Ever since the publication date of Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread, I have been baking my way through the book over and over (and over) again. Not only has it helped me compile a comprehensive list of answers for the Gluten Free Bread FAQs that have come up (and I expect to come up), but honestly?
It's just plain fun.
Usually, once I put a cookbook to bed, it takes me a while to start going back to cook and bake from it for my family, for fun. Even though I won't go so far as to say that writing a cookbook is like having a baby (that analogy always fell short for me, especially since I have 3 kids and they are way, way harder!), it can suck the joy right out of a topic for a while.
But bread is different.For a couple reasons.
First, part of me still can't believe how different it is now that we have these new methods.
Second, all of those specialty breads that, frankly, I didn't have the chance to develop in time—they're all now fair game. And I'm working my way through them one by one by one.
So far, my crowning post-publication gluten free bread achievement is the Braided Nutella Bread. I'm also working on Gluten Free Indian Fry Bread, Easter Bread, Yeasted Coffee Cake and Honey Dinner Rolls. As cliché as it sounds, it's true: the sky's the limit! If they can make it with gluten, we can make it without. That's a promise—and I'll prove it to you, whatever it takes.
Here's the 10¢ tour of these 8 New Could-Have-Been-In-The-Book Gluten Free Bread Recipes, with a little bit about what I love about each:
Gluten Free Braided Nutella Bread: You and I both know that this should have been in the book. And if it had been in the book, it would have made it onto the cover. It's a beauty! And it's soft and decadent and tastes even better than it looks. Let's not eventalk about how it smells while it's baking. This is sell-your-house bread.
Stuffed Gluten Free Soft Breadsticks: These are really just the Soft Olive Garden-Style Breadsticks from the book, but stuffed with cheese. I used cheese sticks since that's, well, easy. But you could also use this dough to make mini little cheese-filled breadstick bites. Mmmm…. appetizers.
Gluten Free Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread: This is one of those recipes that was floating around the Internet for, just, well for years, and we were left out in the cold. Using the “old” style of gluten free yeast bread dough to shape like this … it just wasn't gonna happen. But now it's all different, and we. have. arrived.
Super Fluffy Gluten Free Asiago Bagels: The bagels in the book are New York-style bagels. Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside. They're boiled for longer, plus the dough is stiffer and isn't enriched with butter. These are enriched a bit, with a softer, wetter dough and they're boiled for less than a minute total. That means a super fluffy bagel, with only a slightly chewy crust. In New York, they're dangerously close to just being rolls with holes, not bagels. But they taste so good I can't help myself!
Gluten Free Soft Vanilla Swirl Bread: Kind of like cinnamon swirl bread, but I make that in a bit of a different fashion in the book, to avoid the gap in the bread around the swirl. The kind in the book? You can make a sandwich out of that. A really, really fabulous sandwich. This one is really a treat. For toast, warm, with a generous pat of butter.
New Orleans-Style Gluten Free Beignets: A lot like the glazed yeast-raised donuts in the book, these traditional beignets are richer (with soured evaporated milk, which makes for a rich buttermilk flavor) and just the puffiest, lightest yeasted donuts you'll ever have. And the generous sprinkling of confectioners' sugar doesn't hurt either.
Gluten Free Wonton Wrappers: Just like we took the gluten free flour tortillas from Shoestring Cookbooks past and made them brand new with the ingredients and methods in the new book, this new wonton wrapper recipe is better than ever. The dough is so easy to work with, you won't even mind. Make a double batch, and freeze them either filled as dumplings or plain, in a stack. Then defrost them overnight in the refrigerator—or boil them in wonton soup from frozen.
Gluten Free King Cake For Mardi Gras: Fat Tuesday has come and gone, but it will come again next year. And almost better than actuallyeating the foods you remember isknowing that you will be able to continue to enjoy them for years to come. Just like you remember.
Love,
Me
P.S. If you don't have your copy ofGluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Breadyet,won’t you grab one today? Thank you so much for your support!
