Thursday, July 15, 2010

Gluten Free Cheddar and Sesame Bread

Gluten Free Cheddar and Sesame Bread


Wow, I was really glad to give gluten free baking another try.  I had invested quite a bit in gluten-free flours recently.  They have been sitting in the pantry, waiting their turn!


It took quite awhile to measure out all the different ingredients for this dough.  I wasn't sure I would take the time (or expense of making this loaf again.  The dough was almost a batter, but looked great in the loaf pan:

I was trying to hold the loaf pan in my right hand, while holding the long-nose watering can of water in my left hand.  It's easier for me to add a cup of water to the broiling pan with my designated baking watering can.  I didn't think it was going to be a problem....

...until the loaf pan flew out of my hand and onto the floor.  OOPS!!!  I stared at the dough on the floor for a few minutes, thinking about all the work I did to make this bread.  

 After considering several options, I decided to bake what was left in the pan.  I didn't think it would rise much after the jolt, but gluten-free breads don't rise much anyways.

 

Here's a picture of what was left to bake.  I lost about 2/3 of the dough/batter.  It was still wonderful to get a chance to try it.


I tried some of the bread when it cooled slightly, and it was awesome!

My husband came home and he also tasted the bread.  He thought it was great!  Hard to believe that it's gluten free.  The texture is slightly dense.  However, I don't know if that's because it's gluten free or the bread lost its rise when it was dropped.


The next day, only a little bit was left.  For lunch, I enjoyed it with  scrambled eggs I made, using freshly chopped dill from my garden.  What a wonderful lunch!




Note to self:  Be careful what you wish for, you may get it!  I have been baking a lot lately.  I wanted to make this bread this week, but was wondering what I'd do with all the bread in the house.  Somehow, I have less bread to use up now!!!

Handwise tips:  If you have hand pain, tendonitis, or arthritis or any other pain issues and want to make this recipe,  
  • You might space it out over a few days.  Make the stored dough several days before. I bought a brick of my favorite cheese and grated it the day before baking.  You could buy pre-shredded cheese or grate it in the food processor, if you want.
    • This is a really wet dough, almost a batter.  So it's pretty easy to mix and shape. It doesn't seem to need a lot of vigorous hand use!  Just make sure that your hands are really wet when you shape the dough into a log.  That way, less dough will stick to your hands.  
      • Soak your tools in your empty dough bucket or a pan when you are finished using them.   That way, you can wash them easily later (or tomorrow!)  Give yourself the permission of time to clean up much later.   



        • There seemed to be a lot of measuring of different ingredients in this recipe.  If you do a lot of gluten-free baking, you may want to convert the measurements to weight.  I don't do a lot of gluten free baking, so I skipped the conversion.  But measuring by weight is much faster and easier.


          Thanks for stopping by to visit!  I hope you will leave a comment below.  Maybe you can add a handwise or time saving suggestion that will help others?


          About the HBinFive Baking Group
          The HBinFive Baking Group, started by Michelle of Big Black Dogs, is baking through all of the breads in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes book. For more information on the HBinFive baking group, check out The 15th "Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes" Bread Braid.

          12 comments:

          1. We so enjoyed this bread! And I'm glad that there are some wonderful GF recipes for people that need it!

            ReplyDelete
          2. way to forge ahead! LOL...at least you got a nice little flat bread loaf!

            ReplyDelete
          3. Oh Judy, you have had quite a time with these last two breads. I admire your great positive atitude. So cheerful you are and I love that you liked the rest of the loaf that you salvaged.
            Better luck with the next challenge.

            ReplyDelete
          4. Sorry you lost 2/3 of the loaf...but what is left looks great!

            ReplyDelete
          5. You've had quite the baking adventures this time. I'm sorry you lost some of the dough, but I would venture to say that your loaf tasted better with less dough. I'm finding that these gluten-free doughs taste better toasted. I liked the bread sticks but not the bread.

            ReplyDelete
          6. Thanks for all your great comments, guys!

            Cathy, I agree that it did taste better toasted.

            I love sharing my baking ups and downs with other bakers. Who else can understand them as well as another baker?

            ReplyDelete
          7. What about the 5 second rule?? I would have scooped it back in the pan! (And so would Julia Child if no one was in the kitchen.) The baking would have gotten most of the germs and any schmutz from the floor is extra fiber. Of course, your problem is that you would have been compelled to tell what had happened.

            ReplyDelete
          8. Guff,

            Yeah, the 5 second rule WAS one of my options! I thought about it for quite a bit. I think that my guilt would have showed, and I wouldn't want my hubby to eat it. The cleaning woman had just come, so the floor was pretty clean.

            But I just couldn't do it! We think alike, I did think about it....

            ReplyDelete
          9. Cathy, I was looking thru some old recipes in my notebooks today. I found some notes on gluten free flours.

            The tips section said not to bake a loaf over 4 inches, and 2 inches would be preferred. I think I lucked out this time (weird luck, huh?), but will keep that in mind next time.

            ReplyDelete
          10. The pretzel stick sound especially good to me. I love those tips you have for organising things. I think pretty much anyone could use those.

            Haven't been baking from AB/ HBin5 for a while. Maybe next month.

            ReplyDelete
          11. I agree with Guff, the 5 second rule..rules! But, you recovered beautifully.

            ReplyDelete
          12. Yeah, it really was tempting to pick it off the floor. No one else was home, but I would know. Thanks for your nice comment, Elwood.

            Hi Aparna, nice to see you again. I am so glad you love the organizing tips. It takes awhile to think them up, so I appreciate your encouragement to keep doing them.

            Love your baking tips, also! Looking forward to your next post.

            ReplyDelete