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torquillI promised that once I had the recipe sorted out, I would post it. So here it is. Use it in good health.
Gluten-Free French Bread
1 3/8 C mochi flour (that's 1 1/4 C + 2 Tbsp)
1 1/2 C boiling water
2 1/4 tsp. (1 packet) dry yeast
2 1/2 tsp. room-temperature water
3/4 tsp. salt
2 C + 2 Tbsp plain Asian rice flour
Measure out the mochi flour into a large, heavy bowl. Add the boiling water and stir it in thoroughly, then continue stirring until the mochi is smooth and rubbery, about one minute. Set aside to cool.
In a small bowl or cup, combine remaining water and yeast and stir until it becomes a thick paste.
When the mochi has become warm but not uncomfortably hot to handle, add 1/2 C rice flour and scrape the dough away from the bowl. You should end up with an elastic, sticky lump. In the bowl, carefully knead the flour into the dough, keeping enough flour between your hands and the dough that it doesn't stick more than a little. When it's mostly incorporated, flatten the dough out in the center and add the yeast paste, folding it inside the dough.
Add another 1/2 C flour and keep kneading it in. Next add the salt and another 1/2 C flour, and when that's been assimilated, add the last of the flour. The dough, when it's finished taking in flour, should be smooth, heavy, and slightly tacky to the touch, but not downright sticky. It should have some elasticity as well.
Set the dough in a quart-size bowl to rise, either oiling the bowl and top surface lightly, or lining the bowl with a floured cloth. Allow to rise in a warm place (I use a warm oven) until just about doubled, about 40 minutes.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead for a few turns, then shape into a long loaf and place on a floured baking sheet. Cut slashes across the top with a sharp knife. Allow to rise again for about 20 minutes, until half again as large, then carefully transfer to the oven. I let mine rise in the oven, then just turn on the heat without moving it.
Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350°F, or until it's golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool until just warm; cutting it when too hot will crush the internal structure.
Store in a plastic bag for only a few days, and toast or warm in an oven to recover the crustiness. It will go stale about as fast as fresh storebought does, so eat it soon.
A note about ingredients:
- Most people I know are familiar, at least in theory, with mochi flour, a.k.a. sweet rice flour, a.k.a. glutinous rice flour. It has no gluten in it, at least of a sort that would bother celiacs. It is, however, very sticky and elastic when cooked, which is the secret to this bread. It's sold at Asian markets, particularly those with a Japanese slant.
- I specified Asian rice flour because American rice flour is horribly gritty. While that's fine for breadings and shortbread, it really detracts from finer baked goods; get the plain stuff where you get your mochi flour. Trust me, it makes a big difference. It should be cheaper than American too, or at least comparable in price. (Mine is 58 cents/pound.)
Other notes:
The softness of the dough makes for a rather flat, rounded loaf, but that's a function of the french bread recipe this was based upon. The professional baker whose recipe it was used traditional French loaf pans, which have round bottoms and perforations to keep the loaf contained but still round in cross-section. King Arthur Flour offers such pans (they call them Italian bread pans), if you care enough about the shape of the loaf to get one.
Those extra two tablespoons of mochi vs. rice flour are important. The eighth-cup measurements are a pain, I know, but necessary. If you think you'll eat enough, just double the recipe so that you get two loaves and don't have to whip out the tablespoon measure at all.
If you need help with how to knead or shape dough, there are several pages out there on how to do it, or you can ask me to show you (so long as we're in geographic proximity). It isn't difficult.
I haven't tried this with a mixer yet; do so at your own risk. ;) I plan to test that next. If anyone who has a bread machine feels adventurous, you might be able to figure out how to use it with this -- bread machines are a cipher to me, and I like handling the dough myself.
Edit: If the dough rises too long and collapses into a ball of goo, turn it out onto a thickly floured board and knead it for a few minutes until it gets its elasticity back. Rise it briefly and bake. It will never have quite the structure it had originally, but it'll recover well enough.
Gluten-Free French Bread
1 3/8 C mochi flour (that's 1 1/4 C + 2 Tbsp)
1 1/2 C boiling water
2 1/4 tsp. (1 packet) dry yeast
2 1/2 tsp. room-temperature water
3/4 tsp. salt
2 C + 2 Tbsp plain Asian rice flour
Measure out the mochi flour into a large, heavy bowl. Add the boiling water and stir it in thoroughly, then continue stirring until the mochi is smooth and rubbery, about one minute. Set aside to cool.
In a small bowl or cup, combine remaining water and yeast and stir until it becomes a thick paste.
When the mochi has become warm but not uncomfortably hot to handle, add 1/2 C rice flour and scrape the dough away from the bowl. You should end up with an elastic, sticky lump. In the bowl, carefully knead the flour into the dough, keeping enough flour between your hands and the dough that it doesn't stick more than a little. When it's mostly incorporated, flatten the dough out in the center and add the yeast paste, folding it inside the dough.
Add another 1/2 C flour and keep kneading it in. Next add the salt and another 1/2 C flour, and when that's been assimilated, add the last of the flour. The dough, when it's finished taking in flour, should be smooth, heavy, and slightly tacky to the touch, but not downright sticky. It should have some elasticity as well.
Set the dough in a quart-size bowl to rise, either oiling the bowl and top surface lightly, or lining the bowl with a floured cloth. Allow to rise in a warm place (I use a warm oven) until just about doubled, about 40 minutes.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead for a few turns, then shape into a long loaf and place on a floured baking sheet. Cut slashes across the top with a sharp knife. Allow to rise again for about 20 minutes, until half again as large, then carefully transfer to the oven. I let mine rise in the oven, then just turn on the heat without moving it.
Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350°F, or until it's golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool until just warm; cutting it when too hot will crush the internal structure.
Store in a plastic bag for only a few days, and toast or warm in an oven to recover the crustiness. It will go stale about as fast as fresh storebought does, so eat it soon.
A note about ingredients:
- Most people I know are familiar, at least in theory, with mochi flour, a.k.a. sweet rice flour, a.k.a. glutinous rice flour. It has no gluten in it, at least of a sort that would bother celiacs. It is, however, very sticky and elastic when cooked, which is the secret to this bread. It's sold at Asian markets, particularly those with a Japanese slant.
- I specified Asian rice flour because American rice flour is horribly gritty. While that's fine for breadings and shortbread, it really detracts from finer baked goods; get the plain stuff where you get your mochi flour. Trust me, it makes a big difference. It should be cheaper than American too, or at least comparable in price. (Mine is 58 cents/pound.)
Other notes:
The softness of the dough makes for a rather flat, rounded loaf, but that's a function of the french bread recipe this was based upon. The professional baker whose recipe it was used traditional French loaf pans, which have round bottoms and perforations to keep the loaf contained but still round in cross-section. King Arthur Flour offers such pans (they call them Italian bread pans), if you care enough about the shape of the loaf to get one.
Those extra two tablespoons of mochi vs. rice flour are important. The eighth-cup measurements are a pain, I know, but necessary. If you think you'll eat enough, just double the recipe so that you get two loaves and don't have to whip out the tablespoon measure at all.
If you need help with how to knead or shape dough, there are several pages out there on how to do it, or you can ask me to show you (so long as we're in geographic proximity). It isn't difficult.
I haven't tried this with a mixer yet; do so at your own risk. ;) I plan to test that next. If anyone who has a bread machine feels adventurous, you might be able to figure out how to use it with this -- bread machines are a cipher to me, and I like handling the dough myself.
Edit: If the dough rises too long and collapses into a ball of goo, turn it out onto a thickly floured board and knead it for a few minutes until it gets its elasticity back. Rise it briefly and bake. It will never have quite the structure it had originally, but it'll recover well enough.
