The All Good Loaf -- Gluten-free, Allergen-free, Vegan, Easy, and Delicious!

It is snowing like crazy here in the Midwest, and I know it's cold all over the country. My friend in Texas said it was in the teens last night!

This weather makes me think of soup, stew and warm bread. Our Welcoming Kitchen cookbook has several bread options, but it won't be available until Spring 2011. That's a long time to wait, so I set out to come up with another easy, gluten-free, allergen-free, and vegan bread that would go great with the soups, chilis and stews that warm up a cold evening.

Inspired by a video I saw on Youtube of Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois showcasing their basic technique from their book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, I played around with some ingredients I had on hand and voila! A gorgeous bread!

I made two small loaves from the dough recipe below. The dough was very wet, almost runny, when I put it into the refrigerator. It was still very moist when I formed the loaves this morning. Although they didn't bake up tall, they have a crunchy exterior and a spongy, moist interior. The flavor was great, too. They have lots of air pockets, thanks to the yeast, but no yeasty flavor or smell. Best of all, they were quick, easy, and no kneading was required.

All Good Loaf

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free oat flour
1 cup potato starch
1/4 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
cornmeal for dusting (optional)

Preparation:

In a large container with a cover (I used an 11.5 cup plastic container), combine first three ingredients. Mix together well.
Add warm water, and mix with your hand until all the ingredients are incorporated well.
Cover and place in refrigerator for 10-12 hours.
Dust a pastry board or cutting board with a little more oat flour or cornmeal.
Form the dough into to two round-shaped loaves. (The dough will be very wet, so do your best.)
Lightly cover with a clean dish towel.
Let rest for 30-40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425.
Place dough on a parchment-paper-covered baking sheet.
Score the top of each loaf with an X.
Bake for 40-45 minutes.
Let loaves cool on a cooling rack.

Happy Cooking!
Kim 

My new book,  Ancient Grains: A Guide to Cooking with Power-Packed Millet, Oats, Spelt, Farro, Sorghum & Teff (Superfoods for Life), is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Super Seeds and Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen- & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.