Challah is a special braided bread eaten on the Sabbath and on holidays. According to Jewish tradition, Sabbath and holiday meals begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread. Traditional challah recipes use a large number of eggs, white flour, and sugar. Modern recipes may use fewer eggs (there are also “eggless” versions) and replace white flour with whole wheat, oat, or spelt flour. Sometimes honey or molasses is substituted as a sweetener. The dough is rolled into rope-shaped pieces which are braided before baking. Challah is usually parve, unlike brioche and other enriched European breads, which contain butter or milk.

My friend Rebecca makes the world’s best Challah. Or at least that is what I’ve been told – I met her after going gf. She was kind enough to share her recipe with me so that I could attempt to adapt it. I’ve had to tinker with the recipe a little. And I don’t think the addition of xanthan gum should effect its being kosher and parve, but I need to double check with her. (I think Enger-G brand says it’s K and P.)

Anyone who knows anything about gluten free bread will understand why I did not attempt braiding.  The dough probably was probably sturdy enough to braid, but it was still really sticky, and would have taken way more patience than I have.  However, I saw this method of making it look a little like it was braided, and went with that.

I also only made one loaf, because while experimenting, I never know how it will turn out, and don’t want to be wasteful.  Just double the recipe below for two.

This was my second attempt. My first attempt was too dense and too dry. This version is better, but could probably be a little sweeter. I haven’t given it to Rebecca yet to try, so I don’t have her seal of approval. I’ll let you know when I do! My other problem with this loaf is that I think that my yeast was a little too old, so it didn’t rise quite as much as it should. But that is a user error, not a recipe error.

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 egg
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Directions:

- Combine water, sugar and yeast; set aside and allow to proof.

 
- Whisk together egg, egg yolks, oil and vinegar.

- Combine dry ingredients in large bowl of mixer.

 
- Add egg mixture and yeast mixture to dry ingredients; mix (I used the dough hook on my Kitchen Aide) on low for about 3 minutes.

 
- Turn dough out onto floured board (parchment paper works well here too); form into ball.

- Place dough into a lightly-oiled bowl; cover.
- Leave in warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

 
- Turn dough out onto counter; punch down.

- Divide dough into 7 even pieces.

 
- Form each piece into a ball; arrange in a greased bread pan.

 
- Cover and let rise for about 20 more minutes.

  
- Lightly brush top of bread with egg.

  
- Bake in a pre-heated, 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Sea at Book of Yum started an event called Adopt A Gluten Free Blogger as a way for people to discover all the great gluten-free blogs out there and try new recipes. 

This month, the event is being hosted by Thomas at The Gluten Free/Casein Free Diet Experience.  Sometime after June 9, he will have a “roundup” of all the different posts.  So be sure to check it out.

This month, I chose to adopt Kate at Gluten Free Gobsmacked.  I had originally intended to make her croissants, but I did not have the time.  However, as I have about half her site bookmarked to try, I did not have any trouble coming up with another idea.  I decided to try making her “mock lavash bread” or as she also refers to it, “gluten-free sandwich wrap Take 3.”

I thought it might be difficult to make a wrap bread, but it was actually one of the easiest breads that I’ve made.  (Way to go Kate!)  And one of the tastiest!  (Again, way to go Kate!)  The only thing I changed on the recipe was to cut back on the amount of “optional” spice that goes into it.  I added a little, but not much.  The best thing about making it is that everything more or less goes in the mixer at once.  No waiting for the yeast to proof or dough to rise.  The only remotely hard part was spreading it out thin enough, but even that wasn’t bad. 

It’s was great for lunch today and I plan to have another sandwich for dinner (to be eaten on the plane flying to vacation – yeah!)  And as you can see below, it even worked well as a breakfast “burrito.”

Right now, my life seems to revolve around searching for a new job.  My boss is retiring as of September 1, and that means my job ends then too.  The economy seems to be affecting every industry at this point, and even the legal field is feeling the pinch.  Which makes finding a job that much more difficult.  But life must go on, and it does.  I’ll find something, and it will be the right something.  If not now, eventually.  I just have to keep telling myself that.

Meanwhile, spring, and some days summer, has arrived with gusto to Eastern Tennessee.  Our open-air market is back, and this week we had our first strawberries.  Yum!  We don’t have a lot of other produce yet, but that won’t take too long.  And since I cheated and planted actual herb plants and not seeds, I’m already enjoying fresh herbs from my garden.  It may be a little while before I get basil, but I have plenty of thyme and parsley.
 

I mentioned last week that I had bought goat steaks from the market and was planning on grilling them.  They were really quite good!  The taste was excellent – a little bit like lamb.  They were a bit tough, and I don’t know if it was because I slightly over-cooked them (they should be kept medium at most) or if they needed to be marinated first.  So I’m going to try again this week, and give them a bit of a marinate in something acidic to help break down the meat.  Here are some “before and after” photos from our goat dinner:
 

Before

After

I recently discovered a great new product at the grocery store.  (Our store just underwent a major renovation and added a lot more international foods.)  It is Patak’s brand curry paste.  It makes a really fast and easy curry.  And it’s gluten free.  It says so right on the label!  (I was so excited when I saw that.)  Basically, all you have to do is saute up some onions, some beef or meat/vegetable/tofu of your choosing, add a little of this curry paste and water, and simmer.  I got the “hot” style and yes, it was HOT!  I needed extra rice.  My husband thought it was just right. 
 

Beef Curry over Rice

Finally, I made some fabulous bread over the weekend!  I’ve had a hard time with bread, so I usually don’t bother.  I don’t really miss sandwiches, so it’s not a big deal.  But now that it’s getting warmer, a sandwich is often a good choice to take for lunch.  This bread recipe is Gluten Free Gobsmacked’s Sorghum-Flax Bread.  It is moist, it has depth of flavor, it doesn’t fall apart in your hand – in other words, it’s great!  She lists three different ways to make the bread on her site.  I made the quicker loaf.  I also made a few minor alterations due to what I had in the kitchen.  I used quinoa flakes instead of oats, I used honey instead of agave nectar, and I left out the flax seeds (although I still used the flax seed meal).  Also, I used brown rice flour instead of regular. 

Sorghum-Flax Bread

I ran across this recipe when I was reading through one of my cookbooks.  I used to love Portuguese Sweet Bread.  Growing up on Cape Cod, there were a lot of Portuguese, thus lots of bakeries with yummy bread.  My favorite sandwich was turkey, provolone, and green apple, toasted on sweet bread. 

My attempt at making this wasn’t half bad.  The two problems I had are easy enough to fix.  One, I ran short on time and didn’t let it rise the second time like the recipe called for.  Second, as I was making it, it seemed to call for a lot of lemon, which seemed odd.  It may work for some, but not for me – at least not for sandwiches.  The end result was a bit like a dense lemon pound cake (although not quite that sweet).  I’ll definitely be trying this again.

Masa Sovada (Portuguese Sweet Bread)

adapted from
Delish! A Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook
Philip R. Craig and Shirley Prada Craig

 

 

makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

2 envelopes dry yeast
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup room temperature water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 large eggs
6-7 cups gluten free flour blend (I used a combination of brown rice, white rice and tapioca.  Not the healthiest, but it is a “white” bread.)
2 tablespoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground mace

Directions:

1. Combine yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water in a container that will hold at least 2 cups. Stir until yeast is dissolved, then let stand, to proof, until bubbly and double in volume (about 10 minutes).

2. Mix condensed milk with other 1/2 cup of water. Heat 3/4 cup of milk-water mixture with remaining sugar, salt, and butter in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until butter is melter (alternatively use the microwave). Pour into a large mixing bowl and cool to lukewarm.

3. Add extracts, lemon zest, and mace.

4. Beat eggs in a small bowl, until frothy. Remove and reserve 2 tablespoons of egg for brushing on loaves later.

5. Add remaining egg, yeast mixture, xanthan gum and 3 cups of flour to milk mixture. Beat with electric mixer until batter is smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour (3-4 cups) to make a soft dough.

6. (Here the recipe said to knead the dough. I just continued to mix it in my mixer with the dough hook for another minute or two, and called that good enough.)

7. Press dough into large buttered bowl and turn so that buttered side is up. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until double in bulk. (I heat the oven to warm, than turn it off, then put the dough in.)

8. Punch down dough and turn onto lightly floured surface. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

9. Divide dough in half and shape into two loaves. Place in 2 greased 9×5x3 loaf pans. Let rise again in warm place, covered, for about 1 hour, or until double in volume.

10. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. If loaves start to darken to soon, cover loosely with aluminium foil.

11. Remove loaves from pans to cool on wire racks. Brush tops immediately with the reserved beaten egg mixed with about 1 tablespoon of water and a dash of granulated sugar.

Flowers in Sydney’s Royal Botanical Garden

Gluten Free, Crusty French Bread

Directions:

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, place flours, xanthan gum, and salt. Blend with mixer on low.
Dissolve the sugar in the water and add the yeast. Wait until the mixture foams slightly, then blend into the dry ingredients. Add the butter, egg whites, and vinegar. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.

(this will look more like batter than bread dough)

You can brush the top with butter if you want. My dad always just brushed on a little water when making bread, so that’s what I did.

The bread was also very good toasted up the next morning.

Just in time for fall. This is a recipe I got from my mother a few years ago. All I had to do to convert it to gluten-free was to exchange cup for cup Bette Hagman’s “Four Flour Bean Mix” for the flour and then add xanthan gum. It is wonderful warm out of the oven, but equally good toasted up the next morning. It also freezes well, which is good since this recipe makes 2 loaves.Four Flour Bean Mix:

1 part Tapioca Flour
1 part Corn Starch
2/3 part Garfava Bean Flour
1/3 part Sorghum Flour

Because of the high protein content of this flour mix, it easily substitutes cup for cup with regular flour without having to add things such as additional egg, dry milk powder, gelatin, or egg replacer. (Betty Hagman’s The Gluten-Free Gourmet, revised edition, pages 38-39.)

2/3 cup shortening
2 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin, cooked (canned is fine)
2/3 cup water

3 1/3 cup GF flour (four flour bean mix)
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9×5x3 loaf pans.

Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Mix in eggs, pumpkin, and water. Blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into pans.

Bake for about 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.