Prebiotic + Gluten Free Recipes

gluten free bread, prebiotic bread

Wholemeal Bread- with Cane Fibre

Perfect gluten free vegan bread (wholemeal) made with prebiotic^ cane and other gluten free flours. This easy-to-make loaf stays fresh for days, makes amazing sandwiches, toasts beautifully and tastes delicious. Can be made in a bread tin, shaped into rolls and will hold its shape proved in a basket before baking.

  • 120 g oat flour (grind GF oats in a blender)
  • 100 g sorghum (or buckwheat) flour 
  • 80 g tapioca starch flour 
  • 40 g potato starch flour 
  • 24 g milled flax seed
  • 15 g ground sugarcane husk* 
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt 
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
  • 7 g instant dried easy bake yeast 
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil (or preferred alternative)
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup or agave nectar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice 
  • 220 ml/g boiling water 
  • 310 ml/g cold dairy free milk of your preference
  • A little extra oil/butter and brown rice flour/sorghum or buckwheat flour to coat the inside of the bread tins

Instructions

  1. Mix together all the dry ingredients EXCEPT the YEAST (flours, oat, flax, sugarcane husk, salt and bicarbonate of soda) in an airtight container and shake vigorously to blend.
  2. Weigh the yeast into a separate small container (airtight if not making the bread immediately) and set to one side. 
  3. Lightly grease the inside of a non-stick bread tin using either a little dairy-free spread or oil, base line the tin with a piece of baking paper (cut to size) and then gently coat the sides of the tin with a light dusting of brown rice flour/buckwheat flour/sorghum flour (put a teaspoon of flour in the tin and gently turn from side to side until coated. Tip out any excess).
  4. In a large bowl, lightly beat together the oil, maple/agave syrup and lemon juice to combine.
  5. Weigh and mix the milk with the boiling water in a jug. It should be hand hot (if you are unsure about temperature, use a cooking thermometer which should read about 40 C).
  6. Add the milk liquid to the bowl with the other wet ingredients and briefly whisk through to combine.
  7. Add the yeast to the flour blend and mix.
  8. Whilst the liquid is still warm, add the dry ingredients to the bowl and using either a mixer with a dough hook, or by hand with a silicone/wooden spoon, beat until well blended, thick and the dough holds its shape if moulded into a ball (this will require about 5 minutes of solid beating).
  9. Transfer the batter to the baking tin and push down so that it is evenly distributed.
  10. Use the back of a spoon (dipped in cold water) to smooth the top.
  11. Place the dough in a warm place to rise for about 40 to 60 minutes (or until about doubled in size) – place the tin on a folded tea towel in the oven at 65 to 70C for a perfect prove (the bread should rise about 2 to 3 cm above the tin with a gently rounded top).
  12. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4. Place a small pyrex bowl or tray with hot water (a couple of centimetres deep) at the bottom of the oven to create steam during the baking process. (This is more important when baking rolls or a moulded 'boule' shaped loaf). For 'boule' or loaf not baked in a tin
  13. When the dough has risen, bake for about 20 to 25 minutes (.500g loaf) until nicely browned (this will be increased to approx. 35 to 40 mins for a 1kg loaf).
  14. Remove from the oven and take out of the tin (you may need to gently release the sides using a spatula or flat knife). Leave to cool on a wire rack.
  15. As with all bread, the loaf is easiest to cut when left to cool completely. Can be eaten fresh and warm, but texture improves if not steaming hot.
  16. Wrap in clingfilm or put in a sealable bag to store and keep fresh. Store at room temperature.

^ Prebiotics are non-digestible dietary fibres that play a crucial role in promoting gut health and overall well-being.

* Sugarcane fibre is derived from sugarcane after the sugary juice has been removed. It contains complex carbohydrates cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. These indigestible components don't provide calories or raise blood sugar levels but are beneficial for gut health as a source of prebiotics and fibre. 

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THE Best traditional Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns - EVER!

A perfect bread texture and rich with fruit, spices and gut loving prebiotics. These buns are still soft the next day - nobody would know they're gluten free.

Ingredients:

Hydrated & Other Dried Fruit

  • 240 g mixed dried fruit (currants; raisins; sultanas) (150g hydrated weight – soaked in orange juice and then drained)
  • 140 g orange juice for soaking the fruit
  • 120 g chopped mixed peel
  • zest 1 orange – finely grated

Dry Flour Mix

  • 320 g tapioca starch
  • 290 g potato starch
  • 170 g oat flour For no oat version sub with sorghum flour
  • 140 g sorghum flour or buckwheat flour For no oat versionsub with brown rice flour or buckwheat flour
  • 10 g fine sea salt = 1 level teaspoon
  • 6 g xanthan gum = 1 level teaspoon
  • 6 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp mixed spice

Yeast Starter

  • 40 g Dried ACTIVE YEAST (requires activating)
  • 4 to 6 tsp honey (or golden caster sugar)
  • 120 g luke warm water

Sugarcane Fibre Hydration

  • 6 large eggs
  • 56 g ground cane fibre husk
  • 200 g full fat milk
  • 3 tsp orange extract or vanilla extract

Pan Ingredients

  • 120 g golden caster sugar
  • 100 g unsalted butter
  • 400 g full fat milk
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil

Egg Wash

  • 2 egg + a dash of milk

Crosses

  • 60 g potato starch
  • 40 g sorghum flour or buckwheat flour
  • 80 g milk approx.

Sugar Glaze

  • 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp water

Instructions

Hydrating the Fruit – ahead of time

  1. Ahead of time, mix the mixed fruit (currants/sultanas/raisins) with the orange juice in a bowl and leave to hydrate for 2 to 3 hours (or overnight), stirring occasionally.
  2. Once hydrated, drain the fruit and discard the juice.
  3. Mix the hydrated fruit with the mixed peel and orange zest (if using) and set aside.

Dry Flour Mix

  1. Mix together the 4 flours, salt, xanthan gum and spices until thoroughly blended. Set aside. TIP:Weigh into an airtight container and shake vigorously.

Yeast Starter

  1. Weigh the yeast, honey (or sugar) and hand warm water into a small bowl. Make sure the water is tepid only, as if it is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
  2. Beat together with a fork or whisk briefly to mix thoroughly and enable the yeast granules to dissolve.
  3. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes while the yeast activates. Yeast that has activated will appear frothy and may even bubble slightly.

Cane Fibre Hydration

  1. Beat the eggs in a large bowl with an electric whisk until they are just starting to thicken.
  2. Add the cane fibre to the eggs and beat again. The mixture should become thick enough to start holding shape.
  3. Scrape down the bowl and re-whisk to ensure the fibre and eggs are well blended. Keep beating until the fibre and egg become a thick, airy batter consistency.
  4. Next add the 100g measure of milk and the orange extract and beat again to combine.
  5. Set aside for about 10 minutes to allow the cane fibre to fully hydrate.

Pan Ingredients

  1. While the cane fibre is hydrating, weigh the caster sugar, butter, 200g measure of milk and sunflower oil into a small saucepan.
  2. Gently heat on the stove over a medium setting, stirring frequently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. To cool more quickly, either transfer from the hot pan to a cool jug, or keep stirring in the pan to help the steam to escape.

Mixing the ingredients together to make a dough

  1. When the hot milk has cooled a little (you should be able to touch it without burning), add it little by little to the hydrated cane fibre mixture in the bowl, whisking thoroughly between each addition.
  2. Next add the activated yeast mixture and beat again to blend evenly.
  3. Once fully blended, add the flour mix to the bowl.
  4. Beat the flour into the wet ingredients with either a wooden spoon or electric beaters with a dough hook. Start slowly (to avoid the flour spraying out of the bowl).
  5. Keep beating for several minutes to ensure the mixture becomes a very thick, even (but sticky) dough-batter.
  6. Add the drained dried fruit and mix firmly into the dough until even.

Proof the Dough

  1. Scoop the dough into a single heap and rest a sheet of clingfilm over the bowl (not touching the dough).
  2. Set the bowl in a warm place to proof (rise) for about an hour. 

Knocking back the dough

  1. Once the dough has risen to about double the size, 'knock it back' by stirring and turning with a solid wooden/silicone spoon.

    Rolling the dough into buns

    1. Base line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
    2. With lightly oiled hands, pull off pieces of the dough and roll into balls in the hand, to make about 13 even-sized dough-buns. The balls should be 5 to 6 cm in diameter.
    3. Arrange the dough balls in rows on the lined baking sheet with a gap of about 1½ cm between them.
    4. Gently rest a piece of clingfilm over the top of the dough-buns (they mustn't be restricted) and set aside in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes to an hour (depending on the warmth of the room. The buns will more or less double in size.

    Preparing the mixture for the crosses and the egg-wash

    1. While the buns are rising, make the mixture for piping the crosses. – In a small cup or bowl, mix together the flours and water until smooth.
    2. In a separate small bowl, beat an egg with a dash of milk ready to egg-wash the buns.
    3. Place a heat-proof dish or pan at the bottom of the oven and then pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
    4. Boil a kettle of water ready to pour into the heat-proof dish in the oven.

    Baking the buns

    1. When the dough-buns are risen – very gently, but thoroughly brush the tops all over with egg wash.
    2. Transfer the mixture for the crosses into either a small piping bag with a fine piping tip/tiny snip off the end, or a plastic squeezable piping/icing bottle. If the mixture has stiffened too much add a tiny drop of water and stir through, BEFORE TRANSFERRING. The mixture needs to be just pipeable and not too runny.
    3. Pipe a line of cross-mixture down the centre of each row of dough-buns and then turn the tray and repeat the process at right-angles, so that all the buns are topped with a cross.
    4. Half-fill the tray/dish placed in the base of the oven with boiled steaming water.
    5. Bake the buns for 13 to 15 minutes until the golden and firm on the tops.
    6. While the buns are baking, prepare the sugar-glaze by heating and dissolving the brown sugar with the water either in a tiny dish in a microwave for a few seconds, or in a small pan on the stove.
    7. When baked, remove the buns from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes on the tray, before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.
    8. While still hot, brush the tops of the buns with brown-sugar glaze.

      Eating and Storing

      1. These Hot Cross Buns can be enjoyed either warm or cold. Best slathered with butter. They will stay soft for a good 24 to 48+ hours, although will eventually start to dry a little. Toast them or not as you prefer.
      2. To store after they have cooled, make sure the buns are tightly wrapped in clingfilm or a bag to ensure maximum freshness. (I place a little additional baking paper between them to prevent sticking).
      3. To Freeze: Freeze on the day of making and as soon as possible after cooling, tightly wrapped for maximum freshness.