Will It Be Bread or Bread Crumbs?

Will it be bread or bread crumbs?  This is the question I ask myself before every attempt at trying to make a fresh loaf of edible, light and fluffy bread.  I have rarely been successful at the traditional white bread and now my attempts of a gluten free bread  seem to be heading in the same direction.  I believe making bread is a skill and like all skills, it needs to be practiced.

Lets face it, a gluten free bread will very seldom be comparable to the light, fluffy gluten filled stuff we grew up on and are in love with, but your body will thank you for trading it in. Working with gluten free flours can be a little tricky, here are a few tips. Photo 2014-10-28, 3 33 06 PM

1. Gluten free flours are very stong in flavour, so a blend of at least 3 work well to balance each other out.

2.  Get a kitchen scale.  All flours have a different weight.  You will get a more accurate measurement using grams as opposed to cups.

3.  Know what to look for.  Once you have mixed all of the ingredients, it will usually be wetter and look more like cake batter then like traditional bread dough.

4.  Gluten free breads have a tendency to be more crumbly because they are missing the gluten strands that hold bread together and are best stored in the fridge.

5.  If all else fails and your attempt was a flop, get out your food processor and at least you will have some gluten free bread crumbs.

Well…my latest experiment wasn’t too bad, but could use a few tweaks.  Since I already happen to have a LARGE amount of bread crumbs from previous attempts (I don’t give up to easily), this loaf of bread was reincarnated into some tasty croutons.

Second Chance Croutons Recipe

 

 

 

 

 


Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:

  • 3 cups strawberries, sliced
  • 3 cups Rhubarb, sliced
  • ¾ cup Coconut sugar
  • 3 tbsp Arrowroot Starch

Rhubarb

Crumble Topping:

  • 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/2 cup brown rice flour
  • 3/4 cup rolled oats
  • ½ cup slivered almonds
  • ¾ cup Coconut Sugar
  • ¾ cup organic butter or coconut oil

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F
  2. Mix strawberries, rhubarb, coconut sugar and arrowroot starch and spread into an 11 x 9 inch glass baking dish
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all topping ingredients, then crumble evenly over fruit.  Might have to get your hands dirty
  4. Bake for 45 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbling