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 Allergy Free Categories - Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan

 

 Prep Time 30 minutes

 Cook Time 1 hour

 Rise Time 2 hours

 Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes

 Servings 1 loaf

 

 

Ingredients

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• 8 g (2 1/2 tsp) active dried yeast

• 20 g (2 tbsp) superfine/caster sugar

• 390 g (1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp) warm water, divided

• 20 g (1/4 cup) Psyllium husk (rough husk form)

• 130 g (3/4 cup + 3 tbsp) buckwheat flour

• 100 g (1/2 cup + 3 tbsp) potato starch (NOTE: this is different from potato flour)

• 90 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) brown rice flour (needs to be very finely ground, "superfine")

• 10 g (2 tsp) table or sea salt

• 12 g (2 tsp) apple cider vinegar

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Instructions

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1. In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, sugar and 150 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) warm water. Set aside for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the mixture starts frothing.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and 240 g (1 cup) water. After about 15 – 30 seconds, a gel will form.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the buckwheat flour, potato starch, brown rice flour and salt, until evenly combined. 

4. Add the yeast mixture, psyllium gel and apple cider vinegar to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough until smooth and it starts coming away from the bowl, about 5 – 10 minutes. You can knead by hand or using a stand mixer with a dough hook. 

5. Transfer the bread to a lightly oiled surface and knead it gently, forming it into a smooth ball. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, seam side down, cover with a damp tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

6. Once risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead it gently while forming it into a tight ball. Flip it seam side down onto a part of the work surface that isn’t covered in flour and rotate in place to seal the seams. 

7. Place the dough into a 7 inch round proofing basket if you have one or a bowl  that you’ve dusted with some brown rice flour with the seams facing upwards. Cover with a damp tea towel and proof in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

8. While the loaf is proofing, pre-heat the oven to  225 ºC with a cast iron dutch oven  on the lower middle rack.

9. Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out of the bread basket onto a piece of baking paper and score the top with a pattern of choice, the easiest pattern is a  cross, using a bread lame or sharp knife.

10. Take the hot cast Dutch oven out of the oven and then transfer the bread along with the baking paper into it. Use the sides of the baking paper as handles to transfer the bread into it. Add 3 – 4 ice cubes around the bread (between the baking/greaseproof paper and the walls of the Dutch oven) and place the lid on it , then place it into the pre-heated oven.

11. Bake at 225 ºC with steam for 30 minutes – don’t open the Dutch oven or the oven doors during this initial period, as that would allow the steam to escape out of the oven.

12. After the 30 minutes, uncover the Dutch oven and bake for a further 30- 40 minutes in a steam-free environment. The final loaf should be of a deep, dark brown colour. If the loaf starts browning too quickly, cover with a piece of aluminium foil, shiny side up, and continue baking until done.

13. Transfer the loaf onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

 

Storage: The gluten free bread keeps well in a closed container or wrapped in a tea towel in a cool dry place for 3 – 4 days.

 

Recipe Notes

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POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTIONS

 

Active dried yeast: You can use instant yeast, in which case you don’t need to activate it, but just add it straight to the dry ingredients along with the sugar. Add the water that would be used in activating the active dried yeast to the dry ingredients along with the psyllium gel and apple cider vinegar.

Apple cider vinegar: You can use other types of vinegar, although I recommend sticking to apple cider vinegar if at all possible.

Psyllium husk: YOU CAN’T SUBSTITUTE IT WITH A DIFFERENT INGREDIENT. But if you use psyllium husk powder as opposed to the rough husk form, use only 75% of the weight listed in the recipe.

Potato starch: You can use corn starch, tapioca starch or arrowroot starch instead.

Brown rice flour: You can use millet flour instead.

Buckwheat flour: You can use white teff flour, sorghum flour or oat flour instead.

NOTE: All substitutions should be made by weight not by volume.