLC.
• See if I could make bread at home that was as good as could as the commercial bakery

Here is what we found out:

• It's taken more than a year and a half (not every day!) of experimentation and flops to create an excellent bread. We are still working out bugs on new recipes. The various ratios among ingredients continue to be fine-tuned.
• The amount of Expandex recommended by the manufacturer seems highly excessive. The clue was reading the ingredient list from Celiac Specialties. Although I could not precisely determine the amount they used, the fact that Expandex was not in the top few ingredients lead me to believe that the right amount would be somewhat comparable to xanthan gum, yeast and salt. This discovery was made after the completion of the tests described below. Accordingly, we do not suggest following the recipes as is. Recipe #3 is the only one pursuing.
• Even though Celiac Specialties bakes arguably the best commercial bread, home baking can be even better. This gets down to personal taste, not overall quality. For example: Not everyone in our house was in agreement regarding the Celiac Specialties bread. Although two of us liked the breads very much, our eldest daughter objected to the rice mix used in the product. She said that it felt like it sucked the moisture out of her mouth. This was not the case with either of the two breads baked at home which did not use rice flour.
• Per the manufacturer Expandex must be used in a high protein mix. That means bean flour and egg white. People who are allergic to beans and eggs may not be able to use Expandex effectively.

Pre-testing notes
Although three recipes are shown, only Recipe #1 and Recipe #2 were actually tested. In general, we don’t like the “mouth feeling” of rice flour breads, so we substituted white sorghum and a bit of teff – flavor – as a substitute for rice in Recipe #1.

We also don’t like the strong taste of soy bean flour, so we substituted mild navy bean flour (available from Heartland or Celiac Specialties LLC). This flour has a much milder smell than Authentic Foods Garfava or Bob’s Red Mill Garbanzo and Fava bean mix. We did not experiment with the Garbanzo-Fava flour blends on this round.

You can increase the complexity of the flavor of gluten-free breads and the sourness by fermenting all of the liquid ingredients and 1/3 of the dry ingredients (except the salt) for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of when the product has tripled in bulk or just fallen back into the bowl – possibly as much as 6 hours. Then you add the rest of the dry ingredients, salt, mix and place the batter in a baking pan. This technique is called making a “poolish.”

Details

Both Recipe #1 and Recipe #2 produced excellent results, although they were more rubbery than Celiac Speciaties bread.

Recipe #1

• The oil spray method recommended by Corn Products did not work well. The bread stuck to the baking pan making removal very difficult and leaving a mess in the pan. Oil spray or margarine smearing followed by dusting with brown rice flour is a good bet for Recipe #1. It is sticky
  
• This recipe uses lots of very expensive Expandex. One of the objectives of Recipe #2 was to see if the amount of Expandex could be effectively reduced.
• This bread is extremely elastic and stretchy the first day. It has adequate elasticity the second day when it stiffens up. It can be cut thinly and be made into sandwiches.
• The bread is a bit sweet. Any character and flavor must be obtained from a poolish or the addition of other grains, such as Teff.

Recipe #2

• This recipe is more flavorful than Recipe #1. The basic flour mix is a modification of Carol Fenster’s bean mix (see Flour Mix Recipes below). Basically, I used Potato Starch when there was the option of both corn or potato, and I substituted 100% Expandex for Tapioca starch in Carol Fenster’s recipe. I also added guar and xanthan gums in the amount recommended by Bette Hagman, and I used a dough conditioner recommended by King Arthur Flour – lecithin and ascorbic acid. Other than that, I followed the Expandex recipe.
• The bread is normally elastic the first day and becomes tighter on the second and third, although not objectionably so. It remains flexible enough to make sandwiches out of bread slices of normal thickness. It does not crumble.
• The recipe uses less Expandex than Recipe #1, and the result is quite good. Interestingly, I learned to use even less.

Bread Recipes
Original Recip(Recipe Zero)

Using Carol Fenster’s Recipe for GF flour mix in the Modified Expandex Recipe (Recipe #2)

Now that the right ratio of Expandex has been determined, here is what should be done:

Use 3/4 Cup conventional tapioca flour and 1/4 Cup (4 Tablespoons) Expandex

Directions common to all recipes

1. Measure and blend all dry ingredients using a stand mixer with open blades (dough paddle, not dough hook).
2. Add in egg whites, vegetable oil and apple cider vinegar to dry ingredients at low speed and blend gently. (Dough will be crumbly).
3. Slowly add hot water (yeast mixture) until well blended at low speed.
4. Increase mixer speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes (dough will be the consistency of a thick cake batter).
5. Preheat oven to 375° F [about 15 minutes prior to bread having doubled in bulk]
6. Spray bread pan with cooking spray or better yet coat with margarine and dust with brown rice flour
7. Pour dough into pan (dough should fill about 1⁄2 of the pan) and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.
(Make sure cloth does not stick to the top surface of the batter - spray top surface with olive oil spray). 
8. Set pan in a warm place (on top of oven) until bread has risen just under the lip of the loaf pan
(Sometimes it will take about 30 to 60 minutes)
9. Score the top of the bread with 3 - 5 diagonal cuts before placing in oven.
10. Bake for 25–28 minutes or until crust is golden brown - first two recipes. - 40 minutes for third recipe. Check with stainless steel bread tester.
11. Let bread cool down for about 15 minutes and then remove from pan.
12. Allow the bread to completely cool (about 1 hour) on a cooling rack, before slicing.
Baking Tips: Do not slice bread while it’s still warm. Slicing bread while trying to cool down will cause your bread to lose its desired size, shape,
and crown. Bread can be stored in freezer for longer shelf life if desired, otherwise it can be refrigerated to maintain freshness. If making one
8 inch loaf of bread, excess batter may be used for making a couple dinner rolls or 2–3 hamburger buns in mini springform pans.

http://expandexglutenfree.com/downloads/recipes/white-bread-recipe.pdf

Flour mix recipes

 
http://www.grandtimes.com/Gluten-Free.html