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Dutch crunch loaf before and after baking |
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You can avoid the white edge by using brown rice flour to dust your bread pan. I was too lazy to limber up the brown rice flour from the freezer this time. |
Cinnamon loaf after baking. (Notice instant-read thermometer reading.) |
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More than new bread recipes, these two are examples of what you can do with the bread recipes that you currently like to make. The first, dutch crunch, is decoration on bread. A search of the internet turned up three or four original recipes and a lot of references to a recipe from Sunset Magazine. How can you go wrong with Sunset? The second recipe, cinnamon bread, was inspired by a bag of Bob's Red Mill Cinnamon Bread. The result was both simple and delicious. However, I decided to make my own, and it took a couple of tries. I'm still not totally done with modifying the cinnamon bread recipe, but it is absolutely delicious now. The cinnamon sugar is sprinkled on the top before the bread is baked.
Dutch Crunch Topping (Sunset Magazine - year unknown) Amount Measure Ingredient 2 Tablespoons Sugar (You could use more) 2 Packages Dry yeast or 2 tablespoons bulk yeast 1/4 teaspoon Salt 6 Tablespoons White rice flour 1 teaspoon Oil 1/3 Cup Very warm water Mix all ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 15 to 30 minutes prior to applying to your unrisen loaf. Make any loaf you like. Apply dots of the topping to the bread and smooth down with the back of a spoon dipped in water. See left hand picture above. The result should look like the right hand picture. In case you are curious, the basic bread was Nearly Perfect White Bread.
The next recipe is something you can do with your regular white bread recipe or commercial mix. I started with my favorite bread recipe and decided that it needed to be a fluffier bread. Hence, I decreased the protein by using two kinds of flour. You will probably not need to do this in your recipe. Next, I increased the sugar by adding 1/4 cup more to my normal recipe. Next, I put in 1/4 cup of dry milk powder to improve the texture and added cinnamon and spices. What about the Expandex? I'm a fan of Expandex because I think it improves the texture and elasticity. With Expandex, I reduce the gums by more than 50%. The bread is much better the second day on. Some people think that Expandex makes bread gummy. GF bread will always have a different mouth feel than gluten bread. If GF bread is fully cooked, it will not be gummy - Expandex or not. This is a personal choice. How much Expandex: 1 Tablespoon per finished cup of flour. If you make your own flour mixes, leave out 1 Tablespoon of tapioca flour and put in 1 Tablespoon of Expandex for every cup of finished flour mix.
Cinnamon Bread (A modification of Nearly Perfect White Bread) Amount
Measure
Ingredient
1-3/4
Cups
Strong gluten-free flour (see recipe below)
1-3/4
Cups
Carol Fenster's regular gluten-free flour (see recipe below)
2
Tablespoons
Expandex
1/2
Cup
White sugar (next time I will try brown sugar or Trader Joe's molasses sugar) You might like to use more sugar.
3/4
teaspoon
Xanthan Gum
3/4
teaspoon
Guar Gum
1/2
Cup
Dry milk powder
1
Tablespoon
Cinnamon (If you don't have Saigon cinnamon, make this 2 Tablespoons)
2
teaspoons
Saigon Cinnamon
1/2
teaspoon
Ground Allspice
1/4
teaspoon
Ground Nutmeg
1
Tablespoon
Instant yeast (Try to avoid Fleischmann's)
1
teaspoon
Kosher salt, regular table ground
1
Cup
Raisins
1-1/4
Cup
Very warm tap water - 110 - 115°F
1
teaspoon
Cider vinegar
2 - 4
Tablespoons
Melted margarine or flavor-removed olive oil
2
Whole
Eggs
Coat a 9" X 5" X 3" metal loaf baking pan with margarine and dust with brown rice flour.
Combine all of the dry ingredients, including raisins, in the work bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for 1 minute or so. Next add the water and vinegar and blend thoroughly. Let stand for 5 - 10 minutes while the yeast activates. Next add the oil and eggs and blend for 1 or 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Place the dough into the bread pan and smooth with the back of a large spoon, dipped in warm water. Spray top of bread with olive oil from your Misto sprayer, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to double in bulk in a warm place or the proofing setting your convection oven. Remove bread from the oven if using the oven for a proofing box. Pre-heat the oven to 400° F (actually will be 375° F in a convection oven). Optionally, sprinkle the top of the bread with cinnamon sugar and bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reads between 200° F and 205° F. Turn out onto a cooling rack and cool thoroughly before slicing.
Strong Gluten Free Bread Flour Recipe (55% whole grain)
1 Cup Bean Flour (Heartlands Finest mild navy bean flour is preferred - Celiac Specialties, LLC, Heartlands Finest, or Gluten Free Mall)
1-1/2 Cups whole grain Sorghum flour (Bob's Red Mill or other)
1 Cup corn starch
3/4 Cup tapioca starch
1/4 Cup Expandex (Whole Foods, Celiac Specialties, LLC or Heartlands Finest)Carol Fenster’s Flour mixture
1 1/2 Cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 Cups potato or corn starch (corn starch is preferred)
1 Cup tapioca flour
1/2 Cup corn flour – Buy Bob's Red Mill in health food store or Latino market. This is masa de hariña.
Makes 4 ½ Cups
