Gluten-Free Hearty Country Flax Bread
By Meaghen WalshPublished on May 23, 2019
Time
2 hours, plus 2 hours rising and 2 hours cooling
Yield
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Do not substitute soy milk powder for the milk powder in this recipe, as it will negatively impact the flavor and structure of the bread. If you don’t eat dairy, you’re better off omitting the milk powder, although the structure of the bread will suffer a bit. Do not omit the powdered psyllium husk; it is crucial to the structure of the bread.
Instructions
- Whisk water and eggs together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour blend, ground flaxseeds, milk powder, psyllium, sugar, yeast, salt, and baking soda together on low speed until combined. Slowly add water mixture and let dough come together, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium and beat until sticky and uniform, about 6 minutes. (Dough will resemble cookie dough.)
- Spray 18 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper with vegetable oil spray. Using rubber spatula, transfer dough to prepared parchment and shape into 6½-inch ball with wet hands. Place dough (still on parchment) inside ovensafe 8-inch skillet. Using sharp serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, make two ½-inch-deep, 4-inch-long slashes in X shape across top of dough. Spray dough with water. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has risen by 50 percent, about 2 hours.
- One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic and spray loaf with water. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and place skillet on baking stone. Bake until top of bread is well browned, crust is firm, and loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 1½ hours, rotating skillet halfway through baking.
- Carefully remove loaf from skillet, transfer to wire rack (discard parchment), and let bread cool completely, about 2 hours. Serve. (Once cooled, bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
Time
2 hours, plus 2 hours rising and 2 hours coolingYield
Makes 1 loafIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Protein content is especially important when making any rustic bread because these loaves are baked free-form rather than in a loaf pan. All that protein gives the dough enough structure to rise up (rather than just out). We knew our gluten-free flour blend would need help. As with gluten-free sandwich breads, we found that psyllium worked better than either xanthan or guar gum at strengthening the protein network, but it was far from sufficient. We needed to supplement our flour blend with higher-protein flour, so we tested flours made from teff, quinoa, millet, and flax. We had good results with most of these flours, but our tasters preferred the earthy but still mellow flavor of ground flaxseeds. With the addition of flax, we found that the dough did not absorb water as easily, so we cut back on the liquid. As with our sandwich breads, we found that a little sugar helped the yeast do its job and that the milk powder improved flavor and browning. While our loaf was tasting better, it was still spreading way too much in the oven and seemed to lack structure. Adding eggs (something standard in sandwich bread but quite unusual in rustic breads) boosted the protein content and helped with structure. Adding baking soda (another unusual addition) helped create a more delicate crumb. (Flaxseeds are slightly acidic, so baking soda worked better than baking powder in this recipe.) The ingredient list was in good shape, but the loaf was still spreading too much during proofing and baking. Up to this point, we had been letting the loaf rise on a piece of parchment and then transferring the loaf (still on the parchment) to a preheated baking stone, just as we would when making conventional rustic bread. We solved our spread problems by transferring the shaped dough to a small skillet for rising and baking. The sides of the pan prevented excess spread and ensured that the loaf emerged from the oven with good height and a light crumb. Placing the skillet onto a preheated baking stone in the oven produced a really crisp bottom crust. We had one last problem to tackle: The dough was sometimes splitting during baking. We found that cutting the top of the loaf with a sharp bread knife allowed the crust to expand and prevented the bread from splitting in the oven. Spraying the loaf with water right before it went into the oven delayed the formation of a crust during the longer baking time, allowing the bread to fully expand without tearing or splitting. Using more yeast than usual (a full tablespoon) helped with the rise, as did starting the loaf in a hot oven (set to 400 degrees) and then turning down the heat so the loaf could cook through.
Before You Begin
Do not substitute soy milk powder for the milk powder in this recipe, as it will negatively impact the flavor and structure of the bread. If you don’t eat dairy, you’re better off omitting the milk powder, although the structure of the bread will suffer a bit. Do not omit the powdered psyllium husk; it is crucial to the structure of the bread.
Instructions
- Whisk water and eggs together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour blend, ground flaxseeds, milk powder, psyllium, sugar, yeast, salt, and baking soda together on low speed until combined. Slowly add water mixture and let dough come together, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium and beat until sticky and uniform, about 6 minutes. (Dough will resemble cookie dough.)
- Spray 18 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper with vegetable oil spray. Using rubber spatula, transfer dough to prepared parchment and shape into 6½-inch ball with wet hands. Place dough (still on parchment) inside ovensafe 8-inch skillet. Using sharp serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, make two ½-inch-deep, 4-inch-long slashes in X shape across top of dough. Spray dough with water. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has risen by 50 percent, about 2 hours.
- One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic and spray loaf with water. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and place skillet on baking stone. Bake until top of bread is well browned, crust is firm, and loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 1½ hours, rotating skillet halfway through baking.
- Carefully remove loaf from skillet, transfer to wire rack (discard parchment), and let bread cool completely, about 2 hours. Serve. (Once cooled, bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
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