Fat Free French Bread (Gluten Free)

Emily Elizabeth's Note:

This authentic tasting French Bread has a thick crusty outside and a soft inside. It is great for sandwiches, garlic bread and dipping in pasta sauces or olive oil. My husband loves this bread even better than regular French Bread. I got this recipe from Bette Hagman's book, "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy." It has only lasted up to 4 days in my house so far, due to being eaten, but I keep it in the fridge and it stays crusty and delicious! SUPPLIES: You will need non-stick cooking spray, plastic wrap, a rubber spatula and either a French bread pan or aluminum foil.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 40 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 15 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 5

Yield: 1.0 loaf

• 2 cups gluten-free flour (2 parts rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca flour)
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour (same as mix above)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons quick-rising yeast
• 1 teaspoon vinegar or 1 teaspoon dough enhancer
• 2 egg whites (room temperature)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)

Directions:

1. Place 2 egg whites in a bowl and leave out so they will come up to room temperature.
2. Spray non-stick cooking spray on a French bread pan (or curve a doubled piece of aluminum foil into the shape of a loaf as long as a cookie sheet). Also spray a sheet of plastic wrap that is the length of your pan and set aside.
3. Warm 1.5 cups of water by placing it in the microwave on high for a minute.
4. In an electric mixer bowl, whisk together flours, xanthan gum, sugar, salt and yeast.
5. Add the vinegar, egg whites and water and beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.
6. Use a strong rubber spatula to transfer dough into prepared pan, smoothing the top. Dough will be very thick and sticky. Place the plastic wrap, sprayed-side down, loosely over the dough. Let rise in a warm and moist place for 15 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. Bake for 1 hour. Turn oven down to 350 and bake an additional 15 minutes.
9. Enjoy it hot and crusty out of the oven by tearing off pieces, or let cool and cut into slices.

Reviews

[**Tinkerbell**]

Fabulous French bread! I made a strong form out of aluminum foil to cradle the dough & help encourage it to rise up instead of falling flat. We were amazed at how tall this recipe rose and at the ultimate texture! The outside crust is nice and crusty, while the inside is light and airy. The closest we've been to non-gluten free French bread! My only problem with it was my oven must cook a little hotter, as at about 45 minutes it was already plenty browned so I put a piece of foil over the top & continued to bake for the posted times. I will probably adjust the timing next time to see if I can't end up with a lighter crust. We made this for Christmas Eve dinner and used it for garlic bread. Thanks for posting, Emily Elizabeth! :)

[Mia in Germany]

Wonderful French bread!! Unluckily my aluminium foil construction collapsed, so the bread spread to kind of ciabatta, but I don't mind at all - it tastes terrific!! I added some fiber husks, too, to enhance the dough, which worked great, and I had to use arrowroot starch instead of potato starch, but otherwise made as suggested. Thanks for posting - I'm going to buy a French bread pan to make this again :) Made for Healty Choices Tag Game.

[BMac]

FINALLY a good french bread substitute. I made a 1/2 a batch just to try and it's the first GF bread that hasn't fallen after I took it out of the oven. It had a rise in the oven too and smelled like real wheat bread when it was baking. It doesn't have a lot of flavor but the texture is great and the crust really crusty. I tried using it for Brushetta and it worked great. I can see this being a good bread for french toast, french dip bread or even to make stuffing or bread pudding. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
UPDATE: After making this numerous times, I realized the last time I forgot to put a pan of hot water in the oven, without it was very hard crusted. With, a really nice one. So don't forget the water or pan with ice cubes.