Me
You just have to accept that gluten free is not bread as we know it; not even the expensive near £3 a wee loaf stuff is quite the same.
Make bannock GF in small quantities, eat it at least warm.
Basically that's it, you can make a myriad of flour mixes, but the principles of raising agent apart, just use them in your ordinary recipes. The only issue is that the blasted stuff sticks to everything like emulsion paint. Use cheap silicon liner paper (sheet for £1 in the poundstore, cut to size of your pot); it can't be kneaded properly, there's no gluten to stretch.
Gluten is the stuff that supports the airbubbles in cake and bread. No gluten means that you have to add something that is almost a paste that will help trap and keep the bubbles evenly spread throughout the bannock.
Xanthum gum works easiest, sorghum's good but can be incredibly heavy (like rye) so can upset the texture and rising.
There are others but finding them in an ordinary supermarket is a real struggle 'and' they're expensive.
Recipe for an excellent cornbread bannock.
*I mug of GF self raising flour (or your own mix of potato starch, rice, etc.,) I usually buy Dove's farm since it's carried in all of the major supermarkets.
*I mugful of golden cornmeal, the finer version. It's cheap to buy, Tesco sell it in their Indian foods aisle.
*2 heaped teaspoonsful of Marigold stock powder.
* Half a mugful of grated rich red cheddar.
*Fizzy water, though plain works; we're just giving the aeration a wee boost using the fizzy.
*If you have Xanthum gum then a pinch is all that's needed. If you don't, this recipe still works.
Mix the flours and the stock powder. Stir through enough water to make a runny dough (think runny-ish semolina pudding), stir through the grated cheese.
Scrape it into the tin and bake as usual for bannock. Grease and flour the tin with cornmeal if you don't have the silicon liner. It's not as good, but it does let you get it out of the tin. It does not get kneaded; it goes into the tin very soft.
It's good, it's tasty, and if there's any left over it's fine fried up the next day; unlike the bread and bannock otherwise.
I often add a grated onion and some chopped sundried tomatoes to mine too.
cheers,
Toddy.....who at times really, really, misses good bread
p.s. this makes a Lot!, but it lets you cut down the recipe in proportion very easily. For myself I use a couple of pudding spoonfuls of flour, cornmeal, to a level teaspoonful of marigold powder and one heaped puddingspoonful of grated cheese. When I can't eat the cheese I add veggies.
M
