Vegan and Gluten-Free Bread Machine Bread
Much like my sourdough recipes, this recipe's usefulness is limited by the equipment you have on hand. However, you could very well make this outside of a bread machine. For the first time in three years, I don't have a gas stove, and a countertop bread machine bakes better bread than an electric oven.
The bread machine doesn't warm the apartment like the oven does, though!
The Finder Man (my father-in-law) gave me a Zojirushi bread machine for my birthday last year. TC and I then resolved not to buy a loaf of bread again. Schar GF bread is an alright substitute, but it's pretty much empty starch (and bee vomit). It also has the problem of "everything vegan and gluten-free tastes sweet," due to the nature of the ingredients (rice flour, sugar, agave, and honey, yikes). While my bread hasn't solved that particular problem (sorghum flour is naturally sweet-ish), it does provide a more whole grain solution to an otherwise pure starch white bread category. Sure, it doesn't rise as high as white bread, but then again, I didn't grow up eating white bread (unless it was in French or Italian baguette form). The more seeds and grains, the better, was how my mom chose (and still chooses) bread. She also bakes almost all of the bread (loaves, rolls, bialy) she and my dad eat now, especially after she went to "bread school" a few years ago.
Nimbus and Weasel look with askance at the first loaf I made in the bread machine.
It wasn't worse than bread I've made by hand, without a machine, but it wasn't better...yet.
Pre-mixing is key, not only for successfully blending the flours and xanthan gum together, but also for liquid ingredients. If I haven't mentioned it before, I'll say it again: the neat egg is a waste of money. Unless you're some kind of chickpea-loving glutton for (taste bud) punishment, the ultra-fine powdery concoction of chickpeas and chia seeds falls flat in baked goods. In bread machine bread, the resultant goop of egg substitute and water doesn't break down and bind properly (unless you pre-mix your wet ingredients separately), so there were some funky patches in this first try loaf. Also, it is a well-known fact that I dislike chickpea flour in baked goods (unless we're talking about Indian pakoras, but those are fried, not baked).
Ooh, a slightly collapsed but still quite delicious banana bread or carrot cake made in the machine. I can't tell which it is, but I made both! I think this was banana bread, since it turned out squishier than the carrot cake.
So what's a vegan baker to do, when commercial egg substitutes are just "eh"? Take your bag of chia seeds or flaxseeds and pulverize the shite out of them in a blender until they are a fine powder. Then store your fine powder in a sealed container in the freezer. Voila, better-gelling, less-visible vegan egg substitute, DIY-style. In recipes where the egg also functions as leavening, add 1/4 teaspoon baking powder for every egg substitute (as in this cookie recipe).
Slightly better bread; you can see that there is leavening action happening because of all the bubbles. However, since this is gluten-free bread, all that carbon dioxide is escaping because there's no gluten to trap the yeast's off-gassing.
[caption id="attachment_5208" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Bunnies, bunnies, everywhere[/caption]
Modified from the Zojirushi BB-PAC20 manual
Tallest loaf with the most open crumb yet!
Parting Shots:
In answer to this post from three years ago, real bread? Check!
When woodland creatures build a bean, tomato, and coconut milk fort...
Thinking about moving to Canada? Better like poutine. The below is not at all like the recipe on this blog, as it features real oven fries made from white potatoes, plain pressed tofu, and Mayacamas brown gravy.
I clearly enjoyed this Ripple nondairy chocolate milk, but I wouldn't buy it all the time (or ever again). I'd rather add my own chocolate syrup to nondairy milk, thanks. The only complaint I have is the branding; nondairy milk is not new, even to non-dairy-free people, and even if it's made from peas.
Earworms for the week, still going strong:
"Sacrifice" by London After Midnight
"Be My Friend" by Clan of Xymox
The bread machine doesn't warm the apartment like the oven does, though!
The Finder Man (my father-in-law) gave me a Zojirushi bread machine for my birthday last year. TC and I then resolved not to buy a loaf of bread again. Schar GF bread is an alright substitute, but it's pretty much empty starch (and bee vomit). It also has the problem of "everything vegan and gluten-free tastes sweet," due to the nature of the ingredients (rice flour, sugar, agave, and honey, yikes). While my bread hasn't solved that particular problem (sorghum flour is naturally sweet-ish), it does provide a more whole grain solution to an otherwise pure starch white bread category. Sure, it doesn't rise as high as white bread, but then again, I didn't grow up eating white bread (unless it was in French or Italian baguette form). The more seeds and grains, the better, was how my mom chose (and still chooses) bread. She also bakes almost all of the bread (loaves, rolls, bialy) she and my dad eat now, especially after she went to "bread school" a few years ago.
Nimbus and Weasel look with askance at the first loaf I made in the bread machine.
It wasn't worse than bread I've made by hand, without a machine, but it wasn't better...yet.
Pre-mixing is key, not only for successfully blending the flours and xanthan gum together, but also for liquid ingredients. If I haven't mentioned it before, I'll say it again: the neat egg is a waste of money. Unless you're some kind of chickpea-loving glutton for (taste bud) punishment, the ultra-fine powdery concoction of chickpeas and chia seeds falls flat in baked goods. In bread machine bread, the resultant goop of egg substitute and water doesn't break down and bind properly (unless you pre-mix your wet ingredients separately), so there were some funky patches in this first try loaf. Also, it is a well-known fact that I dislike chickpea flour in baked goods (unless we're talking about Indian pakoras, but those are fried, not baked).
Ooh, a slightly collapsed but still quite delicious banana bread or carrot cake made in the machine. I can't tell which it is, but I made both! I think this was banana bread, since it turned out squishier than the carrot cake.
So what's a vegan baker to do, when commercial egg substitutes are just "eh"? Take your bag of chia seeds or flaxseeds and pulverize the shite out of them in a blender until they are a fine powder. Then store your fine powder in a sealed container in the freezer. Voila, better-gelling, less-visible vegan egg substitute, DIY-style. In recipes where the egg also functions as leavening, add 1/4 teaspoon baking powder for every egg substitute (as in this cookie recipe).
Slightly better bread; you can see that there is leavening action happening because of all the bubbles. However, since this is gluten-free bread, all that carbon dioxide is escaping because there's no gluten to trap the yeast's off-gassing.
[caption id="attachment_5208" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Bunnies, bunnies, everywhere[/caption]Gluten-Free Soymilk Bread
Modified from the Zojirushi BB-PAC20 manual
- 2/3 cup nondairy milk (unsweetened almond)
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 3 tablespoons finely ground flaxseed + enough water to make 150 millilitres of stuff
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 3 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 2 cups sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup GF oat flour
- 1/3 cup sticky rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch (additional, for high altitude)
- 1 tablespoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- Prepare your bread machine per manufacturer's instructions.
- In a large liquid measuring cup, combine nondairy milk, water, flaxseed and water, cider vinegar, melted coconut oil, and agave nectar and whisk until very well combined.
- In a large bowl, sift then whisk together the flours, xanthan gum, and salt.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the bread machine pan first, and then sprinkle the dry ingredients on top.
- Make a small indent in the dry ingredients and pour in the yeast. Don't let it touch the liquids.
- Run your bread machine!
- The Zoji has a gluten-free cycle that involves about 20 minutes of rest, 15 minutes of kneading, 60 minutes of rising, and 60-90 minutes of baking.
- If you were to make this outside of a bread machine, use a fairly large loaf pan (I wouldn't use my usual 9*4-inch pan; a 8.5*4.5-inch pan or something with 2-lb capacity would be best).
Tallest loaf with the most open crumb yet!
Parting Shots:
In answer to this post from three years ago, real bread? Check!
When woodland creatures build a bean, tomato, and coconut milk fort...
Thinking about moving to Canada? Better like poutine. The below is not at all like the recipe on this blog, as it features real oven fries made from white potatoes, plain pressed tofu, and Mayacamas brown gravy.
I clearly enjoyed this Ripple nondairy chocolate milk, but I wouldn't buy it all the time (or ever again). I'd rather add my own chocolate syrup to nondairy milk, thanks. The only complaint I have is the branding; nondairy milk is not new, even to non-dairy-free people, and even if it's made from peas.
Earworms for the week, still going strong:
"Sacrifice" by London After Midnight
"Be My Friend" by Clan of Xymox
[…] Another successful loaf. […]
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