Gluten-Free Ryeless Rye Bread

Recipe Title: Gluten-Free Ryeless Rye Bread

Recipe Link: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/02/gluten-free-rye-bread-recipe-seriously.html

Status: Tested, and approved

Rating: 7 out of 10 (due to snags, not taste)

Jen's Notes: We bought our first loaf of gluten-free bread on Monday ($6 for a half loaf), and threw it out on Tuesday. Horrible doesn't even begin to describe it. So I found some bread recipes online, and decided to try out this one. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the result. If you don't have a breadmaker, don't worry. I went the mixer-and-oven route, and it turned out just fine.

I did hit a couple of snags. The first one was with the yeast. Not being a bread baker, yeast is something I've only used once or twice. This recipe requires you to proof the yeast. The first attempt, nothing happened so I tossed it out and tried again. I recommend that you let your tap water get really good and hot. Lukewarm is not going to cut it for this step. If your tap water doesn't get very hot, you might want to heat on the stove (I wouldn't let it boil though, I suspect that's too hot). So what I did was take a cereal bowl and dump my tablespoon of yeast in the bowl. Then, after the tap water was good and hot, I measured out a cup, poured it into the bowl and immediately whisked it together until the yeast was dissolved. Then I drizzled in some honey and whisked a little more. Let it sit for about ten minutes, and it had a nice, foamy head on it (like beer).

The next snag came the first time I tried to take it of the oven. I thumped the top of the loaf (the only exposed part), and it sounded hollow so I thought it was done. So I tried to take out of the pan. Problem? The loaf split in half, with the bottom still clinging to the pan and the middle was clearly NOT cooked as it was still semi-liquidy. So I smooshed the loaf back together and put it back in the oven. It ended up baking for about an hour, with me testing it every now and then with a knife for stickiness. Sadly, the rip I created when I pulled it out of the oven the first time didn't fix itself so using this loaf for sandwich bread (as planned) isn't happening this time around.

I think part of my problem with the undercooked middle might have been my oven. I live in an apartment, and we all know how they only use top quality appliances (eyeroll). I do a lot of baking in this oven without any problems, but most of my recipes cook at 375 (versus the 350 prescribed in this one). So, I think I'll try it at 375 next time and see if that works out better. I would say that if you usually bake things at hotter temperature than 350, you might want to consider adjusting the temp you use for this bread as well.

Another snag? This one is entirely my fault, but I should have lined the loaf pan with parchment paper, or at least some non-stick spray (I'm not sure if that's gluten-free, so check before you use it). Getting the loaf out of the pan was a pain, even after it was cooked.

In the end, the bread was terrific. I'm not even the one who has to eat gluten-free, and I was still snacking on it. It's very yummy, and tasted just like rye bread. I think that this will be very easy to make once I get past the learning curve.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours

Start to Finish: 1 hour, 20 minutes