After many months, I have perfected my gluten free multigrain honey oat bread. This bread is soft and airy but still pliable for the perfect sandwich. This bread is warm and comforting with sweetness from the honey and earthiness from the oats. One bite of this bread and you will be convinced that it must have gluten in it, because it is that good! I promise you there is NOT one gram of gluten in this entire loaf.
When I first became gluten free, over 10 years ago, I cried. I received a phone call from my doctor telling me the results and that it was with 100% certainty that I had Celiac. Yep, I cried big ugly tears. I couldn't imagine how much I would have to give up. Breads, pastas, cookies, cakes, tarts, pastries, donuts... so many tears. Back then the selection of gluten free products were dismal. Gluten free bread was so dry and dense that it was inedible. As soon as you tried to spread some butter on a slice it would crumble and break.
Well not this bread! This bread is worlds different than what I used to have to endure. This bread is SO good that my kids say it is better than the freshly baked bread at the German bakeries.
Making this bread really isn't all that hard, once you have the perfect recipe. Don't worry I got you covered! Whether you are gluten free or not this recipe will turn heads and make your kitchen smell amazing! Even better, the actual 'work' time is about 10-15 minutes. That's it. Maybe a smidge more if you count cleaning up afterwards.
This bread includes mostly whole grains:
Brown Rice Flour
Millet Flour
Oats (not instant)
Buckwheat Flour (buckwheat is naturally GF, don't let the name fool you!)
Tapioca Flour/Starch (some brands call it flour some call it starch... it's the same)
What is my secret to making this bread so light and fluffy?
Unflavored Sparkling Water
Room Temperature Eggs
Apple Cider Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar (I have experimented with both and there is no difference in taste)
Here are different flours and grains that I used, as well as the Xanthan Gum. All of these products can be purchased at stores like Denn's Biomarkt or other organic shops. I purchase my oats from DM, which is like a CVS or a Walgreens for all my readers not living in Germany. DM has a surprisingly huge selection of gluten free and organic products. Lately though, I have been ordering my flours through Amazon.de in bulk. They come 6 to an order and then I always have enough for when the kids spontaneously ask my to bake bread.
Some other tips:
Get yourself a thermometer to test the water. The temperature must be in a range of 98 degrees F to no higher than 105F. If the temperature is not in this range then your yeast will not activate correctly.
Today, I have two different methods that you can use to bake this bread. Either you can use your stand mixer (Kitchen Aid or something similar) with the dough hook or a bread machine. When using my kitchen aid, I have used both a typical loaf bread pan as well as a circular bread 'pot' that comes with a lid. Both are great. It just depends on what shape you want your bread to be.
Which one produced better results? I was surprised to see that both ways produced the exact same bread. The only difference was the pan sizes. The bread machine pan is a bit taller and wider and when I used the stand mixer, I baked the bread in a 9in X 5in loaf pan. Something similar to what you would use to bake banana bread. The taste was identical.
I will say that I do prefer using my bread machine only because it cuts my work time in half if not more. Basically you just dump in all your ingredients, press a button, and walk away! It doesn't get easier than that. However, using my stand mixer was only a tad more effort. I'll give you a few tips and tricks for both methods so that you can make this scrumptious bread at home.
This is bread made with the stand mixer & Loaf Pan
This is the bread from the bread machine.
This is the bread from the ceramic bread pot.
Tips for the bread machine:
Start by adding all your wet ingredients including the sparkling water to your bread machine pan. Give it a little whisk just to lightly beat the eggs into the liquid.
Next add your dry ingredients directly on top, without mixing it into the liquid. You will then need to take a whisk or a spoon and carefully mix the dry ingredients together. Alternatively, you can add your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, mix to combine and then add it to your bread machine pan.
Dig a well in the center, pour your yeast in that well. Then in one corner goes your brown sugar and in another goes your salt.
Choose the bread baking setting and press start. Many bread machines also have a special gluten free bread baking setting- that is what I use.
You will notice that the dough is VERY wet and that what we want. Do not add more flour. Typically you want a dough that is wet enough that it doesn't crumble, but dry enough that it won't stick to the sides of the pan during the mixing stage. That is not the case today. We want a very wet dough.
Once the mixing has stopped. (Around 20-25 minutes) You can sprinkle on some oats and use your fingers to lightly press them onto the top of your dough.
Then just let it rest, rise and bake. Just be careful when removing the pan, it is super hot!
To remove the bread, just carefully flip the pan over and it should immediately slip out without much effort. Once the bread is out of the pan you do need to wait about 20 minutes for it too cool before you slice.
Can you see how soft this bread is???
Then I just couldn't resist. I had to cut myself a slice!
Tips for a Stand Mixer:
You need to first proof your yeast. That means mixing the yeast, warmed water and the brown sugar together. Mix it really well. After 10 minutes it will start to bubble and foam and then you know it is ready.
Directly after mixing in the yeast & sugar
10-15 minutes later
While the yeast is proofing you can add all your dry ingredients to your stand mixer. Then in a small-medium sized bowl you can add all your wet. (The bowl with the yeast is not present, that you add later)
Now we are ready to add everything together. Start by adding the bowl of the wet ingredients (the one with the eggs) to your stand mixer. It will look like crumbly paste. We just want to mix to combine. Then add your proofed yeast. You want this to mix on low-medium for about 10 minutes. (I didn't go higher than a 4 on my Kitchen Aid setting)
You will have to stop and use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl.
Just like with the bread machine, this dough will be very wet and sticky.
Using that spatula, scoop out all that dough into your prepared bread loaf pan or your ceramic bread pot and smooth out the top.
Sprinkle on some oats and use your fingers to lightly press them onto the top of your dough. Then cover the entire loaf pan with plastic wrap or a damp dish towel. If using the ceramic pot, just cover with the lid. It doesn't have to be soaking wet. I added some hot water to my towel to make it a bit warm as well. This will help your dough to rise.
Here is a little peek inside
Give the dough between 60-80 minutes to rest and rise. Look how much it had risen!
This is a picture after it rested for about 70 minutes.
How beautifully did this dough rise in the last hour?!?
If using the ceramic pot, the bake time will be different because the thickness of the pan and the lid. I preheat my oven to 480F (250C) and let my bread bake WITH the lid on for 10 minutes. Then I lower the temperature to 390F (200C) for another 40 minutes.
That's it! Then you can top your bread with whatever you like. I decided to treat myself. My local German butcher just started to make his own in-house pastrami. It is prepared fresh every week and they slice it to order and of course I have to get it paper thin.
Pastrami is not popular in Germany, but it reminds me so much of my favorite Jewish Delis back in Chicago. The first time I saw it, I asked what it was. I couldn't believe that there would be fresh pastrami steps from my house. The woman behind the counter didn't really know and said it was like brisket. The main butcher, the one who now prepares it every week, popped his head out from the back. He knows I am American and told me, It's pastrami, you'll love it. The other woman behind the counter had never even heard of pastrami. Now it has become one of my favorites here in Germany. Whenever I am feeling a bit homesick, I buy some freshly sliced pastrami and pile it high on some of this toasted bread.
No matter how you eat this bread, it is a winner. Soft, fluffy, airy, with a hint of sweetness. It's my families absolute favorite that gets requested again and again and again!
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