Gluten-Free Potato Bread
Let’s get this straight GF bread is very good, it has a soft airy texture and it’s great toasted and as a sandwich, many people I know are having a hard time with the concept of Gluten free breads… until they taste it.
Yes, it’s not a delicious French bread that you can eat a full loaf easily, perhaps it’s better like this, but it really is a very tasty alternative to the regular gluten breads around, and it’s fairly easy to make.
Gluten-Free Potato Bread – the method
In order to tie all the ingredients in GF breads when the Glue of the gluten is missing we will use other ingredients with the same characteristic, check out this article with detailed explanation about the chemistry behind GF flour.
Eggs are one of them, in regular bread we don’t need eggs the texture of the flour is stable enough for us to use it as is, however missing the elastic strings of the gluten we need to use it, much like we do in pound cakes when we use eggs in order to connect all the ingredients.
I’m also using chia seeds, they perform just like a glue, in fact they can replace eggs as a connecting agent in many vegan recipes.
The gluten free flour mix used in this recipe is combined of starchy flours that compensate for low gluten values as well as high protein grain flour for the texture.
Baking the bread
Baking time is similar to a regular bread (although a bit longer). We want to get the strong crust so baking starts with a high temperature of 220°c/480°F for 10 minutes then 50 more minutes on 180°c/350°F and finishing the bread when pulling it out of the baking pan and giving it another 20 minutes of baking outside of the pan to develop a crust on the sides and bottom as well.
Ingredients
Instructions
Mash the potatoes gently and set aside as well.
Place the potatoes, milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt, chia seeds and eggs in a large bowl.
With a hand food processor mix the liquids until combined, about 1 minute.
Mix for 3 minutes on medium speed, add the olive oil and thyme and mix for another 3 minutes.
Oil 2 – 9×13 baking pans and pour the dough in them, the dough is runny, that’s OK.
Proof the dough for 2-3 hours or until it has doubled itself.
Insert the bread to the lower rack of the oven and bake for 10 minutes on 220°c/480°F temperature.
Reduce heat to 180°c/350°F and bake for another 50 minutes.
Take the bread loaves out of the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, afterwards, remove from the baking pan gently with a towel, it is still very hot.
Return the bread loaves without the baking pans to the oven for another 20 minutes on the same temperature (180°c/350°F).
Remove the loaves from the oven and set on a wire rack or board.
I like to place them on their top since it is the hard-crusty side and will keep its shape and not get squeezed.
The bread can be kept in a fridge for up to 4 days and can be in the freezer for up to 2 months.
