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The best tasting GF bread I’ve found yet, and the cheapest. The ingredients are the key to this bread, so try not to substitute. The flour mix is especially important, so if possible use gluten free flour only to make the cheapest, best tasting gluten free bread you’ve ever tried.

2	cups gluten-free flour
1 1/2	teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	teaspoon egg substitute
1/2	teaspoon unflavored gelatin (optional)
2	tablespoons sugar
2 1/4	teaspoons dry active yeast
2	small eggs (or 1 egg plus one egg white, medium)
3	tablespoons butter, softened
1	teaspoon vinegar (or dough enhancer)
1	cup warm water

1. Combine all dry ingredients except yeast. May be stored in this condition for months in a ziplock style bag.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Grease 8 1/2 x 4 1/2″ bread pan and flour with rice flour, or grease and flour muffin tins for buns.
4. In heavy duty mixer, whisk eggs and vinegar (or dough enhancer), add butter. Add about 3/4 of the warm water.
5. Combine yeast with the dry mix and slowly add to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low.
6. The mixture should be like a very thick cake mix, add more of the warm water as needed.
7. Turn mixer to high and beat for 4 minutes.
8. Turn dough out into the pan for baking.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (on top of oven is usually a good place) until the dough has doubled in size.
10. Bake in 400F oven for 50 to 60 minutes for loaf, 30 to 40 minutes for rolls. Cover with aluminum foil after 10 minutes for light crust on top, 20 minutes for medium crust on top.
11. Remove from oven, allow to cool 20 minutes before cutting for best results.

The very first bread was a simple loose mixture of crushed whole grains and water, blended into gruel, and then flattened to dry in the sun or baked over a fire. Over the past 6000 years, the loaf has evolved to include everything from nuts and seeds to complex chemicals designed to make bread soft and fluffy with a long shelf life. Scientists have figured out how to remove vitamins and minerals and then add them back in; and inventors have built machinery that can make a loaf without being touched by human hands. Somewhere between these two extremes is the classic handmade whole grain loaf that is both hearty and delicious. Despite its reputation, it is easy and satisfying to make a fine loaf of100% whole wheat bread. As with anything worth learning, the keys are patience and practice along with a simple understanding of the ingredients and how they work together. Here’s a one-loaf recipe worth trying with all ages, from 3 on up. The ingredients are easy to find, and the technique is simple. Recipe 1 1/2 cups of water 1/4 cup of honey 1 packet of active dry yeast 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Two teaspoons of salt 3 1/2 cups of whole wheat bread flour Procedure The water should be lukewarm (body temperature) to help dissolve the honey and support the growth of the yeast. Honey is for flavor and also food for the yeast. Yeast, a living plant cell, is the magical force that gives bread it’s lift and unique aroma. Oil makes for a cake-like texture and helps the bread stay moist. The salt brings out the taste of all the ingredients. Combine the ingredients, one at a time, in a large bowl – stirring them together in the order presented – finally adding the flour one cup at a time and keeping a half cup aside until the dough is ready to knead on the table top. Blend with a spoon and/or your hands until it begins to form a lump. Then lightly dust the table top with some of the remaining flour, turn the mound out of the bowl, and let it rest for 10 minutes so the flour can more fully absorb the water. Dust hands with a little of the extra flour and begin kneading as follows: (1) gently push the dough away from you so that it flattens out, (2) give it a quarter turn and (3) fold it in half toward you. Think of it as push, turn, and fold. Repeat the process as many as 100 times, dusting your hands and the table to prevent the dough from sticking. The key here is to make sure the dough stays moist and soft – so add just enough flour during the kneading to keep the dough from becoming stiff and dry. Some bakers prefer to use a little vegetable oil instead of flour during the kneading. When the kneading is done, the dough will be soft and tender like the lobe of your ear. Pour a little oil into the mixing bowl, and roll the kneaded dough inside the bowl so that it is coated with the oil. Cover the bowl with a dishcloth or plastic wrap, and let it double in size in a corner of the kitchen where there are no drafts.

After about an hour, punch it down in the bowl to release the carbon dioxide made by the yeast. Turn it back onto the table top and knead it another 25 to 50 times to further develop the gluten and fully release the carbon dioxide. Shape it into a ball, and press it into a greased standard metal bread pan (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches). Cover it with a cloth, and let it rise until it’s about a half inch over the brim of the pan. Bake it at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. To know if it is done, remove it from the pan and tap the bottom. A clear hollow sound means it’s fully baked. Set it on a wire rack and let it cool. It is actually still baking until it reaches room temperature. But in this case, temptation has its rewards.   Once you begin making your own bread, you will find countless recipes as well as answers to all of your questions either from your own experience or from other bakers and the hundreds of books written on the subject. Whatever recipe you use and however the bread turns out, baking a loaf of homemade bread is a wonderful combination of simplicity, artistry, and nutrition as well a unique way of partaking in the history of humanity. When you have gained confidence, double the recipe. Giving a loaf to a neighbor or friend is a most precious gift of caring and love.

Scottish Honey Oat Biscuits Preheat oven at 200 C (400F) Preparation time: Under 30 minutes Cooking time: Under 30 minutes Cost: Economical Difficulty: Very Easy

Ingredients - Makes 12 biscuits

560 ml (2-1/4 cups) flour, plus additional for the work surface and dusting 125 ml + 30 ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp.) rolled oats (not quick-cooking), divided 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 160 ml (2/3 cup) solid vegetable shortening 180 ml (3/4 cup) buttermilk 80 ml + 30 ml (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp.) honey 2 tbsp. butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F). Position rack in center of oven. Grease and flour a large baking sheet or line it with baking parchment; set aside.
2. Combine flour, 125 ml (1/2 cup) oats, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Stir until well combined. Add the shortening to flour mixture and cut in with a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture is crumbly.
3. Add buttermilk and 80 ml (1/3 cup) honey to the flour mixture; stir with a fork just until the liquids are absorbed and a soft dough forms.
4. Transfer dough to a well-floured work surface and using well-floured hands, pat into a 1/3″ thick circle. Dust the top of the dough with flour.
5. Use a 2-1/2″ biscuit cutter or drinking glass to cut out the biscuits. Place 2″ apart on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Recombine dough trimmings and reflour work surface. Pat out trimmings to 1/3″ thickness and repeat entire process to make as many additional biscuits as possible.
7. Place remaining 2 tbsp. honey in a small bowl with melted butter. Stir until well mixed. Brush the tops of the biscuits lightly with the honey-butter mixture and sprinkle them with remaining 2 tbsp. oats.
8. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack to cool 10 minutes.

For thousands of years, bread has been such a vital thing to man that it is no wonder that it has gathered around itself a folklore of its own. In many countries it is thought that a loaf baked on Good Friday morning and kept until the following year is an effective medicine against stomach disorders. The patient grates a little of the stale loaf into water, drinks it, and hopes for the best. Another special virtue attributed to bread baked on Good Friday is that it does not go mouldy like ordinary bread. Among the deep-sea fishermen on the Grand Banks, many superstitions still live on; one concerning bread is that when a member of the crew is lost overboard, a slice of bread with a lighted candle on it is put over the side and floated away to comfort the spirit of the drowned man. Many a housewife who made and baked her bread at home made the sign of the cross upon each loaf, perhaps to bring good luck, or to guard against bad luck.