Bread is often one of the things those living a gluten free life miss the most. Crave no longer! Nuflours' gluten free bread is created by a dedicated team who makes the best gluten free loaf in Seattle. Our bread is baked fresh daily without preservatives and today we want to talk a little bit about what goes into making the perfect gluten free loaf.
The Elements of Gluten Free Bread
There are some fundamental differences between baking bread that contains gluten and baking gluten free bread.
Here, we want to give you a snapshot of these differences and how to get the highest quality you can out of your loaf.
Yeast
Time for a little chemistry lesson! In order to understand the fundamentals of bread-baking, you have to know a little something about yeast.
Yeast is a living organism found all over our environment. When yeast is baked in bread, it causes the bread to rise due to chemical processes that happen when the yeast is reproducing.
This reproduction is called budding, and when it happens the yeast cell expands, detaches itself form the momma cell, grows and reproduces new cells of its own until they detach, and the process of reproduction continues.
While all of this budding is going on, the yeast cells are also producing enzymes, a very complex protein.
Now here's where the differences between gluten and gluten free bread come in to play.
Working the Dough
In traditional gluten breads, these protein strands are long and tend to stick to each other. Because of this, if you work the dough too long, it will create a very dense, brick-like bread.
All grains contain protein structures. In gluten free bread, the protein structure is shorter, so you don't have to be worried about over-working the dough.
You do however need to be mindful of hydration.
Gluten free breads run the risk of becoming very dry, so pay close attention to hydration when baking gluten free breads.
No Double Rise
In traditional bread baking, the yeast process we described above causes a dough matrix to form that needs to be beaten down so the dough can rise a second time before baking.
In gluten free bread, there is no gluten forming a dough matrix, so you simply let it rise once and pop it in the oven!
Nuflour’s Gluten Free Bread
Of course, if you're not a baker, you can always buy some pre-made gluten free bread.
Here at Nuflours we are proud to offer our specialty loaves baked fresh every day.
As you're experimenting with your preferred gluten free bread flavor pallet, our breads can give you a sample of what kind of loaves you can enjoy.
Our menu of gluten free breads include:
Flax Sandwich Loaf
This hearty loaf is a whole grain style bread full of flax, chia seeds, and olive oil. Our flax loaf has a spongey texture and holds really well for toast, sandwiches, and french toast. Available to order online.
Burger Buns
The title says it all. Our vegan and gluten free hamburger buns are great for burgers or to enjoy on their own with butter and jam. They make a great replacement for an English muffin! Available to order online.
Olive Loaf
One of our artisan breads, our olive loaf is full of flavor and ready for eating! Put a little marinara and cheese on some thick slices and broil it in the oven for a particularly delicious treat.
Garlic Parmesan
The old classic, delicious with anything, especially Italian cuisine, steak, or straight up on its own. If you want to add another layer of flavor, throw it on the grill to toast for a few minutes. The smokey flavor melds perfectly with the bread. Top with cheese or hummus for an extra zing.
Baguette
In which we bring Paris to you--without gluten!
Panini Loaf
Our vegan panini loaf is short and oblong, perfect for personal panini-style sandwiches.
Gluten Free Bread Care Instructions
Because our gluten free breads are baked fresh daily and contain no preservatives, it's recommended that you follow some basic care instructions to preserve your bread's natural shelf life.
Here is what we recommend to maintain ultimate freshness:
Slice and freeze your gluten free bread the day after purchase. This extends the shelf life by up to two weeks or longer depending on your freezer.
Instead of taking out the whole loaf at once, take out slices as needed to defrost in the toaster, on the counter, or in the microwave.
If you do opt to lead your bread out at room temperature, keep in mind that most of our gluten free breads can be left on the counter for up to two days, though the exact time varies from loaf to loaf.
Though freezing your gluten free bread extends its shelf life, avoid refrigeration, as it tends to dry out the bread.
Delicious Gluten Free Bread Recipe
If you're ready to try your hand at gluten free bread baking, we've got the perfect recipe for you!
Sesame Bread Recipe
34 grams Sesame seeds
45 grams Olive oil
155 grams Eggs
298 grams Water
9 grams Yeast
26 grams Molasses
14 grams Chia seeds
377 grams Flour
57 grams Tapioca
8 grams Xanthan gum
4 grams Salt
How to Make Gluten Free Sesame Bread
Preheat your oven to 425F degrees.
In a bowl, mix your water, molasses, chia seeds, and yeast. Then set it aside for about 10 minutes until the yeast has bloomed. This is when the yeast gets foamy looking. If it doesn’t foam, your water may not have been the correct temperature or the yeast may be bad, in either case, try again.
Please note that in summer times your water should be about 75F degrees while in winter the water should be closer to 85F degrees. This will keep it from being too cold to activate the yeast or from being too warm and killing the yeast. You can take a glass of water and check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer.
In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, tapioca, xanthan, and salt. Blend together until well mixed.
Add in the sesame seeds, oil, and eggs, mixing with an electric mixer on low for 5 minutes.
Slowly add the yeast mixture into the flour and egg mixture, beating on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Place the dough into a well-greased bread loaf pan and then brush the tops with an egg wash and sprinkle with some additional sesame seeds.
Let the dough rise for 30-60 minutes or until the peak of the dough reaches slightly above the top of the pan.
Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes and then check the internal temperature of the bread with an instant-read thermometer. It should register 205F degrees and the tops of the bread should be golden.
When the bread is done, cool it in the pans for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan and transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
We hope you are feeling inspired to bake your own gluten free bread creations or stop by and sample ours! Living a gluten free life doesn't have to mean living without hearty, great-tasting bread. Give it a try and let us know your favorite!