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 even talk 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 actually eating the foods you remember is knowing 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 of Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread yet, won’t you grab one today? Thank you so much for your support!
Mare Masterson says
Heather Hutchinson Ordover I just got the email that showed your question to me in the Chinese food posts. The bucket is what Nicole recommends for proofing. Cambro 2 qt round with lid. Available on Amazon.
Jill B says
I’ve made two loaves from your book so far, and they both have a few issues. The first one was totally my fault. I just didn’t let it rise long enough. I thought it would rise a lot in the oven like other gf breads I’ve made. I posted a photo of my other loaf on your FB page. I plan on trying each and every bread in your book. I hope each one is better than the one before. Thank you for putting all the time into the development of these recipes.
Lorna says
I sure hope my Ultratex 3 gets here soon….I’m getting really anxious to try some of those fabulous looking bread recipes. I’m really looking forward to some REAL bread…have various gf ones in the freezer…but they don’t even tempt me.
Alexis says
You are amazing! And how cool would it be to have your own product line of breads in the store some day? Still holding out hope for that day to come!
Lorna says
I’ve been poking around on Amazon and I see a lot of dough enhancers.Have you tried any of them? Are they similar to expandex?
Nicole Hunn says
I’ve tried pretty much everything, Lorna. Nothing but Expandex is like Expandex–except Ultratex 3!
anna says
Ive had my eye on the stuffed breadsticks for a couple weeks now… And now i really want to try the braided nutella, as well. For the breadsticks, do you think it would be okay if i made the dough ahead of time and left it in the fridge ovenight?
Nicole Hunn says
Definitely, anna! The breadstick dough is even easier to handle if you leave it overnight in the refrigerator. That’s what I usually do. :)
Jennifer S. says
DO IT! They are sooo yummy! We love them!
Diane Decker says
If you need a tester for the Indian Fry Bread, I would be happy to volunteer. I spent four years teaching on the Hopi Indian Reservation back in the seventies and have made fry bread hundreds of time. I crave it now that I have been diagnosed with celiac. I would love to help further the cause. I have expandex and whey protein isolate on order, along with your book. I’ll keep trying and I follow directions well. (used to be a teacher)
Nicole Hunn says
Thanks, Diane! I think I’m good, but I’ll definitely keep that in mind. If you have any particular tips from the reservation you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them, though!
Dana says
I have guests next week. My son, who is gluten free is coming home from college with 2 friends who are not GF. That will make 7 of us in the house, 3 who are gluten free and 4 who aren’t.
Mainly I cook all gluten free all the time and just let the wheat-eaters add bread if they want to, in their own little corner of the countertop and my daughter and I use the Rudi brand bread for grilled cheese sandwiches
For this week, I’d like to make a bucket as you call it of gluten free dough, keep it in the fridge and just get enough out to make hot dog and hamburger buns for my son, who does not eat any bread at school and enjoys my baking. Is this breadstick dough a good choice for that?
Nicole Hunn says
Dana, I would really recommend the hamburger bun dough in the book for that, not the breadstick dough.
Dana says
Okay. I don’t actually have the book yet. I asked my library to purchase it, so I will see if they have it yet.
annie says
I love the idea of your recipes….my big concern is the arsenic in rice. Since I have eaten gluten free for almost 40 years, I have had lots of rice and am trying to cut down…..Do you have brands that have less arsenic?
Nicole Hunn says
That’s really not my area of expertise, Annie. Sorry!