Gluten Free Peasant Bread Recipes

Steps:

• 1.Mixing the dough: • If you are using active-dry yeast: In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling just a bit - this step will ensure that the yeast is active. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthum gum and salt. When the yeast-water-sugar mixture is foamy, stir it up, and add it to the flour bowl. Add the two egg whites. Mix using a spatula or wooden spoon until the flour is absorbed • If you are using instant yeast: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthum gum, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add the water. Add the egg whites. Mix until the flour is absorbed. 2.Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. (If you have the time to let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, do so.) This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to rise in: Turn the oven on at any temperature (350ºF or so) for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do not allow the oven to get up to 350ºF, for example, and then heat at that setting for 1 minute - this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute - it likely won't get above 300ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread. 3.Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease one oven-safe bowls (such as the pyrex bowls I mentioned above) with about two teaspoons of butter. 4.Using a spatula, transfer the dough to the prepared bowl. Note: Unlike the traditional peasant bread recipe, there is no punching down of the dough here. I suggest using a light hand/spatula, in fact, while transferring the dough to the bowl. 5.Let the dough rise 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowl. (Note: I do not do the warm-oven trick for the second rise. I simply set my bowl on top of my oven, so that it is in a warm spot.) 6.Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the loaf onto a cooling rack. If you've greased the bowl well, the loaf should fall right out onto the cooling rack. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.