Sourdough Bread (Yum)

Now come on, I know that you have been dying for bread since the minute you found out you had food allergies.  Frankly, after I found out, I stopped eating any kind of bread for years, because I was so dissatisfied with everything on the market.  However, those days of eating stacks of lonely turkey with lettuce and tomato are over!  This bread reminds me exactly of the bread that my brother begged my mother to make at least once a week when we were younger.  In fact, she often makes it for us when we come home for the holidays.  Her bread is baked from a sourdough starter, risen and then put inside a ceramic Dutch oven to bake.  This keeps the bread moist while allowing it to turn a beautiful golden brown.  So, I got to thinking that I would give the same practice a try with Allergy-Free Bread, and people, I am here to tell you that the outcome was glorious.  I actually cried when this little Boule came out of the oven.  It is really bread.  It is crusty; it is chewy inside; it is brown on the outside, and it slices perfectly.  The best part?  It tastes just like the sourdough that you remember, but you don’t need to make a starter.  I was so tickled by my efforts that I went so far as to invite a non-allergic friend over for a sandwich, and it passed the test.  She had absolutely no idea.  So, run to the deli and get some sandwich meats.  This takes a couple of days to rise, but it is more than worth the wait.

1 cup millet flour

1 cup Chinese rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup sorghum flour

2 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 package rapid rise yeast, dry yeast

2 teaspoons corn meal for dusting the bottom of the Dutch Oven

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, slowly stir together the millet flour, Chinese rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, xanthan gum and salt.  Set it aside.

In a small bowl or large measuring cup, mix together the warm water, sugar and rapid-rise yeast.  Set the bowl aside to let the yeast proof for 7 minutes.  It should be grayish and very frothy at the end of 7 minutes.  Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry ingredients and stir together on low speed until a sticky dough forms and there are no more dry pockets.  Spray your hands with canola oil and gather the dough into a bowl.

Grease the bottom of the bowl and return the dough to it.  Lightly spray or brush the top of the dough with canola and tightly cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap.  Put the tightly covered bowl in a warm place to rise (I use my clean dishwasher just after the cycle has ended, it is emptied, but still warm) for 18 hours.  After 18 hours, punch down the dough, turn it several times, reform it into a ball, return it to the bowl, cover it tightly and let it rise in a warm place for another six hours.

When the dough is ready, place a Dutch oven or a large, oven-proof, pot with a tightly fitting lid in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Let the pot or Dutch oven heat in the preheating oven for at least 30 minutes but up to 40 minutes.  Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, sprinkle the bottom of the pot with the corn meal to prevent sticking, place the ball of dough on top and lightly spray the dough with more canola oil.  Cover the Dutch oven and bake the bread for 45 minutes.  Remove the lid and if the bread is not yet golden brown, bake it for another 10 minutes, uncovered.

Yields 1 8-inch Boule, 12 slices