Spoiler alert: the answer is YES!

I’ve been cooking & baking up a storm lately, which may be what led me to act on a whim over the weekend and attempt this pesto bread from Sweet Paul magazine. I didn’t want to mess around with baking it in jars, so I used a regular loaf pan. It worked out alright, but because I didn’t bake it in jars the center was gooey for a long time, and of course the longer I baked it the crustier the outside of the bread became.

Mike and I both ate the pesto bread, and it went well with our meal so it was mostly enjoyable. I’m sure this was due largely in part to dipping it in oil & vinegar. 🙂  But what really impressed me was how well the recipe handled my gluten-free flours. So I tried it again last night, without the pesto. And I was so pleased that I had to share!

When this bread was baking, it smelled warm and delicious and normal. But I was nervous because no eggs, no gluten. I peeked in at it in the oven and saw that it had a nice, golden crust on top… and was still nervous. When I took it out of the oven and it looked perfect, but I had to use a knife to ease the edges away from the pan… I was still nervous. Can you tell I’ve been burned– figuratively and literally– by allergy friendly recipes? So I just left the loaf to cool for a bit before doing anything, because… nervous. And I got busy doing my things (“things” on this night involved packing for a road trip, which we know = neurosis), and before I knew it the bread was cool and ready to pack up, and I figured the time was right to try it.

And it was good! To me. I always feel like I have to say something about how my taste buds may not be “normal” because I eat so alternatively, so… it tastes good to me, and you are welcome to try it if you are a fellow un-normal food person. But it tasted just how it smelled! Warm and a little nutty (I think that’s the teff), dense but still chewy, and surprisingly not too dry.

This is almost too easy. Maybe you’d like to try it?

Gluten-free, Egg-free Bread with Rice, Teff, and Tapioca Flours

*Adapted from Sweet Paul Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1.5 heaping tablespoons dry active yeast
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup + 1 cup warm water
• 1.5 cups tapioca flour/starch
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 cup teff flour (I used a mix of ivory and brown)
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt

Instructions:

• Mix the yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water in a bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes to get nice and frothy. (I let mine sit for up to 20 minutes because I keep my yeast in the freezer. I have no idea if this is correct or not, but it’s what I do.)
• In the bowl of a mixer (or in a large mixing bowl), combine the flours and salt.
• Add the oil, water, and yeast/honey mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until a smooth dough is formed.
• Cover the bowl and put in a warm place to rise until it doubles in size (45 minutes)
• Heat oven to 400 degrees
• Transfer risen dough to a greased loaf pan and bake for about 20 minutes until golden and crusty on top.
• Cool on a wire rack, or enjoy it warm if you just can’t wait!