Brown Rice Bread
Submitted by tfernald
A gluten-free yeast bread made from brown rice flour with an overnight ferment for depth of flavor. Honey-sweetened and oil-enriched, it bakes into a sliceable loaf with real structure. Makes 3 loaves.
YIELD
1 loafPREP
30 minCOOK
45 minREADY
15 hrsGluten-free bread that actually tastes like bread and holds a slice? This recipe gets there with patience and technique.
Brown rice flour (short or medium grain only) gets mixed into a batter, beaten until smooth, then rests at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. That long ferment develops flavor and structure that quick-mix gluten-free breads simply cannot match.
Yeast, honey, and oil go in the next day, followed by methocel, which acts as the gluten substitute, giving the dough enough elasticity to rise and hold its shape.
The recipe makes three loaves, so bake one and freeze the other two.
Chef Tips
- Use short-grain or medium-grain brown rice flour only. Long-grain rice flour has a different starch structure and won’t work here.
- The dough consistency is everything. Too stiff and it won’t rise; too wet and it’ll collapse. Aim for a thick, spoonable batter.
- Watch for tiny pinholes on the surface during the final rise. That’s your signal to get the loaves into the oven immediately.
- Don’t swap butter or shortening for the oil. They interfere with the methocel and the bread won’t hold together.
- Slice only after the loaf has cooled completely. Warm rice bread crumbles.
Ingredients
Directions
The flour in this bread must be from short-or medium-grain rice, not long-grain rice.
Start this bread 12 to 18 hours before you want to bake.
Mix the rice flour and the salt, and make a well in the middle.
Pour in the water, mixing gradually from the center outward.
Beat vigorously for ten minutes either by hand, with a wooden spoon, or with an electric beater at medium speed, to smooth and aerate the batter.
Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours.
Dissolve the yeast in warm water.
Stir the yeast solution, then the honey and oil into the grain mixture and mix thoroughly by hand or machine until completely smooth and uniform.
Add the methocel and mix thoroughly again; the dough will become very stiff.
(See the tips below.)
Spoon into three well-greased 8 x 4 inch loaf pans.
Wet your fingers with water or oil and smooth the tops.
Keep the loaves in a warm and humid place to rise, until the batter reaches the top of the pans.
Watch the surface of the dough and be ready to put the bread into a preheated oven as soon as the first tiny pin holes appear on the top.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) F for about 45 minutes, or until done.
Allow to cool thoroughly before slicing.
SOME TIPS: If the dough was too stiff, its surface will be full of holes before it can rise, and the bread will be dense.
If it is too wet, it will rise up in a big arch like wheat bread, but it will collapse.
With a little practice you will get a feeling for the proper consistency.
Don’t try to substitute butter or shortening for the oil in this recipe because they will affect the methocel function.
Store the bread in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, and freeze the extra two loaves until you need them, as the bread tends to stale quickly.
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