Day 87.
If you aren't gluten free, this might not mean as much to you as it does to me. When you go gluten free, you miss bread. You miss it a lot. There are substitutes---you can have brown rice or corn tortilla wraps, you can put your sandwich fixings on rice cakes, and you can use tortilla chips to scoop up your favorite dip.
But none of that is bread.
I've spent too much time and money trying to make gluten free bread that doesn't stink. I have bought little bags of this and that trying to mix my own flour. I have added extra xantham gum hoping that I found the perfect amount to create some extra height and lightness, only to have the bread cave in at the very end of the cooking time---leaving me with a mess of crumbs.
and disappointed kids.
but then! Whole Foods came out with a line of gluten free baking mixes that were not only inexpensive, but good. As in tasty. As in light and airy. As in not only palatable, but delicious.
and guess what I just figured out? The dough rises wonderfully when it is cooked in a hot humid environment, like in a CROCKPOT!!!
The Ingredients.
--one box of 365 Gluten Free Sandwich Bread Mix (Whole Foods)
--the stuff the box tells you to use---warm water, butter, eggs, enclosed yeast packet
The Directions.
--prepare dough according to the instructions on the box for oven-method.(I always use hot water with GF baking. The boxes say luke-warm, but I use hot.)
--spray a loaf pan with cooking spray, dump in batter
--put the loaf pan into a 6qt oval crockpot--you don't need to wait for rising time, it will rise in the crock
--prop the lid ajar with a chopstick or spoon
--cover and cook on high for 2-5 hours. This loaf was done right around 3 3/4 hours.
--remove from pan; let cool before slicing
The Verdict.
Moist, airy, delicious, gluten-free bread. I loved that I could put this on and do a bunch of other things without obsessively checking the oven. I have 3 more boxes in the pantry, and am looking forward to making some more.
I think we need some cinnamon raisin...
It's Slow Cooker Thursday! I'm going to be away from the computer all day today, so can't make the rounds, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't. Grab a cup of coffee, and go see what Sandra and the other ladies have been cooking.
