ALMOND AND APRICOT BREAD

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ALMOND AND APRICOT BREAD

(see picture in " Photos " )

 

 

Wet Ingredients:

 

2 1/2 cups water at room temperature

1/3 cup canola oil (-OR- preferred oil)

1 teaspoon vinegar

 

Dry Ingredients:

 

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup besan (chickpea/garbanzo bean flour)

2 cups white rice flour

1 cup arrowroot

4 tsp xanthan -OR- guar gum

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons GF baking powder

6 teaspoons egg replacer powder

1/2 cup soy milk powder (-OR- other dry milk sub)

1/4 cup almond meal

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast granules

 

1/2 cup flaked -OR- slivered almonds

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped (I like to use organic)

 

 

Sift and combine the all the dry ingredients except egg replacer powder.

 

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg replacer with about 1/2 a cup of the

water, until frothy. Add other wet ingredients withholding 1/4 to 1/2

cup water (as explained below) and combine.

 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry (except fruit and nuts) and mix

together. Add additional water slowly if required.

 

Spoon into the pan.

 

Set the bread machine to the setting recommended by the instructions

specific to your model. If there are no such instructions try either

the `Basic' setting or the `Rapid' setting. If your bread machine is

programmable, set it to skip the second kneading, as this is not

necessary for GF breads. Another

option, for bread machines with a 'Bake Only' setting, is use the 'Dough'

setting and then the 'Bake Only'.

 

If your bread machine does a reasonable job of mixing, it is possible

to add the wet ingredients to the pan and than add the dry (or

vice-versa, depending on the model). If using this method, about 5

minutes into mixing you will need to check that all the flour has been

mixed in thoroughly and, if not, scrape the sides and base and stir

with a rubber spatula. At this time check the consistency and add

extra water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary. If the mixture is

too wet, try adding a little extra flour.

 

To add the fruit and nuts these can be :

 

- placed in the automatic fruit and nut dispenser (if your model is so

equipped),

- added when the `Add-ins' beep sounds,

- added just before the end of the mixing cycle.

(Adding too early can result in the fruit and nuts breaking down.)

 

In all cases, you will probably need to aid the machine in mixing in

the almonds and apricots.

 

Remove the bread from the machine as soon as it is cooked and don't

leave in the machine during the `Keep Warm' cycle. Turn out from pan

after a few minutes and cool on a wire rack.

 

**If your bread machine has a removable blade, you can also try this :

Mix the batter until smooth, remove the blade from the pan, place the

dough in the pan and cook normally. This way you avoid the big hole in

the bottom of the bread and also avoid the second kneading.

 

 

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Some things to rememberabout GF bread making:

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- All ingredients should be at room temperature.

 

- The humidity, type, freshness and brand of flour can all affect the

amount of water required in a recipe. I find it is best to withhold

about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the water (or other liquid), mix the batter,

then add more as required. This is particularly important when

modifying a recipe or using a new brand of flour. It is easiest to add

water to a too-dry batter than to add flour to a too-wet batter. Add

the water slowly about 1 tablespoon at a time.

 

- Vinegar is added as a bread improver, as well as to improve the ph

of the water. Bread improver (if you can find one that is GF), lemon

juice or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can also be used.

 

- The batter should be the consistency of a thick cake batter.

 

- Xanthan gum is added to bread, normally at a rate of 1 teaspoon per

cup of flour. Guar gum may be used instead and is cheaper than xanthan

gum.

 

- I find a couple of teaspoons of baking powder improves the texture

of egg-free breads.

 

- To test if yeast is still active dissolve a few teaspoons of sugar

in 1/2 cup luke warm water, add 3 teaspoons of yeast. In 10 minutes

the water should be foamy and the volume should have doubled. If not,

the yeast is no longer active and should be discarded.

 

- As measuring cups can vary, use the same type to measure all of the

ingredients.

 

- Bread can be sliced and frozen when cooled. Place a piece of baking

paper (silcon coated paper) between slices for easy separation.

 

- It is best to slice cooled bread, but my kids never wait always eat

almost the whole loaf the moment it is cooked.

 

- A wire whisk is great for combining dry ingredients.

 

- Baking paper (parchment/silcon coated paper) can make removing the

bread from the pan much easier (for oven baking).

 

- Rolls often cook more successfully then large loaves.

 

- When modifying a recipe, write down any changes you make. I recently

made a mix but I was short on a lot of the flours. I topped up with

whatever I had on hand but didn't keep a record. Of course, this mix

made the best bread I have ever baked and I have no way to reproduce it.