43 Ratio Rally: Gluten Free White Bread

This month's Ratio Rally is bread! Gluten free bread, one of the hardest baked goods to produce gluten free. I've had many attempts in the past few years to make a good gluten free bread with a comparable texture and crust to wheat bread. This recipe is the closest thing that I've made to conventional wheat bread. Thank you to Karen for hosting this month, and being so helpful in this recipe! Check her post here. Now, onto the ratio:

5:3

flour:water

(and yeast)

Now this ratio may seem really simple, but don't be fooled. The types of gluten free starches use can definitely affect the texture. For example, use primarily potato starch, and you'll end up with a heavier, dense bread. A good gluten free flour blend for bread will need a mix of heavy and lighter starches.

For this recipe, I decided to use a blend of sweet rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and millet flour. I also normally try to avoid xantham gum for my ratio rally posts, but I decided to include it in this recipe for some added structure since I've had difficulty with breads in the past.

Onto my tips/lessons learned from the ratio rally this month. Here's the three big ones:
1. Don't worry about kneading gluten free bread dough. In practically any traditional bread recipe, the instructions will guide you to knead your dough. Don't worry about it for gluten free bread...it's practically impossible to do, and all I've ever ended up with is a texturally tough dough after adding all the starch needed for it to hold some form during kneading.
2. Eggs are your friends. Eggs can work wonders in lightening up sandwich bread, it works wonders to aerate the dough.
3. Steam in an oven = CRUST. If you bake your bread in an environment where it's exposed to steam, it will produce a lovely, mouth-watering golden crust. I don't fully understand the science behind why, but believe me, steam works all sorts of wonders. I detail this in the recipe, but you can produce this by placing a pan in the oven while it preheats, and then add water to the pan when you put the dough into the oven to bake.

Also, in some of these pictures, you'll see that I've added some toppings. Before placing the small rolls in the oven, I sprinkled some herbs such as thyme, oregano, and basil on top for a aromatic topping. Feel free to experiment will all sorts of toppings to find your favorite. Also, for the recipe behind the french toast pictured above, check out my recipe that I posted last week, here.

Be sure to check everyone's recipes below!

~Aunt Mae (aka ~Mrs. R) | Honey From Flinty Rocks | Millet Chia Bread & Variations
Adina | Gluten Free Travelette | Seedy Sandwich Bread
Angela | Angela's Kitchen Our Family's Basic |  Gluten Free Dairy Free Bread
Brooke | B & the boy! | Buckwheat-Oat Bread
Charissa | Zest Bakery | Cherry Pecan Pot Bread, Gluten Free
Claire | This Gluten-Free Life | German Vollkornbrot (Seeded Bread)
Erin | The Sensitive Epicure | English Sandwich Bread (gluten-free & egg-free)
Jenn | Jenn Cuisine | Gluten Free Boule
Jonathan | The Canary Files | Gluten-Free, Vegan Mediterranean Soda Bread
Karen | Cooking Gluten Free | Gluten Free Sandwich Bread and Gluten Free Naan
Meaghan | The Wicked Good Vegan | Vegan Gluten-Free Bread
Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie | Ciabatta (gluten-free, egg-free/vegan)
Monika | Chew on This! | amaranth skillet flatbreads, amaranth mini pita rounds
Morri | Meals with Morri | No Knead Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Flatbread (yeast free & grain free) 
Pete & Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem | Gluten-Free Challah
Rachel / The Crispy Cook  | Gluten Free Chickpea Sandwich Bread
Tara | A Baking Life | Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread & Boule


Gluten Free White Bread

Active Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 3 hours
Bake Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients
12 oz warm water
1 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt

2 eggs
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp honey

7 oz sweet white rice flour
5 oz potato starch
5 oz tapioca flour
3 oz millet flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp xantham gum

Steps
In a medium bowl, combine the water, yeast, and salt. Let sit for 5 minutes.

To the water, whisk in the eggs, oil, and honey. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients until well combined. Tightly cover with plastic wrap, and cover with a towel. Let sit for 3 hours. Expect the following before and after in terms of rising volume:

Distribute the dough into a greased bread pan, and cover again. Place a pan with about 1 inch height into the lower rack of an oven, and preheat to 450F. Once preheated, place the bread in the oven, and about 1 cup water into the pan on the lower rack. Close the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 450F. Reduce the temperature to 375F, and bake for another 45 minutes.

Enjoy, and be sure to consume the bread within 2 days or else it will go stale. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.