Gluten-Free Challah (Pareve / Dairy-Free): Version 1.0

Oh, my friends, this is the craziest of crazy times, this 4 week period of one Jewish holy day after another! A veritable Jewish spiritual marathon, really, and it's not over yet- Sukkot is nearly upon us and Simchat Torah is right around the corner. The cooking I've been doing has been under time constraints not to mention religious ones - The food has been wonderful and well-appreciated, but there's been little time for photographing and blogging. This fabulous insanity will continue for a while yet.

But you know, it's okay. There is some grace to be found in all this, and some joy in cooking for the sake of cooking rather than for the sake of blogging. And what better way to spend my cooking energy and celebrate the approach of autumn than on preparing a multi-course feast for friends and family on erev Rosh Hashanah? The Rosh Hashanah menu included a terrific beef tzimmes (basically my vegetarian tzimmes with big, tender chunks of beef cooked into it); Roasted Butternut Squash, Marcona Almond and Pomegranate Salad which is a spectacular celebration of fall; the Lacy Potato Kugel I've been making at every holiday since I fell in love with it; steamed green beans tossed with lemon oil; a pareve gluten-free Honey Cake drizzled with local honey and topped with slivers of toasted almonds; and ginger-poached pears (recipe forthcoming) which truly surprised me by stealing the show. Oh, and P.S. I also made gluten-free challah!

I based this recipe roughly upon Sara Nussbaum's gluten-free challah recipe, which Ellen posted her version of a while back. Is this the perfect gluten-free challah, that Jewish celiac equivalent of a holy grail which tastes just like what you remember from your childhood? No, it's not perfect - It's a work in progress. But is it delicious? Oh yes, it most certainly is. It turned out more challah-like than I expected, and it was delicious dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah and made into the loveliest challah French toast in the days that followed.

To get the most challah-like texture without gluten, you need to have a dough with a high liquid content, which would be more like a batter than a dough and thus unable to be handled. This is why most gluten-free challah recipes can't be braided. Most gluten-free recipes that I've seen which create braid-able doughs use dough conditioners that are not easily available / kosher. Making a bread pareve further impacts the moisture. So, in order to make a bread I could shape into something vaguely resembling a traditional shape, I used far less liquid than your usual GF bread recipe would call for. The result is a dough that can be (very carefully) handled, perhaps even braided by a very skilled and well-greased hand - But this also resulted in a bread that was quite a bit less moist than what I'm used to. It was absolutely wonderful when it was still warm out of the oven, but after it cooled completely, I found it needed some light toasting to restore its texture.

I created it in a pull-apart challah style. You can see Bureka Boy's photographs of what a gluten-y pull-apart challah looks like here. It's obvious from my photos that the pull-apart idea didn't really work with this dough, but that forming the challah from balls of dough helped give the top of the bread the bumpy shape that looks similar to how braided round challahs appear. If you don't care how your challah looks, skip that step and just pour the dough into the cake pan at once, smooth the top, glaze it, and bake it.

I considered not sharing this recipe until I improved upon it, but I realized there is no reason to not let you in on my process. The journey that a recipe goes through as it is perfected is often a long one, and I will keep you posted as I improve upon this recipe in the coming months.

It was so nice to get to eat challah along with everyone else on Rosh Hashanah this year. It made me feel downright almost normal. (Yes, even weirdos can occasionally feel normal.)



GLUTEN-FREE CHALLAH

[ Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Soy-Free /
Vegetarian / Pareve ]

1 package active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp tapioca starch
1/4 cup Vance's Foods DariFree Original Powder (or other powdered non-dairy milk substitute)
1 Tbsp guar gum
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp dry potato flakes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
4 eggs + 1 extra egg yolk (at room temperature)
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp water, for glaze
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
Poppy or sesame seeds (optional)
Baking spray / vegetable oil spray (non-dairy)

Turn oven on 200 F for 10 minutes, then turn oven off. Mix yeast and sugar with warm water in a small bowl. Cover with tin foil, and place in the oven for 10 minutes or until the top becomes bubbly.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine cornstarch, white and brown rice flours, tapioca starch, guar gum, salt, baking powder, powdered non-dairy milk and potato flakes. Add yeast mixture, oil, honey and eggs (except for reserved egg glaze). Blend thoroughly on high speed. If you are adding raisins, fold them in with the mixer set to a low setting until they are evenly dispersed throughout the dough.

Grease an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan (preferably silicone). Spray baking spray all over the palms of your hands, and place a ball of dough of about 3" diameter in the center of the cake pan. Continue to roll dough into balls, placing them in concentric circles around the center ball until they reach the edge of the cake pan. Do not pack them in too tightly, they should touch each other but some spaces should be visible. The dough is very sticky, so you will need to spray oil on your hands frequently in order to be able to handle the dough and roll it into balls (if you get too much dough sticking to your hands, wash them off, dry them, and re-oil them).

Using a pastry brush, brush half of the egg glaze over the top of the dough. Cover with a dish cloth and place in oven, which should still be warm but should not be on. Allow to rise for 1 hour. It should rise to the top of the cake pan or higher.

Remove the pan from the oven, and set oven to 350 F. Remove the towel from the pan, and brush the remaining egg glaze on the dough. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired. Return pan to oven, uncovered. Bake for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for another 25 minutes.

Allow bread to cool slightly before transferring it to a cooling rack. Eat while warm, or slice and toast it. Will keep for up to a week at room temperature in a ziploc storage bag, or you can slice and freeze it for longer storage.

Bad news about Chebe products - They are no longer kosher certified

Though I don't usually post about this type of issue on this blog, I am so disappointed about this news that I want to pass the word on to others who may be affected. I just received a response to an e-mail inquiry from Chebe products. All of their products that were manufactured after April 2007 are no longer kosher certified. This means that several of the recipes on my blog, such as my knishes and Jamaican-style spicy turkey patties, are no longer kosher for people who care about their food products being hechshered. This is a real loss for those of us who are gluten-free and keep kosher. I am working on creating a homemade Chebe replacement that will work in these recipes, and perhaps even be an improvement. In the meantime I urge people to encourage Chebe to re-certify their wonderfully versatile gluten-free products by e-mailing, writing, or calling them. You can find their contact information here.

Gluten-Free Rosh Hashanah Recipe Roundup 2007

In the spirit of my Gluten-Free Passover Roundup 2007, I thought I'd put together a Rosh Hashanah version. Rosh Hashanah doesn't have any of the food restrictions of Passover, so this holiday doesn't leave most of us in the same kind of panic over finding gluten-free foods to eat. Yet menu planning is always a challenge, especially when cooking for guests, as many of us do this time of year. I hope this will help a bit. Here are some ideas, from my blog and other websites, of foods for your holiday table. You'll notice an emphasis on sweet foods, leeks, carrots, honey, round-shaped foods, etc. Here is an article about Rosh Hashanah food customs, if you're curious.

GLUTEN-FREE
ROSH HASHANAH RECIPES

Codes:

P = Parve (no dairy, no meat)
M = Meat (fleischig)
D = Dairy (milchig)
V = Vegan (no meat, fish, eggs or dairy)
VG = Vegetarian dishes containing dairy or eggs

SNACKS & HORS D'OEUVRES
Sugar & Spice Pecans (P, VG)
Vegetarian Chopped Liver (P, V)
Fig & Pomegranate Tapenade (P, V)

SOUPS & APPETIZERS
Isaiah's Victorious Vegetable Stock (P/D, V/VG)
Sephardic Leek Soup (M)
Hot Beet Borscht (P, V)
Butternut Squash Soup (P, V)
Potato Kneidlach (P, VG)
Gluten-Free Mock Matzo Balls (P, VG)
Beat, Bean and Apple Salad (P, V)
Roasted Butternut Squash, Marcona Almond & Pomegranate Salad (P/D, V/VG)

MAIN DISHES
Beef Tzimmes with Butternut Squash (M)
Apple-Glazed BBQ Chicken (M)
Whole Fish Emeril-Style (P)
Gluten-Free Blintzes (D/P, VG)
Chicken with Pomegranate Glaze & Fresh Mint (M)
Prassokoftedes (Potato-Leek Fritters) (P, VG)
Gluten-Free Knishes (D, VG)
Southwestern Tsimmes Stuffed in Chiles (P, V with Honey)
Leg of Lamb with Pomegranate (M)
Tzimmes (P, V with honey)
Herb-Stuffed Trout with Vegetable Kabobs (P)
Rolled Cabbage (M)
Poached Fish with Pomegranate Sauce (P)
Chicken with Fresh Figs (M)
Sweet Brisket (M)
Parsnip & Carrot Confetti Latkes (P, VG)
Roasted Squash with Potatoes (D, VG)
Pomegranate Tofu (P, V)
Jewish Grandma's Best Beef Brisket (M)

SIDE DISHES
Noodle Kugel (P, V with honey, dairy option)
Winter Squash with Caramelized Onions (P, V)
Fried Leeks with Tarragon Vinegar (P, VG)
Carrot Leek and Apple Bake (D, VG)
Honeyed Nahit (Chickpeas) (M)
Pomegranate Glazed Green Beans & Portobellos
Sephardic Black Eyed Peas (P, V)
Sweet Potato and Spiced Apple Casserole (D, VG)
Holy Carrots (D, VG)
Algerian Green Beans with Almonds (P, V)
Gluten-Free Kasha Varnishkes (M)
Carrot Souffle (P, VG)
Caramelized Butternut Squash (D, VG)
Lacy Potato Kugel (P, VG)
Zucchini with Currants and Almonds (P, V)

BREAD
Gluten-Free Challah I (D, VG)
Gluten-Free Challah II (D, VG)
Rosemary and Olive Sweet Potato Bread (P, VG)

DESSERT
Gluten-Free Honey Cake (Version 2.0)(P)
Gluten-Free Honey Cake (Version 1.0) (D)
Honey & Ginger Cake (D, VG)
Baked Apples (D, VG)
Fig-Bar Cookies (D, VG)
Fruit Compote (P, V)
Bosc Pears with Pomegranate Glaze (P, V)
Pomegranate Tapioca (P, V)
Spiced Dates with Mascarpone Cheese (D, VG)
Pumpkin Creme Brulee (D, VG),
Candy Apples (P, V)
Apple Crisp (D, VG)

BEVERAGES
Mulled Fall Fruit Cider (P, V)
Pomegranate Martini (P, V)
Tej (Ethiopian Honey Wine) (P, V with honey)


L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu!

[Apples & honey image is from imgmag]

Gluten-Free Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah: Version 2.0

My first recipe for Gluten-Free Honey Cake (Version 1.0) was the second recipe I ever posted to this blog. In honor of how far my own culinary journey has evolved since starting this blog nearly a year ago, and to celebrate my boundless love for Rosh Hashanah fare, I have revamped my gluten-free, wheat-free honey cake recipe. Though quite delicious, my last recipe used Pamela's Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix, which doesn't have a reliable hechsher, and was dairy and therefore useless for most festive Jewish New Year meals, which feature meat. This new and improved Honey Cake 2.0 is pareve (non-dairy) and doesn't use a mix. It is every bit as delightful in its orange-tinted honey flavor and moist texture, but it lends itself better to the traditional Rosh Hashanah dinner table.

The mini-cakes pictured were baked in adorable little individual silicone fluted cake pans that I found at the dollar store in New Paltz. However, I have made this recipe in a 9" round cake pan and a standard-sized bread loaf pan, and had terrific success both times. I have posted the approximate baking times for several sizes, so you can use whatever baking gear you have on hand. I really do recommend the miniature individual cake pans, the resulting cakelets are so cute and so easily embellished with fruit or nuts placed in the hollow center. You can try a miniature silicone bundt pan like this or miniature fluted cake pans like this. I don't normally use silicone for baking, however the high amount of honey in this recipe leads to edges getting burnt extremely quickly, so I've found that to keep the outside of the cake golden and tender, avoiding burning and crispyness, silicone is best. Nonstick metal cake pans or bread tins are the second best choice, or use parchment paper to line a regular metal pan.

I recommend using a rich, flavorful honey for this recipe, especially for the "glaze". Honey alone is a flavorful and moist enough topping for my taste, but you can also try sifting powdered sugar over the cake/s, or try any recipe for a bundt cake glaze. Boiling down some honey mixed with orange juice and orange zest would make a glaze perfectly complementary to the flavors in this cake.

I hope this cake recipe brings some sweetness to your new year. L'shanah tovah!




GLUTEN-FREE ROSH HASHANAH HONEY CAKE (Version 2.0)

[ Gluten-Free / Soy-Free / Nut-Free Option /
Dairy-Free / Pareve ]

3 cups Carol's Flour Blend
3/4 cup turbinado sugar or white sugar
2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 eggs
1 /4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 cup honey
1 cup orange juice

Optional: Honey, toasted almond slivers, pecan pieces and/or powdered sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Cover the bottom of a 9" circular baking pan with parchment paper, then spray the inside of the pan lightly with dairy-free baking spray. If making miniature cakes using silicone mini-bundt or mini-fluted cake pans, place pans on a baking sheet and spray lightly with baking spray. Well-greased loaf pans may also be used.

Stir together flour mix, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and sugar in a medium bowl.

Separate the eggs. In one large mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, honey, oil, applesauce, orange juice and orange zest. In a separate medium bowl, beat egg whites with an electric beater until they form stiff peaks.

Using a whisk or hand beater, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. When thoroughly combined, fold the egg whites carefully into the batter, stirring very gently just until the ingredients are fully combined.

Immediately pour batter into pan/s and bake for approximately 20 minutes (for miniature cakes), 40 minutes (for round cakes) or 45-50 minutes (for loaves), or until a toothpick inserted into the cake's center comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Watch cakes carefully to make sure that the edges do not burn. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool before carefully removing from pan/s and placing onto a cooling rack. For bundt and fluted pans, once the cakes are cool you can use a sharp serrated bread knife to gently remove the domed "bottoms" of the cakes (the side facing up when you baked them) so that they pretty cake "tops" can sit flat on a plate, if you wish.

Immediately before serving, fill bundt/fluted cake centers with nuts or fruit (if applicable) and sift powdered sugar over them or drizzle cake/s with additional honey.

Carol's Flour Blend

I was sent a copy of Gluten-Free Quick and Easy by Carol Fenster a few months ago. I will post a review of the book one of these days. In the meantime, I wanted to post my very slight modifications to Carol's Flour Blend, to use as a future reference. It's not so different from my own mixes. This is a basic multi-purpose gluten-free flour blend, though it can't be used cup-for-cup in most baking recipes without adding guar gum or xanthan gum. Carol Fenster uses it as the base for many of her recipes. I used it with great success in a recipe I'm about to post in a few minutes, so I'm creating a separate post for it so I can link back to it whenever I post recipes based on this mix. Carol recommends cornstarch as a substitute for potato starch, but I personally try to avoid using refined corn products as much as possible. She recommends sorghum flour, which I love, but brown rice flour would work just fine, in my experience. So far I have had luck using this mix as a base for a yeast pizza dough, and for a cake.

CAROL'S FLOUR BLEND (MODIFIED)

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour or brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour

Mix ingredients in ziploc storage bag, and store in refrigerator.

Quinoa-Cannellini Burgers: A Gluten-Free Veggie Burger for Grown-Ups

I feel slightly guilty calling these "burgers" - Not because they're vegetarian, but because they just seem too sophisticated for that moniker. The flavors are too dynamic. These firm, protein-packed, slightly spicy patties can stand alone as the "meat" of a meal, and taste as good topped with chutney or salsa as they do with ketchup (I've tried them with all three!) Chipotle aioli seems like it would be a good match, too. These burgers are delicious on a bun, but they beg for a hearty whole-grain bread or a kaiser roll rather than a plain ol' mass-produced hamburger bun. They're not all-American BBQ fare, after all. These are gourmet veggie burgers for grown-ups.



The patties are easy to make, and are a great way to use up leftover quinoa. They are packed with nutrition, and are a great way to get some whole grains into your diet. Got leftovers? Try cutting them into pieces and using them as a filling in a bean and cheese burrito made with a brown rice tortilla (believe me, it's fabulous). They heat up quite well in the toaster oven (though I'd pass on the microwave, for fear of losing their crispy outer crust). I always make an extra batch just so that I have plenty of leftovers to keep in the fridge.

I prefer to use very well-cooked quinoa for this recipe. Though I usually toast my quinoa before cooking it, I didn't find it necessary for this recipe. If you cook it in tomato soup (my preference) or in vegetable broth, the flavor of the burgers will be enhanced - But reduce the salt in the recipe by half. To prepare the quinoa, cook 1/2 cup of quinoa in 1 cup of liquid. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat but keep covered, and allow to continue steaming until very soft and fluffy.

When I was making these, my mother asked what I was cooking. When I told her, she gave me a funny look. Turned out she thought I'd said "quinoa-kundalini burgers". So from now on, cannellini beans shall be known as "kundalini beans"!

VEGETARIAN QUINOA-CANNELLINI BURGERS

a/k/a Quinoa-Kundalini Burgers

[ Gluten-Free / Soy-Free / Nut-Free / Vegetarian / Pareve ]

1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked quinoa, firmly packed
3 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 jalapeno, minced, including seeds
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup grated carrot
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sweet sorghum flour
Generous amount of fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup light olive oil or canola oil, for frying
Additional sorghum flour for dredging

Using the back of a fork, mash the beans slightly (they should not be completely smooth). Add all other ingredients except olive oil and flour. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Slowly sprinkle in 3/4 cup of sorghum flour, combining until a loose "dough" is formed that is dense enough to be handled (use additional flour if necessary).

In a 12" pan, heat up oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of additional sorghum flour on a plate or in a pie tin. Compress "dough" between your hands to form 1/2" thick patties of about 4" diameter. One by one, carefully dredge them in sorghum flour, making sure the flour is distributed on both sides and along the edges of each patty. Use a slotted spatula to transfer carefully into hot oil. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown and slightly crisp. In between batches you may want to replace the oil. Remove burgers from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towel or pieces of brown paper bag to absorb excess oil. Serve hot.

My Famous Herbed New Potato Salad with Green Beans

We all have recipes that have become legendary in our families or our communities. The cake you made 5 years ago that your mother still raves about to all your relatives. The quinoa salad people ask you how to make on a regular basis. The grilled flank steak that your entire circle of friends ask you to cook every time there's a BBQ. The kugel you brought to the synagogue seder one year that people now expect you to make each and every year.

My own "famous" recipes (here in the off-line world, that is) are my Passover nut loaf, which I haven't yet posted here because it is still classified as Top Secret; my potato latkes; and my "German" potato salad which I've made for numerous BBQ's and potlucks over the years. Being that it's not really so German at all, I've decided this is as good an opportunity as ever to re-christen it with a more accurate and gourmet-sounding name. So allow me to introduce you to my Herbed New Potato Salad with Green Beans. It is inspired by the potato salad my dad made for us when I was growing up. It is best served slightly warm or at room temperature, but tastes fabulous cold as well. The leftovers are fantastic. It is mayonnaise-free... vegans, mayo-haters and cholesterol-watchers rejoice! I like it a whole lot, and I hope you do, too.

Tell me: What is your "famous recipe"?



HERBED NEW POTATO SALAD WITH GREEN BEANS

[ Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Nut-Free / Soy-Free /
Pareve / Vegan ]

2 1/2 lbs small red new potatoes
2 Tbsp salt
2 1/2 cups green beans, cut in thirds
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
3 Tbsp minced fresh dill
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley to taste
3 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1 tsp agave nectar or sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper

In a large pot, place well-scrubbed whole potatoes. Cover with water by several inches, and add 2 Tbsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender without being mushy. Do not turn heat off, but transfer potatoes into a colander immediately, and rinse with cold water. Allow to cool just until they are warm but can be comfortably handled. While the potatoes are cooling, turn the heat up under the pot of water and add green beans. Cook uncovered for just a few minutes, until green beans are tender but still crisp and bright. Remove from water and drain. If you want to retain the brightness of their color, submerge them immediately in ice-water until cooled. Add beans to the large bowl that contains dressing.

Cut warm potatoes into 1 1/2-inch pieces (quarters or eighths depending on size of potatoes). Add them to the rest of the ingredients, sprinkle with the fresh herbs, and toss very gently to combine, stirring from the bottom to coat potatoes and beans with the dressing. Allow to sit for 20 minutes before serving. Garnish with additional chopped herbs if desired. Serve while still warm, or at room temperature.

Baking for Bette: Sorghum Bread

When Seamaiden of Book of Yum announced a blogging event to pay tribute to the life of gluten-free baking pioneer Bette Hagman, I knew I wanted to participate. Bette passed away this month, after a long life as a successful gluten-free cookbook author who brought bread (and cake, and pizza, and cookies, and....) back into the life of many many people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance who thought they would never eat their favorite comfort foods again.

Confession: I own two of Bette's gluten-free cookbooks but I haven't cooked a single recipe from them. I figured now was a good time to finally try one of the recipes, but on the day I planned to pull them off the shelf and bake something, I discovered that - alas - the books were not on my bookshelf. They are apparently still in a box in my storage space, probably buried under many other boxes. So I scoured the internet to see if there were any of her recipes I could find online. The first one that I found called out to me: Sorghum Bread, a recipe Bette created for gluten-free sorghum flour purveyors Twin Valley Mills. Sorghum is by far my favorite GF flour - It is mild and finely ground and sweet, with no unusual flavor or grittiness. It is a whole grain, yet has the appearance and texture of one of the more refined flours. It works in nearly every recipe and I've been using it more and more as a replacement for white and brown rice flours. It is delicious! I served this bread with Shabbat dinner this week and all of the people at the table, several of whom have never tasted gluten-free bread, raved about it.

I changed some of the measurements and procedures for this recipe, adapting it to be kosher and pareve. I am posting my adapted version here, though I cannot take any credit for the recipe as a whole, as it's still definitely a Bette Hagman recipe. Because I rarely eat any refined sugar, the original recipe would have been far too sweet for me, so I reduced the amount of sugar. If you use a sweet non-dairy milk substitute such as Vance's DariFree Original Powder Beverage you should be able to get away with reducing the added sugar to 1 1/2 or even just 1 tablespoon. If you use unsweetened dairy milk powder or prefer a sweeter bread, you will want to use 2 tbsp of sugar.

The appearance and texture of this bread are just lovely. I can only imagine the work that Bette must have put into the chemistry experiment that is gluten-free baking in order to come up with just one recipe, let alone the hundreds she has published.

Bette, thank you for the contributions you made to the gluten-free world. Even though this is my first time preparing one of your recipes, I can feel the impact you have made on my life indirectly. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have become gluten-free at a time when there were so many fabulous recipes available on the internet and in a plethora of cookbooks. If it weren't for you, I might not have had people to reassure me that I could still eat the foods I love. You were truly a pioneer, and every gluten-intolerant person's life is better for it. Rest in peace.

[We ate half of the loaf before I even got a chance to photograph it! Oops.]

PAREVE SORGHUM BREAD
An Adaptation of Bette Hagman's Recipe for Twin Valley Mills

[ Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Soy-Free / Pareve / Vegetarian Option ]

1 cup sweet sorghum flour
2/3 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 cup Vance's Dari-Free or other powdered non-dairy milk substitute
1 tsp salt
1 tsp unflavored kosher fish gelatin or equivalent agar-agar (vegan gelatin substitute)
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp dry quick-acting yeast granules
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup lukewarm water

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease an 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pan with vegetable oil and dust with rice flour. When the oven gets to the right temperature, turn it OFF and do not open the door.

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, or in the mixing bowl of a standing mixer, whisk the eggs, vinegar, and oil. You can use a sturdy electric hand-mixer, or a wooden spoon (if you have lots of elbow grease to spare) if you don't have a standing mixer. Add most of the water, saving a few tablespoons. Slowly fold in flour mixture a little at a time, with mixer on low setting. The mix should have the consistency of a thick cake batter. Add the remaining water to attain this texture. With the mixer on high, beat for several minutes or until the dough is smooth and well-blended.

Pour into the greased and floured pan, cover with a dishtowel and allow to rise in the warm oven for 30 minutes or until the dough reaches the top of the pan. Turn the oven back on to 375 F and bake for 10 minutes, then cover with tin foil and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Immediately remove from pan and allow to cool before slicing.