Perfect Gluten Free Bread

I'm not sure about all you other 'gluten-free'ers' but I've sure missed a decent salad sandwich since finding out I was wheat intolerant. All the memories - of summery beachside activity as a kid, running up off the beach to fresh salad sandwiches piled high, filled to the brim with salad (and dripping of course with mayonnaise); of (slightly soggy) lunchbox sandwiches at school; of quick fix, cheap and cheerful uni lunches. The salad sandwich was the go-to lunch for me (and was the most missed meal when wheat was removed).

The common issue with gluten free bread is it's often very dense and 'cakey' (breaking as soon as you slice a knife through your sandwich) or it includes undesirable ingredients such as sugar and dairy to give it extra 'oomph'. That being said, the salad sandwich became a thing of the past until that is, we created some magic in the THI HQ kitchen and holy moly, MAGIC it was!

There's good news to be had too. This super easy loaf of bread is free from gluten, dairy and sugar. It also doesn't take a detective to notice that it is soft AND fluffy - both key requirements for the ultimate in salad sandwiches of course.

You'll need:
1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/4 cups water, lukewarm
1 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup buckwheat flour
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
2 eggs, whisked
2 tablespoons white chia seeds
2 tablespoons raw honey or rice malt syrup, warmed to be runny (or coconut sugar**)
1 1/2 tablespoons dry active yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoons Celtic sea salt

Into a small mixing bowl combine the lukewarm water, yeast, chia seeds and honey. Allow to stand on the kitchen bench for 10 minutes. The mixture will become slightly frothy as the yeast activates.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, coconut oil, eggs, apple cider vinegar and salt and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture. Using a wooden spoon, combine until a tacky gluten free dough is formed. Cover with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot on the kitchen bench for 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 25cm x 15cm (approx) loaf tin with coconut oil.

Turn dough into the prepared loaf tin and allow to rise for a further 20 minutes. Place into oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. 

Once cooked a golden crust will result and a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Another handy trick to tell if your loaf is cooked on the inside - tap it with the back of a dessert spoon, it should sound 'hollow'. If not, place it back into the oven for another 5 minutes.

Remove the loaf from the oven and turn onto a wire rack. Make sure the loaf is completely cool before you cut it - if you can resist! 

Recipe Notes:

1. Sorghum flour can be found in health food stores, some independent supermarkets and some larger supermarkets (we used Bob's Red Mill).
2. Dough can be temperamental in different conditions, and hot, cold, or humid days can affect its moisture. If your dough seems overly wet, simply add a little more flour. Our dough looked a lot like this picture of our Blueberry Bagel dough before it went into the oven, if you need a visual to help you out.
3. Be sure to remove the bread from the loaf tin after baking. We have found that the bread tends to sweat if left in the tin to cool.

** Updated Recipe Notes:

1. We have trialled this recipe using 2.5 tablespoons of coconut sugar. Tastes great! The bread rose a little less than when using honey. We dissolved the coconut sugar in 1/4 cup boiling water first (important to dissolve first), then added this mix to 1 cup of lukewarm water. Then placed the yeast into this mix. Continue as per instructions above from here on.