Welcome to Gluten Free Bread 101 – our most popular class!
Goal:
Your goal for this class is to bake a loaf of gluten free bread in your own kitchen and be so excited about how it looks and taste that you want to jump and and down. (Whether you actually jump up and down is completely up to you!)
What to Expect:
Gluten Free Bread 101 is all about learning to bake bread. The class contains five recipes: my Finally Really Good Sandwich Bread recipe plus several variations that use different flours and gums, so that you can find one that works for your food intolerances. Bake one of these recipes to complete the course.
Here’s a quick overview of the skills you’ll be developing
Skill 1: Measuring Ingredients For many of you, this will be the first time that you’ve ever measured ingredients. It may take a bit of a mental adjustment, but I think that you’ll find that it’s much easier than using cup measurements.
Skill 2: Evaluating Dough Consistency Gluten free bread doughs have to be a certain consistency if they are going to rise. Learning to now what that consistency of dough looks and feels like will help significantly improve your gluten free bread baking. By the time you’ve finished this course, you’ll know a good bread dough when you see it.
There are several things to do before we get to the actual baking though. The course is divided into three (3) sessions. Your assignments for each session, along with a time estimate, are listed below. Go ahead and grab your calendar and pencil in time to work on each session.
Session 1 (approx. 30 minutes):
Just in case you’re apprehensive about baking bread, we’re going to keep this first session really easy. Small victories, right?
1. Start by reading: Baking Gluten Free Bread – The Basics.
2. Watch: Why Use Grams Instead of Cups? to see how big of a difference it makes to use a scale versus measuring cups.
3. Look at the ingredients for these recipes included with the class and choose one to work on:
Finally, Really Good Sandwich Bread
No Corn For Me Sandwich Bread
- – Corn Free, Xanthan Gum Free
- – Yeast Free
- grain free – uses tapioca starch and garbanzo flour
4(a). If all of the recipes include an ingredient that you cannot use, then read: Ingredient Substitutions for Gluten Free Bread. Otherwise go on to 5.
5. Print out this shopping list and check your kitchen to see if there’s anything you need to add to your shopping list. Double check that you have all of the necessary equipment too.
Session 2 (25 – 40 minutes):
It’s movie time! Sit back and watch me bake a loaf of bread. It will be your turn next!
1. Watch: Video Demonstration: Step By Step Guide To Baking Gluten Free Bread. You can also read a transcript of this video.
2.Watch: How To Set Up Your Oven For Bread Baking.
3. Read: 10 Frequently Asked Questions about Gluten Free Bread
If you’ve decided to make the yeast-free bread, then you have two additional assignments.
4(a) Read: How to Get Soda Bread to Rise, and
4(b) Watch: Video Demonstration: The Mixing Technique for Gluten Free Soda Bread
Session 3 (3 hours, but 2 hours of that is waiting):
It’s time to move this class to the kitchen and bake a loaf of bread!
1. Print out the recipe and instructions for your loaf of bread. (Note: I have not yet updated this to include the Roots and Beans recipe.)
Here are the printables for Cocoa Molasses and Our Daily Bread.
Also print out a few copies of this GF Bread 101 Notes Worksheet. Taking notes as you work on your bread recipe will increase the speed of your learning exponentially!
2. Get out all of the equipment and ingredients for the recipe out. Measure out each of the ingredients before you do anything else.
3. Follow the recipe instructions, referring to the videos from Session 2 if needed.