i could use a clone
Recipe: gluten-free rosemary olive bread
My head is spinning from all of the comings and goings of the people in my life. Nevermind my own comings and goings. I did a double take when I checked my calendar today. Who has been filling up my schedule with all of this stuff? It’s good stuff though. Just odd that it seems to be happening at once. Speaking of which, the weekend is here and I am not. That’s both good and bad. Good, because I’m exploring someplace new. Bad, because I’m missing the birthday of a friend.
it’s a one pound loaf of bread, but it looks small because the boy is a giant
That guy Andrew, just finished six weeks on the paleo diet. I promised him a couple of weeks ago that when he was done with the paleo diet, I would bake him a loaf of bread. You should have seen how Andrew’s face lit up. It’s a big deal for me to promise that because 1) I don’t bake bread very often 2) I cuss a lot when I bake at elevation and 3) Andrew’s body doesn’t tolerate gluten. I had never baked gluten-free bread before.
gluten-free flours and assorted ingredients
sea salt, rosemary, olives
I didn’t promise that bread out of the blue like some dipshit without a plan. I had seen and read about Shauna’s success with a recipe just days earlier. It looked spectacular. Now don’t get me wrong, I like gluten. I eat it and I like it. Now imagine if you couldn’t eat bread and then one day someone brought you a loaf of bread that is pretty darn close to the bread you once knew and loved, but you could eat it?! That’s the kind of happy I wanted to give my friend. Well, that and a little baggie of orangettes.
various gluten-free flours and yeast
a little vegetable oil
I was fearful delving into the unknown. I emailed Shauna a couple of times and that wonderful woman – as busy as she is – suggested brands of and places to find these ingredients I had never used before: sorghum flour, brown rice flour, xanthan gum. I think my food blogging pals are a community of cooks and bakers that I would otherwise never have found in my own neighborhood. They teach me, they expand my horizons, they challenge me. And the best part is sharing that with others – spreading the love.
mix in fresh rosemary and chopped olives
let the dough rise
Let’s be honest, I was dubious. The gluten-free foods I tend to like are those recipes that just happen to be free of gluten, not recipes that have been changed to mimic something that had gluten. But there is a small army of dedicated bakers who do a phenomenal job of adapting recipes (like Jeff and Zoë – this recipe is originally from their book) and I dare say, this bread rocked my socks.
score the top, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt
bake and let cool
Crusty golden outside, soft and fluffy inside. The smell of rosemary lulls you into a reverie as the texture of the bread yields gently under your teeth. It’s brilliant, really. It’s also incredibly simple to throw together. Andrew was so happy when I presented him with the boule(s). Okay, I gave him one boule and most of the other boule – anyone who is friends with a food blogger expects a serving to be missing for the photograph, right? Happy birthday, my friend. I hope you have a terrific day. As for the rest of you, I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Let the weekend commence!
beautiful bready goodness
Gluten-Free Rosemary Kalamata Olive Bread
[print recipe]
from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef which was adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë Francois
1 cup (165g) brown rice flour
3/4 cup (100g) sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups (215g) tapioca flour
1 tbsp (11g) granulated active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsps (9g) kosher salt
1 tbsp (10g) xanthan gum
1 1/3 cups (300g) lukewarm water (heated to 110°F)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tbsps + 2 tsps canola oil
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, stripped and finely chopped
olive oil
coarse sea salt
Mix brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, yeast, salt, and xanthan gum in bowl of stand mixer (if by hand – in a large bowl). Add water, eggs, oil, and honey to dry ingredients and mix with paddle (if by hand – use a large spoon) until the dough is moderately cohesive. It’s okay if it slumps about – Shauna says this is how it should be. Toss in the olives and rosemary and mix. Turn the dough into a large, clean bowl and cover it with a clean towel (I covered with plastic wrap because I live in a very dry place). Place the bowl someplace warm and let rise for two hours. Once the dough has risen, you can proceed or store it in the refrigerator in a large container that you can seal. The dough is good for up to a week and Shauna notes that the flavor appears to improve overnight. Shape 1 pound (half) of the dough into a squat oval shape or small ball. If the dough is sticking to you like a bad ex, wet your hands to make it less clingy and easier to handle. Let rest for 40 minutes. If the dough was refrigerated, let it rest for 90 minutes before baking.
Preheat the oven to 450°F 20-30 minutes before the dough is done resting. I used the Dutch oven method like Shauna and placed the pot with lid in the oven to heat up. From Shauna: Jeff and Zoë recommend a pizza stone in the oven and a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal for resting the bread. Please make sure both are never before used, if you are gluten-free. When the dough is ready, score the top of the form 1/4-inch deep with a serrated knife. Drizzle olive oil over it and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Place the dough in the Dutch oven (I put it on top of parchment then in the Dutch oven), cover, and place it in the oven. Or, slide the loaf from the pizza peel onto the hot baking stone. I followed Shauna’s recommendation to fill a sauté pan with ice and set it on the bottom rack in the oven which creates steam and helps to form the lovely golden crust. Close the oven door and bake the bread until the top has lightly browned and the bread feels firm, about 35 minutes. (Also, the internal temperature of the bread should be at least 180°F.) Remove the bread from the oven and the pan and let it cool for 15 minutes. Makes two 1-pound loaves.
March 5th, 2010 at 7:35 am
Whoa, nice crumb. I’m impressed it turned out so well, including the high-altitude issues. Andrew’s lucky to have you as a friend.
March 5th, 2010 at 7:46 am
You’re a good friend. And not a “dipshit without a plan.” Lucky Andrew. Oh, and…YUM! I love black olives in bread. Bob’s Red Mill is good stuff.
March 5th, 2010 at 8:07 am
You are an AMAZING friend! Bread looks divine & Andrew looks happy!
<3,
Kath
March 5th, 2010 at 8:21 am
I’ve never made gluten-free bread, but that recipe sure looks ineteresting! A beautiful loaf that must taste heavenly. Andrew looks very happy!
Cheers,
Rosa
March 5th, 2010 at 8:27 am
You are definitely a caring friend — what a gift for him, and a cool learning experience for you!
March 5th, 2010 at 8:49 am
What a nice friend you are! It looks so delicious….
March 5th, 2010 at 9:38 am
I’m sending this recipe to friends with a bread-loving gluten-intolerant 2-year old! You should SEE the fits she has when she can’t have what everyone else is having! This will be a real treat for everyone. And good for you for making bread at altitude. I know, living in Boulder, that it’s not always a simple thing.
March 5th, 2010 at 10:04 am
hahahhahahahah “dipshit without a plan” cracked me up.
Sadly… that probably would have been me.
Bread sounds amazing, I havent tried to make any gluten free bread… maybe I will.
March 5th, 2010 at 11:02 am
You truly are a great friend. Andrew is lucky to know you.
March 5th, 2010 at 11:08 am
Fortunately I can eat gluten. But, for my friends who cannot they certainly salivate over a good loaf (seems like the list is growing of those who are intolerant and/or sensitive). I like that this rises and can sit in the fridge.
Since bread is such a chemistry thing – do you think I’d be safe to add a bit of whole roasted garlic and sundried tomatoes?
March 5th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
This looks so yummy! I love olives and rosemary in bread… I can’t wait to make this for my gluten-free friends.
March 5th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
I really feel bad for those who cannot eat gluten and people who have other food allergies.
There’s so much that they’re missing out on!
Congratz on the bread-making!
What a gorgeous looking loaf
March 5th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Jen Yu, you are a good friend and a wonderful person. As busy as you are, to bake a lovely gluten-free loaf for Andrew was the sweetest thing. Looks like it was damn good, too! And holy sizzle! Andrew doesn’t have hands–he has PAWS!
March 5th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Wow, looks amazing. Hard to believe it is gluten-free.
March 6th, 2010 at 7:38 am
A beautiful loaf of bread — gluten free or not. The best test is when nobody can tell — and this loaf looks perfect! I hope you got some as well! :) Love the photos!
March 6th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
I…am….gluten…free….and a little overwhelmed right now. I CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE THIS BREAD! (I know, I just shouted… couldn’t help myself). Thank you Jen… Your blog is #2 behind Gluten Free Girl (sorry, but since I am GF, she has gotta be on top) in my book. And I absolutely love, love, love you for making (and blogging about) this! And to echo other comments, you ROCK as a friend. I am sure that Andrew loves you for your caring spirit.
Andrew could probably also agree with me when I say that when I was first diagnosed, I was somewhat embarrassed to communicate my ‘disease’ with other people besides family. It wasn’t that I didn’t value myself and my health, it was that I didn’t want to ‘put other people out’. Not so today, my health MATTERS, and when you make things like that (and share the recipe) – I want to shout to the world that I AM GLUTEN FREE, AND IT IS OKAY! Okay… enough of my soapbox. Headed to the store for kalamata olives… fresh out (they go great in bloody marias **tequila is gluten free** – tee hee) but I have everything else to make this awesome bread.
Sometimes I feel like I have a friend in you, Jen… You don’t know me and probably never will, but thank you for sharing YOU with me… Stephanie
March 6th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
What a wonderful thing to do for your friend! I have recently started experimenting with other types of flours and I think it would be a fun challenge to try to make some vegan or GF recipes.
March 6th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Jen, you make a great friend! Not many people are lucky like Andrew!! I like the idea of incorporating olives into the boule!
March 7th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Bread looks fantastic and Andrew looks VERY happy!
So what things did you have to change for the altitude difference?
March 7th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
I love the gluten free recipe! This bread looks delicious! It’s always nice to see gluten free recipes that are still tasty.
March 7th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
What a FABulous bread! I’ve never baked gluten free bread before, but am always interested in different flours, so I’ll have to try this some time. Olive bread is one of my favs!
March 7th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
You had me at the word, bread. ;)
I’ve never attempted a gluten-free item, but this recipe has definitely captured my interest!
March 9th, 2010 at 7:20 am
That bread looks wonderful – gluten free or not. I am not gluten-intolerant but would love to try working with new food items like the ones you used. I just made a delicious cake out of buckwheat flour for the first time and also learned that is gluten free. It’s on my blog if you take a look here:http://ciaochowlinda.blogspot.com/2010/03/torta-di-grano-saraceno-buckwheat-cake.html
March 11th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Andrea – I say go for it. I think it’s probably fine to add roasted garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. In fact, it sounds wonderful!
TKW – I know! I always forget how tall he is until he stands up. He’s like 6’5″!
Stephanie – Gluten-Free Girl is #1 in my book too. Shauna is a true love and wonderful friend :) I can’t tell you how much it breaks my heart when Andrew says things like “I haven’t had bread in years.” Everyone deserves to eat well!
Nancy – believe it or not, I didn’t have to make ANY adjustments for altitude! It worked beautifully the first go around (phew!)
Ciaochowlinda – Thanks for the link. I haven’t done much with GF either, but I’m always curious.
August 17th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Thanks for the recipes and tips, it has never been easy to live a gluten free life.
January 13th, 2015 at 8:35 am
I made this bread for a gluten-free friend a couple of days ago. It was SPECTACULAR!!! Simply one of the tastiest loaves I’ve ever made, which is all the more remarkable given it was my first try at a gluten-free loaf. Definitely one for regular use. Thanks so much for the recipe.