If you love hot cross buns, I’ve got some great news: the gluten-free version is wonderful. It makes buns that are soft and tender buns and filled with raisins and spices. While this is a traditional Easter recipe, you might find yourself baking them all year long.

Ingredients.

Here’s a look at the ingredients and what role they play in the recipe. As with any recipe, I suggest measuring all of your ingredients before you start mixing. This is especially important when making gluten-free yeast dough. You don’t want to get halfway into mixing and realize you’re out of an ingredient!

• Yeast. Instant dry yeast works perfectly for these rolls. Be sure to use yeast that’s gluten-free.
• Milk. Helps bring the dough together, adds flavor, and keeps the dough soft. If you’re dairy-free, use a dairy-free milk. Use a milk that’s about 100 degrees F. 
• Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour. The recipe was tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Using a different flour might change the results. 
• Granulated Sugar. Adds a light sweetness. 
• Baking Powder. Works with the yeast to help the dough rise.
• Xanthan Gum. Important ingredient. Xanthan gum gives the dough structure. Without the additional xanthan gum, the rolls won’t rise as high and kneading the dough will be messy.
• Salt. Enhances all the other flavors and helps control yeast growth. Use table salt for this recipe.
• Cinnamon and Cloves. Adds a subtle spice. 
• Eggs. Adds richness and flavor. You’ll use two large eggs in the dough and will need one egg white for the egg-wash that’s brushed onto the rolls right before baking.
• Butter. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly before using. You don’t want to pour hot, melted butter into the dough. If you’re dairy-free, use a dairy-free butter spread.
• Raisins. You can use use purple or golden raisins, dried currants, or any dried fruit you enjoy.
• Powdered Sugar. After baking, a powdered sugar cross is piped onto the top of the cooled rolls. 

How to Make Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns. 

The full recipe and directions are included below. But I suggest you read through this–especially if you’ve never worked with a gluten-free yeast dough before.

Step One: Make the Dough.

1. Combine the warm milk and yeast. Let it sit for five minutes. This gives the yeast a chance to dissolve and start working. You’ll notice a few bubbles on top of the milk.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer.
   
   Baker’s Note: If you don’t have a stand mixer, I suggest you mix this dough with a wooden spoon. It’s too thick for most handheld mixers.
   
   Add the yeast-milk mixture, the melted butter, and eggs.
   
   Mix until the dough comes together. It will be very thick but won’t form a ball in the mixing bowl. Add the raisins. Mix until they’re mixed throughout the dough. If you’re making this dough by hand, you can knead the raisins into the dough on the counter.
3. Dust your counter with gluten-free flour.  Turn the dough out onto your counter. Knead it a few times until it’s smooth. 
4. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until it looks light and puffy. This takes about an hour in a 70℉ room.

Step Two: Shape the Rolls.

After the dough is puffy, it’s time to shape the rolls. They’ll need another rise after shaping. But we’re getting close to baking!

5. Turn the dough back onto the counter. Knead it once or twice to deflate it. Pat it into a large round.
6. Cut the dough into 12 pieces even pieces. Use a sharp knife for this step.
7. Roll the dough into balls and place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the pan with a piece of greased plastic wrap. Let rise until the rolls are puffy. This takes about 45 minutes. 
8. When the rolls have risen, combine the egg white with milk. Brush this mixture onto the rolls right before baking. It adds a nice shine to the top of the rolls. 
   Baker’s Note: You can cut a cross in each roll with a sharp knife before baking. This gives the rolls a pretty appearance and can help the rolls from splitting as they bake. I didn’t cut a cross into the rolls pictured. So you can see what they look like without being cut.

Step Three: Bake and Ice.

9. Bake the rolls until they’re golden brown. If you don’t cut a cross into the buns, they might crack as they bake. This is normal. It gives them a rustic appearance that I really like. And those cracks are perfect for holding butter or jam.
10. Let the buns cool before adding the icing cross.

11. When the rolls are cool, make the icing. It’s important that the rolls are fully cooled before icing. If they’re warm—even just a little warm—the icing will melt and run off. 

Tips for Making the Best Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns.

1. Adjust the consistency of the dough. If it seems too sticky, add a little more gluten-free flour. If it seems dry–where you see flour at the bottom of the bowl or the dough doesn’t come together–add milk, one tablespoon at a time. 
2. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl. It’s important to transfer the dough from your mixing bowl to a greased bowl. (If you don’t have another bowl, no problem. Just wash out your mixing bowl and grease it.) The dough will stick to a non-greased bowl and won’t rise as high.
3. This dough requires two rises. The first rise enhances the flavor of the finished buns. So you don’t want to skip it. If you’d like, you can mix the dough the night before you plan on baking and allow it to rise overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning, stir and shape as directed. The second rise might take a little longer since the dough will be cool from the refrigerator. 
4. Don’t rush the rise. If your kitchen is cool, the dough might take a little longer than an hour to rise. Look for the dough to feel light and puffy. 
5. Knead gently. When you knead this dough, use gentle pressure. If you press too hard, it can stick to the counter, instead of forming a ball.
6. Preheat the oven early. Once the buns have almost doubled in size, preheat the oven. Don’t wait for the buns to fully double in size to preheat the oven or the rolls can rise too much and then collapse after baking.

Storing and Freezing.

These last about two days on the counter. Like all gluten-free bread, this largely depends on your location. If you live in a cold, dry area, the hot cross buns will stale faster than if you live somewhere warm and humid.

Store the cooled hot cross buns wrapped on the counter. If you aren’t going to finish them before they’ll stale, freeze them for up to two months.

To freeze, let the buns cool. Place them into a freezer container. If you need to stack them, place a piece of parchment paper between the layers. 

Note: This recipe was originally shared in 2019. In 2024, it was updated. The blog posts now includes step-by-step directions and photos. The recipe has been updated to use a gluten-free flour blend and now makes a kneadable dough.

Print

Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are a classic Easter treat. This easy gluten-free recipe makes sweet and tender buns with spices, raisins, and finished with an icing cross. (Yeast-based recipe.)

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Rising Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12 buns

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 1 cup warm milk, about 105℉, plus more as needed (8 ounces; 226 grams)
• 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet) instant dry yeast
• 4 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, see note 1 (17 ounces; 480 grams)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (3 ¾ ounces; 105 grams)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, see note 2
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled, see note 3 (3 ounces; 85 grams)
• ¾ cup raisins, see note 4 (about 4 ounces; 113 grams)

For the Egg Wash

• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon milk

For the Icing Crosses

• 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar (5 ounces; 140 grams)
• 1 tablespoon milk, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• See notes included below before making this recipe.
• Make the Dough: Combine the warm milk and yeast in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve. Allow to stand for about five minutes.
• In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the gluten-free flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.
• Add the milk-yeast mixture, eggs, and melted butter. Mix on medium-low speed until thick and smooth, about three minutes.

  Note: If you don't have a stand mixer, mix the dough with a wooden spoon. This dough is very thick and might be too much for most handheld electric mixers.
• Stop the mixer. Add the raisins. Mix until raisins are mixed throughout the dough.

  Dust your counter with gluten-free flour. Turn the dough onto the counter and knead it a few times, until it's smooth. If the dough seems dry, add a little more milk, one tablespoon at a time. If it's very sticky, add a little more gluten-free flour until you can knead it.

  Transfer dough to a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a piece of greased plastic wrap.
• Rise: Allow dough to rise in a warm place until it looks light and puffy, about one hour in a 70℉ room. Or refrigerate overnight.
• Shape: Turn the dough out onto a gluten-free floured counter.

  Knead it a few times to deflate. Pat the dough into a large round. Cut into 12 pieces.

  Roll each piece into a ball. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the buns on the baking sheet. Cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow buns to rise until light, about 45 minutes.
• When buns have almost doubled in size, preheat oven to 375°. (If you wait until they double in size to preheat the oven, the buns can over-rise and sink during baking.)
• Remove plastic wrap from the pan. Whisk together the egg white and milk. Brush each bun with the egg wash.

  (optional) Using a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of each bun.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Once the buns are completely cool, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. If icing is too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time. Transfer icing to a pastry bag with a round tip or a disposable plastic bag with a small hole cut in the corner.

  Pipe a cross on top of each bun. 
• Store buns covered on the counter for up to two days.

  Freeze cooled buns for up to three months. To freeze gluten-free hot cross buns, allow them to cool completely. Place the buns in a freezer container or bag. If you need to layer the buns, place a piece of parchment paper between the layers.

  Freeze for up to three months. Thaw the buns at room temperature overnight before serving.

Notes

Baker’s Note: Step by step directions with full instructions are included in the blog post. If this is your first time making this recipe or you’re new to working with gluten-free yeast dough, I suggest reading it before making the recipe. It includes a lot of helpful tips for making these buns. Have fun!

Note 1: This recipe was tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Using another flour might cause the recipe not to work as described.

Note 2: The xanthan gum is an important ingredients, even though the flour blend already contains it. Without the additional xanthan gum, the dough is too sticky to knead and won’t rise as high. 

Note 3: Cool the butter after melting for a minute or so. You don’t want to pour hot, melted butter into the dough. 

Note 4: If your raisins are hard, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes before using. Then drain, pat dry, and use as directed. 

The post Gluten-Free Hot Cross Bun Recipe appeared first on Gluten-Free Baking.

Gluten-Free Soft Dinner Rolls: The Ingredients

Gluten-Free Flour

When I sat down to create this recipe, I asked myself, “What would this recipe look like if it were easy?” The answer: I’d use a flour blend.

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know this is a somewhat new development. But over the last year or so, I’ve started using commercial gluten-free flour blends. My (current) favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. 

I don’t use it because they’re a sponsor. (They aren’t!) I use the blend for two reasons: 1. It works well. 2. It’s easy to find. While there are many gluten-free flour blends on the market today, none enjoy the reach that Bob’s has. I want you to be able to make these rolls without having to run all over trying to find the flour. If your local store doesn’t carry it, you can order the flour online.

If you’d prefer to mix your own flour, replace the flour with a mix of brown rice flour or millet and tapioca starch. The exact flour replacement is included in the recipe.

Since all commercial flour blends vary, I can’t say if this recipe works with a different blend. If you use one, let us know how it goes.

The Egg

I’m still working on an egg-free, gluten-free bread recipe but, I have to say, I’m not there yet. This recipe requires one egg. Without the egg, the rolls turn out dense and heavy.

The Dairy

Whole milk and melted butter make these rolls flavorful and rich. But you don’t need to use them. You can replace the milk with a dairy-free milk or simply use water. As for the melted butter, use an equal amount of vegetable oil.

Rolls made without dairy tend not to brown as well as those made with dairy. They also seem to stale a little bit faster without the fat from the whole milk and butter. To prevent the gluten-free/dairy-free rolls from staling quickly, freeze the leftovers. (see directions below on how to best freeze gluten-free buns.)

The Xanthan Gum

Although the flour blend contains xanthan gum, for these rolls a little more is needed for the best texture. Without the additional xanthan gum, the dough is too soft to allow the yeast to rise and you wind up with gummy, dense rolls.

How to Make Gluten-Free Soft Dinner Rolls: Step by Step

1. Dissolve the Yeast. Start these rolls by dissolving instant yeast, also called Rapid Rise or Quick Yeast, in a small amount of warm water. This allows the yeast to get started. (By the way, there’s no need to add sugar to the yeast-water mixture.)
2. Mix the Dough. After the yeast has dissolved, add the remaining ingredients and mix until a very thick dough forms. You want to use the paddle attachment on your stand mixer for this step. Like my gluten-free sandwich dough and hot cross buns, this dough doesn’t form a dough ball. It’s thicker than the sandwich bread dough but it’s not a dough you can turn onto the counter to knead
3. Shape. There are two ways to shape this dough. The first is the easiest: use a muffin scoop. The scoop makes quick work of shaping the rolls and it ensures that they’re all the same size. This means you won’t end up with large underbaked rolls and small overbaked ones.
   
   If you don’t have a muffin scoop, spoon the dough, about 1/3 cup, and drop it onto a parchment lined pan. The finished rolls won’t be a round as those made with a muffin scoop but they’ll bake and taste the same.
4. Smooth. After shaping the rolls, dip your fingers into some cool water and smooth the top of the rolls. If the dough begins to stick to your fingers, dip them in water again. Not only does this make the rolls look pretty, it also keeps any thin strands of dough from burning.
5. Rise. Cover the pan of gluten-free rolls with a piece of greased plastic wrap. Place the pan in a warm place and allow the rolls to rise. In the middle of the winter, I like to preheat my oven to 150 degrees while I mix the dough. Then I turn off the oven. <–this step is key! I place the pan in the warm oven to rise for an hour or so.
   
   In the summer, or in warm climates, leaving the pan on the counter to rise works just fine.
6. Preheat the Oven. When the rolls have almost doubled in size, preheat the oven. If you wait until the rolls have doubled in size to preheat the oven, they can over-rise. Why is this bad? Doesn’t more rise=higher rolls? I wish! When gluten-free yeast dough rises too much, it can collapse when baked.
   
   Look for the rolls to get puffy and soft. This usually takes about an hour, although it varies depending on your yeast and the temperature of the room. When you see that they’ve risen, go ahead and preheat the oven.
7. Bake. It might feel like these rolls take forEVER to brown. That’s normal. You want to bake them until they turn a nice golden brown all over. This takes about 25 minutes. If they’re still pale when you check them, leave them in the oven. They aren’t done yet!
8. Cool (and enjoy). Remove the rolls from the oven and…don’t eat them right away. I know. I know. This can be hard because warm bread is the best. But it’s *warm* bread that’s great, not hot bread. The starches need time to set up. If you eat a gluten-free roll right out of the oven, it will taste gummy and, to be honest, kind of gross. Wait about 15 minutes before enjoying.

FAQs: Gluten-Free Soft Dinner Rolls

What’s the best way to store gluten-free rolls?

It’s best to enjoy these rolls the day you bake them. Like most gluten-free baked goods, these dry out on the counter. If you have any rolls left over, wrap them well. The next day, warm them slightly in a toaster oven or low oven.

How do I freeze gluten-free rolls?

Yes! After baking, allow the rolls to cool completely. Once cool, place in a freezer bag. Freeze up to two months. Thaw the rolls on the counter. Warm in a low (200 degree) oven before serving.

Do I have to brush them with butter after baking?

Nope! The added butter adds a nice flavor to the rolls and keeps them soft but it’s an optional step.

How do I know if my yeast is fresh?

The best way to check for freshness is to check the date on the package. If you’re worried about your yeast, add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the warm water before adding the yeast. After stirring in the yeast, allow it to stand for 10 minutes. It should get foamy. If it doesn’t don’t use the yeast.

I don’t have a stand mixer. Can I make this recipe?

Yes. The dough is thick but can be made with a high powered hand mixer or mixed by hand with a wooden spoon.

Do I need to add the xanthan gum? 

Yes. Even though the flour blend contains xanthan gum, the rolls benefit from the additional teaspoon. Without it, they don’t rise as well.

Three Gluten-Free Bread Recipes to Try

1. Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
2. Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread
3. Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns

Shop the Recipe

The following are Amazon affiliate links. If you use them to shop, GlutenFreeBaking.com earns a commission on the sale. 

Ingredients

Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour

Xanthan Gum

Tools

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer

Rimmed Baking Sheet

Parchment Paper

Muffin Scoop

Oven Thermometer

Cooling Rack

Pastry Brush

Print

Gluten-Free Soft Dinner Rolls

Gluten-Free Soft Dinner Roll Recipe. Easy to Make. Dairy-Free Option included. 

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Rising Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12 Rolls

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup warm water, about 110 degrees F.
• 1 packet instant dry yeast
• 2 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (see note for flour replacement)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm whole milk, about 110 degrees F. (see note for dairy-free)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons melted butter (see note for dairy-free)

For Finishing

• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• Kosher salt

Instructions

• Combine water and yeast in the bowl of stand mixer. Stir to combine. Allow to stand for five minutes. 
• While the yeast dissolves, combine the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, xanthan gum, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk. 
• Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture. Add the milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix on medium speed until smooth, about three minutes. The dough will be very thick.
• Scoop dough, about 1/3 cup each, onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Smooth the top of each roll with your fingers. Dip your fingers in cool water before smoothing. Cover pan with greased plastic wrap. Allow rolls to rise until double in size. 
• When rolls have almost doubled in size, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap from pan. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 20 minutes. 
• Remove pan from oven. Brush rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with Kosher salt, if desired. (see note) Allow rolls to cool for about 15 minutes before serving. 
• Rolls are best enjoyed the day they are made. Store leftover rolls wrapped on the counter or place cooled rolls in a freezer bag and freeze for up to two months. Thaw rolls at room temperature overnight. 

Notes

Gluten-Free Flour Variation
Flour may be replaced with 2 cups brown rice flour or millet flour, 3/4 cup tapioca starch, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. (If using this blend, the recipe will include a total of 2 teaspoons xanthan gum.)

Dairy-Free Variation
Replace the milk with an equal amount of dairy-free milk.
Replace the butter in the dough with an equal amount of canola oil.
Brush the baked rolls with olive oil. (Optional)

Brushing with Butter

Lightly brushing the baked rolls with butter keeps them soft and adds a nice buttery flavor.

If you want to finish the rolls with butter, melt about 2 tablespoons of butter. As soon as you remove the baked rolls from the oven, brush each roll generously with melted butter. Sprinkle with kosher salt, if desired.

The post Gluten-Free Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe appeared first on Gluten-Free Baking.

Cinnamon raisin bread is one of my favorites—and I don’t usually like raisins!

This recipe, based on my popular gluten-free sandwich bread, makes a loaf that’s soft and tender but not too sweet. It’s a wonderful loaf for beginner gluten-free bakers.

How to Make Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread

1. Start with a Soft Dough
   To get a soft and tender gluten-free bread, this recipe starts with a really wet dough. How wet? Think of a thick cake batter. That’s what it looks like. The reason for this is that brown rice flour and tapioca starch perform better when they’re fully hydrated. It allows the dough to rise nice and high.To ensure the flour and starches absorb all the liquid in the recipe, mix the dough for about five minutes. Although it might not look like anything is happening during that time, two important changes are occurring as the dough mixes. First, the dough temperature rises, which the yeast loves, and the flour and starch absorb the liquid. At the end of mixing, the dough should look soft, shiny, and smooth.
2. Stir in Raisins Last.
   After mixing the dough, stop the mixer and add the raisins. Adding the raisins at the end prevents the raisins from breaking up as the dough mixes. (If you don’t love raisins in your cinnamon bread, skip them!)
3. Allow the Dough to Rise—but just once.
   Spread the dough evenly into a greased 8×4 inch loaf pan. Cover it with a piece of greased plastic wrap and allow to rise for about an hour. While traditional yeast-dough usually go through two rises, this dough doesn’t benefit from a double rise.Once the dough has reached the top of the pan, preheat your oven. If you wait until the dough fully rises to preheat the oven, it can over-rise and collapse during baking.

4. Bake to 210 degrees F.
   Using a digital thermometer is the best way to know if a loaf of bread is done. Insert the thermometer in the center of the loaf. The temperature should read about 210 degrees F. If the top browns before the center of the loaf is done, place a piece of foil over the bread and finish baking.
5. Cool (at least a little) before eating.
   Freshly baked bread is delicate. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about five minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Placing the loaf on a raised wire rack allows the steam to escape and prevents the bottom of the loaf from getting soggy.It’s best to wait until the loaf if fully cool before slicing. If you can’t wait that long, wait at least 20 minutes. This allows the starches to set.
6. Slice and enjoy or slice and freeze.
   This bread keeps for about three days on the counter or about three months frozen. To freeze the loaf, allow it to cool completely. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Or slice the bread into individual slices, place a piece of waxed paper between each slice, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in a storage bag.

What Gluten-Free Flour Blend Should I Use?

For yeast breads, like my gluten-free sandwich bread, it’s best to use a homemade gluten-free flour blend. My preferred blend contains brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum. If you use a commercial blend, make sure it’s recommended for use with yeast breads. Some are not.

What’s the Best Yeast to Use for Gluten-Free Bread?

Instant dry yeast, also called “rapid rise”, “quick yeast” or “fast acting yeast” is an excellent choice for gluten-free yeast breads. It dissolves quickly and, as the name implies, works quickly.

How long does the dough take to rise?

This loaf takes about 45 minutes to rise. Very warm or very cold environments will impact how long the dough takes to rise. You want the loaf to have doubled in size before baking.

How do you know when the loaf has risen enough?

Look for the dough to have doubled in size. If it rises higher than that, it can sink during baking or cooling.

Can I Use Almond Flour?

Not in this recipe.

Can I make this bread without eggs?

No. Sorry.

Can I make this loaf without milk or butter?

Yes! Replace both the milk and melted butter with your favorite dairy-free alternative.

Can I use this recipe for cinnamon buns?

No. This recipe makes a very soft gluten-free dough. It can’t be rolled into cinnamon buns.

My loaf sank in the center. What happened?

It probably rose too much. THere’s a balance between a rise that’s enough and too much. When gluten-free yeast dough rises too much, it deflates when it bakes, causing it to sink.

Print

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Soft and tender gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Rising Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 10 slices

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk about 110° F (6 ounces; 170 grams)
• 1 packet instant/rapid rise yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons; 7 grams
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour 7 ounces; 200 grams
• 1 cup tapioca starch 4 ounces; 113 grams
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar sugar 2 ounces/54 grams
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs whisked (about 5 ounces; 150 grams total, out of shell)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins*

Instructions

• Whisk together milk and yeast in a small bowl. Allow to stand for five minutes.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine brown rice flour, tapioca starch, brown sugar, xanthan gum, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Fit the stand mixer with the flat paddle attachment. Add the yeast mixture, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed for five minutes. Dough will be thick. It will not form a ball.
• Stop the mixer. Add the raisins. Turn mixer to low speed. Mix until raisins are incorporated.
• Spray an 8-1/2" by 4-1/2" by 2-3/4" loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread dough evenly into the pan. Spay a piece of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray and place plastic wrap loosely on the pan. Allow dough to double in size. This takes about one hour.
• When dough has doubled in size, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap from the top of the pan.
• Bake until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 210°F, about 45 minutes. (If the crust gets too dark before the internal temperature reaches 210°F, place a piece of foil onto the bread. This prevents the crust from burning.)
• Remove bread from the oven and allow to cool for two minutes. Transfer bread to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• When cool, slice into pieces with a serrated knife.
• Store bread on the counter for up to three days or freeze sliced bread, wrapped in freezer wrap with waxed paper between each slice, and placed into a freezer container, for up to six weeks.

Notes

Softening Raisins

The raisins should be soft to the touch. If your raisins are dry, place them in a small bowl. Pour just enough warm water over the raisins to cover. Allow the raisins to soak for about five to ten minutes. Drain the raisins and then use as directed.

The post Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe appeared first on Gluten-Free Baking.

A few months ago, a recipe request appeared in my inbox. That’s not unusual. What was unusual was that this recipe, for a classic Italian anise Easter bread, called for 12 cups of flour. This wasn’t just any recipe. It was a family heirloom.

Take a look:

2 dozen brown eggs, room temperature
3 cups sugar
21 teaspoons Crisco, melted and cooled 
10 teaspoons anise seed, crushed between palms of hands to release flavor
1 shot whiskey
1 yeast, cake style, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water. I used my hands to dissolve/crush the yeast, sprinkled it with sugar and let stand for 5 minutes to proof
12 cups Robin Hood flour, plus one cup more

Elana wrote that she’d attempted the recipe with gluten-free flour and that the taste was great but the texture was off. The loaf didn’t rise. 

After glancing at the recipe, I could see why. Although the bread called for two dozen eggs, it contained no liquid. There wasn’t any water or milk in the recipe, even for wheat-based doughs, this is unusual. 

I set out to both fix and convert the recipe. I must admit, I thought I had a bit of a leg up on this one. I’m Italian and this style of Easter bread often graced our table, along with ricotta cheesecake each year. But when I tried to remember the bread, my memory failed. I couldn’t remember for the life of me what the bread tasted like. Was it like brioche? Or was it more like challah? I couldn’t remember. I’m guessing that child-Elizabeth spent most of Easter eating candy, not chowing down on anise-scented bread.

Instead of relying on childhood taste memory, I leaned heavily into my baking knowledge. Here’s the thing: I know yeast bread. Not just gluten-free yeast bread, all yeast bread. While in culinary school, I adored learning about yeast-based breads. Those were my favorite classes. Cakes, candies, and pastry making were fine but yeast bread I loved. So much so, in fact, I spent time on Saturdays in a baking club. We cranked out dozens of loaves. These mornings were some of the happiest times I spent at school.

After years of baking gluten-free, I also know that gluten-free yeast recipes represent the hardest part of gluten-free baking. Are the results similar? In my opinion, no. They aren’t. I can eat a chocolate chip cookie and not know that it’s gluten-free. Same goes for cake or brownies. Give me a piece of gluten-free bread, even the best gluten-free bread ever and I still know that it’s not made with wheat. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. I just meant that it’s different.

Knowing that gluten-free yeast bread isn’t ever 100% on, provides an interesting challenge when attempting to convert a beloved holiday bread. I want to get it right. Or as close to right as gluten-free yeast bread allows.

The first thing I did was to honor the recipe. It’s a sweet, enriched dough, similar to a brioche or challah. This isn’t a lean recipe or a hearty whole grain bread. The next thing I did was honor the best way to make this bread gluten-free. My final result, I think,  succeeds at both.

Converting Italian Easter Bread to Gluten-Free: What I Replaced and What I Added

The Flour

The original recipe called for 12 cups of Robin Hood Flour*.  This flour, mostly sold in Canada, has a slightly higher protein content than traditional all-purpose wheat flour. It’s great for breads and pizza. To mimic this flour, I selected a variety of flours and starches that would provide good structure but, flavor-wise, fall into the background, allowing the eggs and anise to shine. This wasn’t an easy task. In fact, the flour blend I settled on, calls for four different flours and starches. Is that a lot? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

*The recipe used traditional Robin Hood wheat flour. The brand makes a gluten-free flour blend, which was not used in the original recipe.

The blend of rice flours (there’s three) and tapioca starch lend a soft, light texture to the bread. But without xanthan gum, the flour blend on it’s own wasn’t enough to give the bread the structure it needed. As with all my yeast bread recipes, I use as little xanthan gum as possible. I’m not a believer any type of set ratio for xanthan gum. No “one teaspoon per one cup of flour.” In some recipes, I don’t use xanthan gum at all. In others, like this one, I use the enough to give the bread structure but not so much that it gets gummy. I hate that weird, gummy texture that you find in some gluten-free breads.

The last thing I did was reduce the recipe to make one loaf of bread; the original recipe made four loaves. If you want to make multiple loaves, don’t multiply the recipe. Instead make as many individual recipes as you need loaves of bread. 12 cups of gluten-free flour, plus all the other ingredients, is too much for a home mixer, even a stand mixer like a KitchenAid, to handle. You’ll get much better results if you take the time to mix it multiple times.

Baking Powder

Here’s something I added that might surprise you: baking powder. This is a little trick I learned while developing my gluten-free sandwich bread recipe. Double acting baking powder, the most common style of baking powder sold in the United States, rises twice: first in the bowl when combined with a liquid and again when it hits the oven and gets hot.

Since gluten-free bread lacks the rubber band structure that gluten brings, the baking powder gives it a little help. Basically, it lifts the dough, giving the yeast room to do its thing.

What I Left Alone (for the most part)

The Yeast

The original recipe called for cake yeast. This is live, fresh yeast. For home bakers, it tends to be incredibly unreliable. I used active dry yeast, which, unlike fresh yeast, is really reliable. Just be sure to use a gluten-free active dry yeast.

The Eggs, Oil, Sugar, and Salt

For the most part, I left these ingredients alone. I swapped liquid vegetable oil for the melted Crisco because I think it gives the loaf a better texture. If you prefer melted shortening, go ahead and use it. I would not, however, use melted coconut oil. Not only will this oil affect the flavor of the finished loaf, it will affect the texture. Coconut oil is a hard fat and gives this loaf an almost tough bite.

The Flavors

Anise seed and whiskey bring flavor to this bread. During most of my test, I didn’t include the whiskey. Why? Because you don’t need it. If you have a bottle on hand, include it. But there’s no need to buy a bottle of whisky just to make this bread. Simply replace it with two teaspoons of vanilla extract. 

As for the anise, it’s a flavor I really like. Not everyone shares that opinion. If you’re looking for an Italian Easter bread but don’t like anise, skip it. Replace the anise with a little vanilla or the zest of a lemon and orange.

How to Bake Italian Gluten-Free Easter Bread

After adjusting the ingredients, I set out to work on the method. The original recipe calls for an overnight rise and then the individual loaves are baked on a pan.

I tested the recipe with both the overnight rise and a traditional two hour rise. I found I liked the results from a shorter rise better. All the tested loaves rose higher than those made with dough that had been allowed to rise overnight in the refrigerator.  

The biggest change I made, however, wasn’t replacing the overnight rise. It was how the loaves were baked. When gluten is present, the elastic dough holds itself together rather well. Gluten-free dough doesn’t. When I baked a loaf on a sheet pan, the loaf turned out rather flat. So I decided to force a bit of structure and bake the loaf in an 8-inch springform pan. Not only does the pan hold the loaf in a beautiful shape, it helps the edges brown, something that didn’t happen as well on the sheet pan.

The rise and texture came out great. Did it look like a traditional Italian Easter bread? It did not. Instead, it looked more like an Irish soda bread. This is one area where adjusting expectations helps. The bread tastes great; it just looks different.

The original baking temperature called for a 250 degree F oven. Yikes! This is a really low temperature for yeast bread. For my recipe, I went with the more traditional 350 degrees F. 

The finished loaf turned out beautifully. Dotted with anise seeds and rich with eggs, this loaf makes a welcome addition to an Easter table.

I did make one small change to the recipe. I added a simple glaze. To make this, combine powdered sugar with a little water or milk until thick. If you like a little lemon tang, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Many Italian Easter bread recipes finish the loaf with a sprinkle of nonpareils. I did’t have any in the house. If I had, you know I would a added a generous sprinkle to this loaf.

Print

Gluten-Free Italian Easter Bread

Classic Gluten-Free Italian Easter Bread is a rich, slightly sweet yeast bread. 

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons instant, active dry yeast (see note)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water, plus additional as needed
• 1 cup white rice flour (5 3/4 ounces; 165 grams)
• 1 cup brown rice flour (5 ounces; 145 grams)
• 1 cup sweet rice flour (5 ounces; 145 grams)
• 3/4 cup tapioca starch (3 /14 ounces; 90 grams)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams)
• 1 tablespoon xanthan gum
• 1 tablespoon anise seeds, optional (see note)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs, whisked
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons whiskey, optional (see note)

Glaze

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons water, plus more as needed
• nonpareils, optional

Instructions

• Whisk together the yeast and warm water in a small bowl. Allow to stand for five minutes.
• Combine rice flours, tapioca starch, sugar, xanthan gum, anise seed, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk to combine. Fit the mixer with the flat paddle attachment.
• Add the yeast mixture, eggs, vegetable oil, and whiskey. Mix until a thick batter forms. It should not form a dough ball. Think of it as thick cake batter. If the dough looks dry, add 1/4 cup more water.
  
• Grease a medium bowl. Place the dough into the bowl. Cover with a greased piece of plastic wrap and a dry kitchen towel. 
  
• Allow to rise until doubled in size, about one hour.
  
• Stir the dough with a spatula to deflate. 
  
• Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. Spread the dough evenly into the pan. Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size.
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan. Bake bread until the internal temperature reaches 205 degrees. If the top browns before the center of the bread reaches 205 degrees F. cover the pan lightly with a piece of foil. Remove the pan from the oven. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for five minutes before removing it from the pan and placing it on a wire rack to cool completely.
  
• Make the Glaze: Combine the powdered sugar and water. Stir until smooth. If glaze seems too thick, add additional water to thin. Spread over cake. Sprinkle with nonpareils if desired.
  

Notes

Recipe Note: Anise and Whiskey

The original recipe calls for anise seeds and whiskey. If you don't like the flavor of anise, replace it with the zest of one lemon and one orange. 

If you don't want to use whiskey, replace it with two teaspoons vanilla extract. 

The post Gluten-Free Italian Easter Bread appeared first on Gluten-Free Baking.

The Best Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread Recipe: Easy, Delicious, and Soft! 

Ah, gluten-free sandwich bread. It’s more than a bit of a pain, isn’t it? The pre-made loaves, while light and tender, are expensive and often filled with holes. Homemade recipes save you money but are often dense–and depending on the recipe dry or gummy.

With these problems, what’s a gluten-free eater to do? My advice: don’t give up on sandwich bread!

I’ve baked my own gluten-free sandwich bread for over a decade. In fact, there’s recipes for sandwich bread in both of my cookbooks. But while I love these recipes, I wanted to make a bread that was light and soft. Kind of like–dare I say it?–Udi’s bread but without the holes and the high price tag!

For about six months or so I’ve been working on this recipe. To be honest, I ate way too much bread and butter during these months. That’s the sacrifice I had to make, I guess. 😉 Finally, FINE-AH-LEE, I have a gluten-free bread recipe that’s easy to make, soft in texture, doesn’t fall apart, and tastes great. Oh, and it’s dairy-free, corn-free, and rice-free to boot. I LOVE this bread.

Let’s talk about how to make it. (BTW, I have a lot to say about how to make gluten-free bread. If you just want the recipe, I suggest you scroll down. Way down. Yeah, way, way down. #BakingTeacher #IHeartBreadAndICanNotLie)

How to Make Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread: The Dry Ingredients

Millet Flour

When I set out to make a soft gluten-free bread, I started by looking at the flours and starches I used in previous recipes. Unlike wheat-based bread, which can be made with only flour, water, salt and yeast, gluten-free bread requires a blend of flours and starches.  My original bread recipes both use brown rice flour. At the time (old timey gluten-free baker alert!), it was hard to find any gluten-free flours other than rice flour. Using brown rice flour made sense. Today we have lots of other options.

After giving it some thought, I narrowed it down to two flours: millet flour and sorghum flour. Both are tasty and relatively inexpensive.  I ended up using Bob’s Red Mill’s millet flour. Have you used millet? I’m in love with it. While brown rice flour can lend a somewhat gritty texture to recipes, millet reminds me of wheat flour. It’s soft. And it contains more fiber than rice flours! Yup! Cup for cup, millet offers twice as much fiber as brown rice flour. A soft texture and twice the fiber? Awesome!

Next up…starch!

Tapioca Starch

Since I was rethinking the flour, I also wanted to rethink the starch. In my first cookbook, Easy Gluten-Free Baking, my sandwich bread used corn starch. In my second, How to Cook Gluten-Free,I used potato starch. For this recipe, it’s all about the tapioca starch.

You might be wondering why you need starch at all. Good question! Wheat and other grains contain a starch called amylopectin. It’s part of their makeup. When combined with a liquid and heated, this starch gelatinizes. It thickens and almost turns jelly-like.  If you’ve ever made a stovetop pudding, you’ve seen this happen. One minute the pudding is thin, the next it thickens. This is good news for gluten-free bakers. Without the stretch of gluten, starch helps hold bread together.

Even though grain contains starch, it’s not enough to make a soft sandwich bread. Enter: added starch. Without tapioca starch, this loaf turns out dense and heavy. In the future, we’ll made some rustic bread. Those don’t always need added starch. This loaf does.

The reason I reached for tapioca starch for this recipe is because it adds an almost gluten-like stretch to recipes. Notice I said “almost”. There’s no 1:1 replacement for gluten. It bakes up lighter than both corn starch (which can get a little heavy) and potato starch (which is light but doesn’t add much stretch).

Xanthan Gum

Ah, xanthan gum. (deep breath) Usually the follow-up question to, “Elizabeth, how do I make bread?” is “Why do I need to use xanthan gum?”

Simply put, you need xanthan gum because  gluten isn’t present in the dough. Gluten, which comes from the Latin word for “glue”, provides elasticity and strength to traditional wheat-based doughs. If you’ve ever kneaded dough or watched someone throw pizza dough over their head, you’ve witnessed the stretchiness of gluten in action. Without this rubber band-like protein, gluten-free bread dough lacks the essence of what gives bread structure.

Enter xanthan gum.

While I wouldn’t go as far as calling xanthan gum a gluten replacement, it does prevent gluten-free bread from collapsing in on itself. Made from a microorganism called xanthomonas campestris, xanthan gum becomes very viscous and sticky when combined with water. It doesn’t have the same rubber band-like properties of gluten but it does a good job providing structure to gluten-free breads. If you accidentally omitted it from this recipe, you would have a very short, very dense loaf of bread.

Sugar

There’s a wee bit of sugar in this recipe. It helps feed the yeast and helps the crust to brown. Even though it’s only two tablespoons, there’s a big difference in color and flavor between a loaf made with the sugar and one made without. Feel free to use turbinado (Sugar in the Raw) sugar if you prefer.

Salt

Ah, salt! The amount of salt in a bread recipe seems quite small, doesn’t it? There’s only one teaspoon in the entire recipe. However, salt is an essential ingredient in bread dough. It helps enhance flavor, it controls yeast growth (more about this in a sec), and it helps the crust to brown. If you forget to add salt to a bread recipe, the bread will taste flat and the texture won’t be right.

For this recipe, use table salt, not Kosher salt or sea salt. They don’t measure the same (You need to use 1 1/4 teaspoons of Kosher salt to replace the table salt) and sometimes coarse Kosher salt doesn’t fully dissolve in the bread dough.

One other note about salt: when salt is in direct contact with yeast, it will kill the yeast. Never, ever add salt to your water-yeast mixture. You want to add the salt to the flour mixture and whisk everything together. This distributes the salt and keeps the yeast happy. And happy yeast is happy bread!

Baking Powder

What’s baking powder doing in a yeast bread recipe?! I know. I know. Another ingredient to measure (I’m sorry!). During testing of the bread recipe in “How to Cook Gluten-Free”, I wanted the loaf to have a little more rise. Increasing the yeast didn’t provide the lift I wanted. So I tried adding a little baking powder. PERFECT. Since it worked so well, I borrowed the idea for this recipe. It still works great. Commercial baking powder is double acting. This means it releases gas in the bowl when it comes in contact with liquid and then again in the oven when it gets hot. Adding a little lift during mixing and at the start of baking seems to give the yeast a little more room to do it’s thing.

Instant Yeast

The star of the show! Yeast! (woo-hoo!) For some reason yeast makes people nervous. I understand. Unlike other leaveners, like baking powder and soda, yeast is alive. It needs a little bit of special care. Not a lot of care, just a little.

The main thing is water temperature. For yeast to work, you want your water temperature between 105°F and 115°F. For the best results, grab an instant thermometer and take the temperature of the water. At around 120°F, the yeast begins to die and at 140°F, thermal death point kicks in and the yeast totally dies. (#RIPYeast).

For this recipe, I like to use “Quick Rise” yeast. Depending on the brand, this might be called Rapid Rise, Fast Acting, or Highly Active Yeast. This yeast is dried in smaller particles than traditional Active Dry Yeast. Technically, you don’t even need to dissolve it in water. You can add it directly to your dry ingredients, whisk everything together, and go. I prefer dissolving it in water. It’s up to you. If you decide to add your yeast directly to your dry ingredients, increase your water temperature to 120°F.

“Elizabeth! You just said that yeast begins to die at 120°F! Have you lost it?!?”

First, thank you for paying attention. Second, I might have lost it. I can’t keep track of these things.  😉 AnyWAY, about that temperature. It’s higher because the yeast is never in direct contact with the water.

Lastly, water temperature and keeping yeast away from salt is all fine and good. But you need to start with yeast that’s still fresh. I don’t mean cakes of fresh yeast, that’s a different product. I mean check the expiration date on the packet! If it’s expired, toss it and get some new yeast!

BAKER’S NOTE: Is All Yeast Gluten-Free? 

Answer: no. While “Saccharomyces cerevisiae” (that’s baker’s yeast to you and me) is a fungus and is naturally gluten-free, some packaged yeast is NOT gluten-free. Always check the label. As of this writing, Red Star’s Platinum yeast was NOT gluten-free. All of their other products are gluten-free. Read those labels!

How to Make Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread: The Wet Ingredients

Now it’s time to talk about what holds everything together, the wet ingredients!

Water

As written, the recipe calls for only 3/4 cup of water. To measure the water, use a liquid measuring cup or weigh the water (more on that below). As mentioned above, water temperature is key to bread baking. Use water that’s around 110°F. If you want to make a rich loaf of sandwich bread, replace the water with milk. Heat the milk to the same temperature as the water. When milk is used, the loaf bakes up slightly darker and has a creamier taste than a loaf made with water.

Eggs

Eggs add fat and flavor to this bread. They also add moisture. Unfortunately, this bread doesn’t do well egg-free. If you look at the photo of this bread, you can see it’s really yellow. That’s because I used local eggs and the yolks were BRIGHT yellow. Did I mention they were bright? When this bread is made with store bought eggs (something I use a lot of the time!), it won’t bake up so yellow. Also, if you prefer a less rich bread, omit the egg yolks and use only egg whites.

BAKER’S NOTE: If you buy your eggs from a local farmer, weigh them before you use them as the size tends to vary. An egg, out of shell, should weight about 50 grams.

Oil

Two tablespoons of fat help to soften the texture of this bread. For this bread, any liquid oil, like olive, canola, or vegetable, works.

How to Make Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread: Measuring

Measuring Dry Ingredients

Successful baking relies heavily on successful measuring. An error in measuring ingredients can cause a recipe to flop.

You have two good options for accurate measuring:

Measuring by Weight

Using a kitchen scale is the most accurate way to measure ingredients. Simply place a bowl on the scale, zero the scale (sometimes called “tare”) and add the ingredients. Zero the scale after adding each ingredient. For this recipe it looks like this: zero —>weigh the millet flour —> press zero—->add the tapioca starch. Done! The rest of the dry ingredients are small and are measured with nested measuring spoons. More on that in a sec.

Measuring by Volume

If you prefer to use measuring cups and spoons, that’s fine. While some claim that it won’t work, I disagree. If you take care when measuring your ingredients, you will be successful. In fact, when I started writing gluten-free cookbooks, few home cooks owned kitchen scales. My entire first baking book relies on volume measures and the recipes work for thousands of bakers.

Here’s how to measure ingredients with a dry measure.

1. Select a set of nested measuring cups. (Prefer metal to plastic. Over time, they won’t warp.)

2. Spoon flour or starch into the cup. Overfill slightly.

3. Level the cup with something straight, like a chopstick or the back of a butter knife.

BAKER’S NOTE: Don’t confuse nested measuring cups with a liquid measuring cup. You don’t want to measure dry ingredients in a liquid measuring cup.

Measuring Small Ingredients: Tablespoons and Teaspoons

Small ingredients are best measured by volume. Many kitchen scales aren’t accurate enough to measure a half teaspoon of salt. For small ingredients use a set of nested measuring spoons. I prefer metal as plastic or those “slider” measuring spoons tend to be less accurate.

For small ingredients, you can dip the spoon right into the ingredients, overfill slightly and then level with something straight.

Measuring Liquid Ingredients

For the water and oil, use a liquid measuring cup, like the one shown above. Fill the cup and squat down to eye level to make sure you have two cups of water. Holding the cup in the air or looking down at it can result in inaccurate measuring. If you are unable to squat down to eye level, Oxo makes an angled measure cup that can be viewed accurately from above.

How to Make Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread: Mixing

Without gluten to hold everything together, gluten-free bread dough looks very different from traditional bread dough. Instead of forming a smooth dough ball, it looks like a thick, sticky cake batter.

The easiest way to mix this thick dough is with a stand mixer. I use a KitchenAid mixer fitted with a flat paddle attachment. With gluten-free bread, you want to ditch the dough hook. It doesn’t mix gluten-free bread well. The paddle attachment, in contrast, does a great job chugging through our dough. Mix on medium-high speed for about three minutes.

If you don’t own a stand mixer, worry not! You can use a handheld mixer for the job. Again, I like my KitchenAid hand mixer for this job. I’ve found other mixers can’t handle the dough. If fact, over the years, I’ve had several readers tell me that they burnt out the motors of their handheld mixers while making gluten-free dough. Yikes!

Mix the dough until it’s smooth. You don’t want any dry flour hanging around the bottom of the bowl. Use a flexible spatula to clear around the little bump at the bottom of the KitchenAid mixer.

For this loaf, I use a Chicago Metallic loaf pan. It’s a little smaller than a traditional 9×5 bread pan. In fact, it’s 8-1/2″ by 4-1/2″ by 2-3/4″. If you are going to go to the trouble of making homemade bread, I’d strongly suggest you use this pan. It works GREAT. You end up with a loaf of bread about the size of Udi’s. This is smaller than traditional wheat bread but without gluten, smaller is sometimes better for gluten-free bread.

If you don’t want to invest in new pans, that’s fine! Just know that when this bread is baked in a 9×5 inch pan, it won’t rise as high because the pan is larger than the Chicago Metallic pan.

No matter what pan you use, be sure to spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray before adding the dough.

Cover the bread with a piece of plastic wrap that you’ve sprayed generously with non-stick cooking spray. This dough is soft. If you don’t spray the plastic wrap, the dough sticks to it.

After an hour or so, the dough should have doubled in size. Don’t let it over-rise. While it seems like the higher the rise, the higher the bread, this isn’t true. When dough rises too high, it can collapse during baking. Once the dough doubles, it’s ready to go.

The best place to allow dough to rise is on the counter. If your kitchen is very cold, throw the pan in the oven (be sure the oven is off). You don’t need to find a special spot for the bread. I know some people place their pan of bread on top of the fridge. Um, I don’t remember the last time I dusted the top of my refrigerator. There’s no way I’m putting food up there. 🙂

If you remember that rise time is an estimate, you’re all set. Sometimes bread dough rises fast (usually in the summer) and sometimes it takes its time (usually in the winter.) If after 90 minutes nothing has happened, check to see if you forgot to add the yeast. Occasionally issues with yeast happen but it happens fairly rarely, especially if you follow the directions about yeast above.

How to Make Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread: Baking, Cooling, and Storage!

Finally! It’s time to bake! Yay!

It’s important to preheat your oven before you bake your bread. Something magical happens during the first few minutes of bread baking: the yeast goes into a hyperactive phase. As the temperature of the dough rises, the dough rapidly converts sugars (from the starches in the flour) into carbon dioxide. At the same time, the water in the dough turns to steam. This boost of carbon dioxide and steam help the dough to rise. Oven spring can account for an additional 10% rise.

And then…it all stops. When the temperature reaches 120°F, the yeast hits its thermal death point and dies off. No more rise occurs after this point.

Taking the Temperature

I find it difficult to judge exactly when a loaf of bread has baked all the way through. There’s nothing more disappointing than spending time baking a loaf of bread only to find out that the very center of the bread is under baked. Thankfully there’s a simple solution to this problem: take its temperature. Yup, just like you’d do for a turkey at Thanksgiving!

Stick an instant read thermometer into the center of the loaf. Don’t poke the edges of the bread, the temperature is hotter there and won’t tell you if the center has baked.

The bread should reach 210°F or above. This is slightly higher than the temperature for wheat dough but I’ve found that once gluten-free bread hits 210° F, it’s done.

 Cooling

When the bread comes out of the oven, it’s done baking, right? Wrong! It’s almost done baking. Carryover baking occurs because the loaf is so hot. How hot? The loaf is steaming hot and it’s this steam that can cause problems for the gluten-free baker. Remember our friend xanthan gum? It loves to suck up water and it doesn’t stop doing this after baking. You want to ensure that the steam can escape from the baked loaf. If it doesn’t, the xanthan gum and starches can “grab” onto it. This leads to a gummy loaf of bread and soft crust.

To prevent a gummy loaf, remove the loaf from the baking pan and place it on a wire rack to cool. If the bread cools in the pan, the steam gets trapped and the loaf gets soggy, especially on the bottom.

Cutting

Once the bread is cool (or almost cool if you are impatient), it’s time to cut it. Use a serrated knife. Let me say that again, use a serrated knife. A smooth-blade knife will squish the bread. Lots of people ask me how to slice straight pieces of bread. Um….this is one that I can’t help with. They sell bread-cutting guides if this is an issue for you.

 Storage

After doing all that work, you don’t want your loaf to get moldy or stale, right? Right!

Bread tastes best the day it’s baked. You can store it on the counter for a day or two. But if you know you aren’t going to eat an entire loaf in a day, here’s what I recommend: allow the loaf to cool, slice, place a piece of waxed paper or parchment between the slices, and slide the whole thing into a freezer bag. When you want a piece or two of bread, remove the bread from the freezer. You can either thaw at room temperature or microwave for 15 seconds.

BAKER’S NOTE: Never store bread in the refrigerator. It stales very quickly in the fridge. Either store bread on the counter overnight or freeze it.

Are you ready to make bread? Yeah, I thought so! Here’s the recipe. Enjoy it!

Shop the Recipe

The following are affiliate links. When you use them to shop, GlutenFreeBaking.com earns a commission.
Digital Scale
Liquid Measuring Cup
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Bread Pan
Rubber Spatula
Oven Thermometer
Digital Thermometer

Print

How to Make the Best Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread

Easy gluten-free sandwich. Makes a loaf that's tender and tasty! 

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Calories 129kcal

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup warm water, about 110° F (6 ounces; 170 grams)
• 1 packet instant/rapid rise yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons; 7 grams)
• 1 1/2 cups millet flour (6 ounces; 170 grams)
• 1 cup tapioca starch (4 ounces; 113 grams)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (1 ounce; 28 grams)
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon table salt (not Kosher salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs , whisked (about 5 ounces; 150 grams total, out of shell)
• 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• *if desired , replace the eggs with 3 large egg whites.

Instructions

• Whisk together water and yeast in a small bowl. Allow to stand for five minutes.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine millet flour, tapioca starch, granulated sugar, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Fit the stand mixer with the flat paddle attachment. Add the yeast mixture, eggs, oil, and vinegar. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Dough will be thin.
• Spray an 8-1/2" by 4-1/2" by 2-3/4" loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread dough evenly into the pan. Spay a piece of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray and place plastic wrap loosely on the pan. Allow dough to double in size. This takes about one hour.
• When dough has doubled in size, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap from the top of the pan.
• Bake until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 210°F, about 45 minutes. (If the crust gets too dark before the internal temperature reaches 210°F, place a piece of foil onto the bread. This prevents the crust from burning.)
• Remove bread from the oven and allow to cool for two minutes. Transfer bread to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• When cool, slice into pieces with a serrated knife.
• Store bread on the counter for up to three days or freeze sliced bread, wrapped in freezer wrap with waxed paper between each slice, and placed into a freezer container, for up to six weeks.

Notes

This easy recipe for gluten-free sandwich bread contains no corn, dairy, or soy. Be sure to use an 8-1/2" by 4-1/2" by 2-3/4" pan like this one by Chicago Metallic. If you don't have this pan, use a 9x5-inch pan. Bread baked in a 9x5-inch pan will bake up shorter than bread baked in an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pan.

The post How to Make the Best Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread: An Easy Recipe for Everyone! appeared first on Gluten-Free Baking.

Another culinary confession! You know Udi’s bread? (Of course you do!) Well, I’m not wild about their hot dog buns. They are too bready/dry/something for me. But then, THEN, I realized that they’d make fabulous garlic bread! And now, well, now I love em! (Just not for hot dogs!)

Remember the warm, cheesy garlic bread that Italian restaurants serve before a meal? This recipe makes that style garlic bread. It isn’t fancy bread. And it doesn’t use fresh garlic. Did I lose you there? I hope not! Because here’s a secret: most inexpensive Italian restaurants–at least the “mom and pop” ones around here—don’t use fresh garlic either but even without fresh garlic, this bread is AMAZING.

Here we go!

Thaw as many Udi’s hot dog buns as you think you’ll need. (This recipe doesn’t really have a “recipe.”) Drizzle the face of each bun lightly with olive oil.

Spread on a generous amount of softened butter. Yes, both oil and butter. Trust me. Truuuuuuust me.

Sprinkle on some garlic powder. Just be sure it’s garlic powder and not garlic salt. To make this easy, you can use the handle of a spoon to control the amount of garlic on each bun. And, really, you just want a sprinkle.

Top with a generous amount of–wait for it–canned Parmesan cheese (Like the garlic powder, canned cheese is important if you want the bread to taste like “restaurant bread.”) Sprinkle on a little dried basil and you’re done!

Bake in a preheated 425°F. oven until golden brown. If you want, cut into slices and enjoy!

You can serve garlic bread with just about anything. This time of the year, I serve it with antipasto. But it’s good with anything.

Garlicky Yours,

Elizabeth

Print

Easy Gluten-Free Garlic Bread

This super easy garlic bread comes together in just a few minutes. Serve it alongside a salad or soup.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

• Udi's gluten-free hot dog buns split
• olive oil
• butter
• garlic powder
• Parmesan cheese
• dried basil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Drizzle a little (about one teaspoon) olive oil on each hot dog bun. Spread with a generous amount of butter, about 2 teaspoons. Sprinkle on a tiny bit of garlic powder and dried basil.
• Bake until golden brown and crispy.

The post How to Make Easy Gluten-Free Garlic Bread appeared first on Gluten-Free Baking.

Soft pretzels are just about perfect. They’re chewy, salty and great with everything from a beer to a salad. The thing is: they’re chewy. And gluten-free flour doesn’t do chewy well.

But this year I decided I didn’t want to go through another football season or Oktoberfest without a soft pretzel.  So I headed into the kitchen.

Since gluten, the protein found in wheat and other grains, is responsible for the distinctive soft pretzel chew, I began by focusing on the flour blend. The flavor of pretzels is rather subtle I first used white rice flour and tapioca starch.  I hoped the white rice flour would be bland enough to fade into the background while the tapioca starch, along with a little xanthan gum, provided chew. It worked. Sort of.

The white rice flour was so bland that the pretzels tasted flat, and since I only used a little tapioca starch, there was very little chew.  One of my first tasters said, “These taste like they want to be soft pretzels but just aren’t. They’re odd.”

Since I didn’t want bland pretzels, I replaced the white rice flour with brown rice flour. While the flavor was better, the pretzels were unappetizingly grainy.  Combining the white rice flour and brown rice flour solved this problem.

During testing, I increased the amount of tapioca starch in the recipe.  From previous experience, I knew that too much tapioca starch could make a recipe gummy. I added it cautiously, and one day, after using 3/4 cup of tapioca starch, I pulled a baked pretzel apart. There was some resistance as I tore the pretzel and the crumb had the tight appearance of wheat-based soft pretzels.  When I took I bite, the pretzel felt chewy! Finally, a gluten-free soft pretzel that was chewy and flavorful.

But texture isn’t the only characteristic unique to soft pretzels. They need to be dark brown and shiny. Commercial bakers achieve this by boiling the pretzels in water with a little food-grade lye, a powerful alkaline.  The solution turns the dough slightly yellow during boiling and aides the Milliard reaction during baking ,causing the pretzels to darken.

Since I didn’t have any lye on hand, (and I’m guessing you don’t either!) I used an alkaline that I did have in the kitchen: baking soda. While baking soda isn’t nearly as powerful an alkaline as lye, it did turn the dough slightly yellow during boiling. The finished pretzels, however, were a little too light for my liking.

Adding additional baking soda wasn’t solving the problem. On a whim, I added some granulated sugar to the solution. I hoped the sugar would help turn the pretzel a nice golden brown.

It worked! And best of all, the additional sugar didn’t add sweetness to the pretzels, just a lovely golden brown color.

Now, with a pretzel in hand, I’m ready for football season!

Here’s how to make ’em!

You want the dough stiff but not dry. Don’t worry if it doesn’t form a dough ball in the stand mixer. It won’t.

After two minutes of mixing, no dry ingredients should cling to the bottom or sides of the mixing bowl. If dry ingredients remain, add one to two tablespoons additional water.

Turn dough out onto a lightly white rice floured surface. Don’t use too much flour. A light dusting to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter is all you need.

Gently knead dough into a ball. Gluten-free dough requires a light touch. Once the dough forms a ball, stop kneading and place into a lightly oiled bowl to rise. Brush or spray the top of the dough with oil to prevent a skin from forming.

Allow dough to rise until doubled in size. This usually takes about an hour but the time varies depending on temperature.

Turn dough onto a very lightly white rice floured counter. Too much flour on the counter makes it hard to shape the pretzels. A light dusting of white rice flour will do.

Divide dough into equal portions. (A bench scraper works well for cutting the dough.)

Knead each dough ball until it becomes smooth. It should lose its shaggy appearance.

Roll out into 12-inch log. Take care not to use too much flour on the countertop. If the dough has too much flour on the surface, brush it off with a pastry brush. Cover the other pieces of dough with a piece of plastic wrap.

Gently turn dough into an upside down “U.”

Twist ends together.

Press the ends into the bottom of the “U”. You want to be sure the dough sticks to itself, so it doesn’t come apart while boiling.

Boil the pretzels until they float.

Once boiled, the pretzels turn slightly yellow. (The four pretzels on the left have been boiled. The two pretzels on the right have not been boiled.) Sprinkle some kosher salt on the pretzels and bake.

Enjoy!

Print

How to Make Chewy Gluten-Free Pretzels

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes

Servings 12 pretzels

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

For the Pretzels

• 2 cups finely ground white rice flour (8 ounces; 226 grams)
• 1 cup brown rice flour (5 ounces; 142 grams)
• 3/4 cup tapioca starch (3 ounces; 85 grams)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup warm water plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces; 255 grams)
• 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 large egg (1 3/4 ounces; 50 grams)
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup (2 ounces; 56 grams)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (3/4 ounce; 21 grams)

For the Water Bath

• 16 cups water (128 ounces; 3.6 kilos)
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (1 ounce; 28 grams)

For the Topping

• Kosher Salt

Instructions

• For the Pretzels: In the bowl of stand mixer, combine white rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder. Whisk to combine.
• In a small bowl, combine 1 cup warm water and active dry yeast. Stir with a fork. Allow to stand for three minutes. Add water-yeast mixture, egg, light corn syrup, and vegetable oil to dry ingredients.
• Fit stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until dough forms, about 4 minutes. The dough should be firm but not dry. If any dry ingredients remain at the bottom of the bowl or if the dough seems dry, add the additional 2 tablespoons water.
• Turn dough out onto lightly white rice-floured counter. Dust your hands with white rice flour and knead dough into a ball until smooth. Take care not to use too much pressure while kneading.
• Transfer dough to lightly greased bowl. Lightly brush the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise until almost doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Adjust oven racks to middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boiling. Turn dough out onto a very lightly white rice floured countertop. Punch down dough gently to deflate. Cut into 12 pieces. Cover dough with plastic wrap. One at a time, knead each piece of dough until smooth. Then, roll out the dough pieces into 12 to14-inch logs. (You want little to no white rice flour on the area of the counter where you are rolling the dough. If there is too much flour on the outside of the dough, the pretzel dough won't stick to itself when you go to shape it.)
• Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Working one log at a time, form the dough into a into "u". Twist each end together and then press the rope into the bottom of the "u". You want to press the dough firmly to ensure the ends stick to the "u" or the pretzel can unravel during boiling. Place shaped pretzels on prepared baking sheet.
• Prepare the Water Bath: Add the baking soda and granulated sugar to the boiling water. One at a time, boil the pretzels. If the pretzel floats, boil for about five seconds. If the pretzel sinks, wait for it to float to the top of the water and then remove. Return boiled pretzels to the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle generously with kosher or pretzel salt.
• Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway during baking. Remove and allow pretzels to cool. Pretzels are best served the day they're made. If desired, freeze once cooled and reheat in a warm oven.

The post How to Make Chewy Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels appeared first on Gluten-Free Baking.

To me, Christmas morning smells like burnt panettone. After spending Christmas Eve cooking a huge meal, my mom did not make Christmas breakfast. Instead she burned panettone. And I loved it.

I’m sure she didn’t mean to burn the panettone. But the Italian holiday fruit bread never seemed to make it out of the toaster without singeing—sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. Looking back, I can see that paper-thin slices of a sweetened, rich bread never stood a chance in our toaster. And now, it’s hard to find a gluten-free way to recreate that taste memory.

Unless, of course, I made my own gluten-free panettone. With a little patience (this bread takes about 16 hours from start to finish), a sturdy mixer, and a few gluten-free flours, homemade gluten-free panettone is fairly easy.

If you’ve never made gluten-free bread before, you might want to check out my recipe for sandwich bread for a few tips on gluten-free bread baking.

Getting Ready

Traditional panettone uses a biga—a pre-ferment made from a mixture of flour, yeast and water that ferments overnight—to achieve a high rise and a nice deep flavor. This is good news for gluten-free baking—thanks to the lack of gluten and the amount of fat and sugar in the dough, this loaf needs all the help rising it can get. (By the way, the biga doesn’t work alone. The finished loaf contains a generous amount of active dry yeast and a little baking powder to aid its rise.)

To get the full benefit of the biga, mix it about twelve to fifteen hours before you plan on baking. Just stir the ingredients together and let the yeast do its thing while you sleep. You might find the consistency of the biga a little startling. This gluten-free biga is wet, thick, and sticky. It looks a bit like marshmallow fluff.

After mixing your biga, combine the dried fruits with lemon and vanilla extract. Macerating the fruits overnight infuses them with flavor. Since many people dislike the classic panettone fruits of citron and candied lemon and orange peel, I’ve include a list of alternative dried fruit options for the recipe. No matter which fruits you choose, all benefit from an overnight soak.

Mixing the Dough

To prepare the dough, you’ll first mix the wet and dry ingredients together until a dough forms. Like most gluten-free bread dough, this dough does not form a firm ball. Instead it’s a really thick, wet dough, almost a cross between a dough and a batter. To chug through the dough, you’ll want to use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

After the dough forms, add the butter. Be sure to use very soft butter for this step. Anything harder leaves clumps of butter throughout the dough. To test the butter’s softness, stick your finger (or a fork) into it. If your finger sinks easily into the butter, it’s the right consistency.

The dried fruits go in last. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the fruits, mixing until the fruits are just incorporated.

Rising and Punching

The panettone goes through two rises. For the first rise, just cover your bowl with a piece of greased plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about two hours. In approximately two hours, the dough should double in size. Once it doubles it needs to be punched down.

Since this dough is so sticky, you don’t want to punch it with your bare hands or you’ll end up with dough all over yourself. Instead, stir it gently with a greased wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it is almost fully deflated, or use the piece of greased plastic wrap that covers the bowl to help punch down the dough. I prefer the second option. Simply remove the plastic wrap from the bowl and place it loosely over the dough. Deflate the dough by using your knuckles. The plastic wrap barrier between your hand and the dough prevents the dough from sticking to you.

No matter how you do it, deflate the dough about 75% and then spoon it into a prepared pan.

Shaping: A Pan or a Paper?

Tradition dictates that you bake panettone in paper. While pretty, paper doesn’t make the best vessel for baking gluten-free bread. Each time I made this recipe in paper, I ended up with raw spots in the center of the loaf. Gross!

Baking panettone in a tube or Bundt pan can help to prevent raw spots. The rod in the center of the pan gets hot during baking and thoroughly bakes the center of the loaf. Of course, it doesn’t look quite like a traditional panettone, but I’d rather have a funny-looking panettone over a raw one.

Baking

This loaf takes about one hour to bake. The finished loaf should be between 207-211°F. (Take the temperature in the center of the loaf, not near the sides.) When the bread reaches the correct temperature, remove it from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

Serving and Storing

I love this bread served as is or toasted. To avoid burning panettone like my mom did so many times, slice the pieces at least 1/2-inch thick. And be sure to keep your eye on the bread as it toasts.

Wrapped, this bread keeps for about three days on the counter. If you don’t plan on eating the entire loaf in three days, wait until the panettone cools, slice it, and freeze.

Ready to Bake? Here’s the Step-by-Step

The dry ingredients are mixed with the wet ingredients and the biga. At first the dough is thick.

Softened butter goes in a little at a time. You want your butter soft, not cold.

After you add all the butter, the dough looks very soft. This is totally normal. 

After the fruit is added, transfer the dough to a large greased bowl. Why large?

The dough doubles in size! Hence the need for a big bowl.

Have a bit of pent-up holiday anger? Take it out on the dough! It needs to be “punched” down before the second rise. Don’t have holiday anger? Punch it anyway!

Once you’ve punched the dough, transfer it to a well greased bundt pan.

The dough rises again. This rise takes about one hour. And then…

You bake it! Isn’t it pretty?

Slice it up. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and call it day!

Print

How to Make Gluten-Free Panettone

A holiday classic made gluten-free. This panettone is studded with dried fruit. However, if you don't like raisins and other dried fruits, you can use chocolate chips!

Prep Time 16 hours hours

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 17 hours hours

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

For the Biga

• 3/4 cup water (6 ounces; 170 grams)
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups finely ground white rice flour (6 ounces; 170 grams)
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

For the Fruit

• 1 cup raisins (about 4 ounces; 113 grams)
• 1/3 cup candied orange peel (about 1 1/2 ounces; 42 grams)
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon freshly squezed lemon juice (1/2 ounce; 14 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

For the Dough

• 2 1/3 cups brown rice flour (11 1/2 ounces; 326 grams)
• 3/4 cup sorghum flour (3 3/4 ounces; 106 grams)
• 1/2 cup potato starch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk (whole or 2%), warmed to about 100°F. (8 ounces; 226 grams)
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packets active dry yeast
• 3 egg yolks (about 1 1/4 ounces; 33 grams)
• 2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams, out of shell)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (3/4 ounce; 24 grams)
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup or honey (1 1/3 ounces; 39 grams)
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup; 4 ounces; 113 grams)
• non-stick cooking spray

Instructions

• Prepare the Biga: Combine water and yeast in a small bowl. Stir. Allow mixture to stand until yeast dissolves, about two minutes. Whisk together white rice flour and xanthan gum in a small bowl. Add water and yeast. Stir to combine. Mixture will be thick and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise overnight at room temperature.
• Prepare the Fruit: Combine raisins, candied orange peel, lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.
• Prepare the Dough: In a small bowl, stir together milk and yeast. Allow to stand for five minutes.
• In bowl of stand mixer, whisk together brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, granulated sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Add yeast mixture, egg yolks, eggs, vegetable oil and corn syrup. Mix on medium speed with flat paddle attachment until dough is thick, about three minutes.
• Add biga. Mix for one minute to combine. Scrape down bottom and sides of bowl with rubber spatula.
• With mixer on medium speed, add butter one tablespoon at a time. Wait for each tablespoon of butter to incorporate before adding next tablespoon.
• After all butter is added, mix dough for one minute. Dough should be thick and smooth. Reduce mixer speed to low and add dried fruits. Mix until fruits incorporate throughout dough.
• Lightly oil medium bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer dough to greased bowl.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about two to two-and-half hours.
• Deflate dough by about 75%. Do this by either punching down dough with a piece of plastic wrap between your hand and dough or stir dough using a rubber spatula.
• Generously grease 12-cup Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon dough into pan and smooth top with rubber spatula.
• Cover pan with greased plastic wrap and set aside until dough almost reaches top of pan, about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake loaf until internal temperature reaches 207-211°F, about one hour. Loaf will be dark brown. If loaf gets too dark before internal temperature reaches 207°F, cover pan with a piece of aluminum foil and continue to bake.
• Invert loaf onto wire rack to cool. Store tightly wrapped in plastic for up to three days or freeze.

Notes

For the Fruit

The listed fruits are suggestions. Any dried fruit works well in this bread. Dried cranberries, apricots, and cherries are especially nice.

The post How to Make Gluten-Free Panettone appeared first on Gluten-Free Baking.