Brown Rice Bread

My friend told me about King Arthur's flour. .  . that it was to die for. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but the other day I was looking for a simple brown rice bread recipe that didn't call for millet or sorghum flour. That was when I stumbled upon King Arthur's site and their wonderful recipes here. I whipped up a double batch yesterday. It was quite possibly the best bread I have had since going gluten free. I adapted it to make it dairy free, and egg free (see variations below). They even have a recipe for their flour which is similar to the one I use. It is:

6 cups (32 ounces) stabilized brown rice flour
2 cups (10 3/4 ounces) potato starch
1 cup (4 ounces) tapioca starch (or tapioca flour; same thing)

 I used rice milk instead of regular milk, Ener-G egg Replacer instead of eggs, and Earth's Balance (dairy free)Soy-free butter instead of butter.  

Here is their full recipe for one loaf below:

Place the following in a mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer:

3 cups (15 /4 ounces) King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour or brown rice flour blend (13 1/2 ounces); see formula above
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum

Using an electric mixer (hand mixer, or stand), gradually beat in 1 cup warm milk.

The mixture will be crumbly at first, but once all the milk is added, it’ll come together.

Add 4 tablespoons soft butter.

Beat until thoroughly blended.

Next you’re going to add 3 large eggs, one at a time. Beat the mixture till each egg is thoroughly integrated before adding the next one.

Once you’ve added all the eggs, beat the mixture at high speed for 3 minutes. This adds air to the thick batter, which helps take the place of the missing gluten as far as structure is concerned.

At the end of 3 minutes, the batter will look like thick, heavy buttercream icing: smooth and silky. It won’t look at all like a typical yeast dough: smooth, elastic, kneadable.

The dough will also be very sticky, and feel a bit gritty if you rub some between your fingers. Have you ever repaired a wall with spackling paste? Same texture. It helps to keep a wet kitchen towel handy, to keep your hands clean as you work.

Leave the batter right in the mixing bowl. Or if you need your bowl for another purpose, scrape the sticky batter into a large measuring cup, or another bowl.

Cover the bowl or cup, and let the thick batter rise for 1 hour.

I often raise yeast dough in a measuring cup; it helps me track how much it’s risen. This batter won’t double in size, but it’ll definitely puff up.

Gently stir the batter down.

Scrape it into a lightly greased 8 1/2” x 4 1/2” loaf pan.

Use your wet fingers, or a wet spatula or bowl scraper, to smooth the top, eliminating any “wrinkles.” The smoother your loaf is before you put it into the oven, the smoother it’ll be once it’s baked.

This is pretty smooth.

Cover the pan; a clear shower cap works well here. Let the dough rise…

…till it barely crowns over the rim of the pan.(mine didn't rise nearly as much, but still turned out)

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

The dough is very delicate; try not to touch it.

Bake the bread for 38 to 42 minutes…

…until golden brown.

Remove it from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack.

Run a stick of butter over the top crust, if you like. It’ll help keep the crust soft, and add flavor.

photo from link above