Teff and Oat Pancakes and Sourdough Bread - Gluten Free #BreadBakers

When doing a challenge, it helps to have the correct month in mind when you have a recipe that needs planning.  I still managed to bake the gluten free sourdough I had intended to, and I am fairly impressed with the texture for a first try!  It takes time to make up a GF starter and I do actually have a package of GF starter from Cultures for Health but it would not likely have been ready in time to bake.  So I ended up converting some gluten full starter over a week of twice daily feedings.  Since it had gluten full beginnings, it would never be safe for celiac.  There is the possibility of extremely minute amounts of gluten and for anyone who suffers severe intolerance, a clean kitchen and a pristine starter is necessary.  Since my kitchen has cross contamination, it shouldn't be used in that way anyway.  But for the purposes of testing, this trial was essentially 99.999% GF, which is close enough for my purposes.  

I also had my backup recipe, which turned out very nice too, although it did not pass the kid test.  Oh well, their loss.  It tastes just like a favorite recipe I grew up with, Iowa corn pancakes, but that isn't their preference either.  Fluffy white or blueberry pancakes are their order but that's okay, more for me.  I was originally just going to share the pancake recipe and then link to the sourdough recipe.  But I happened to leave a half slice on the cutting board and hubby happened to nab it, and butter it, and eat it, without knowing it was gluten free.  And he didn't know it was gluten free until I told him.  He liked the texture and flavor and said it tasted good, just like normal bread.  So I am sharing both!  Thank you to Sneha for hosting this month's challenge theme of gluten free breads.

*Pancake Note: the only trouble with converting volume recipes to weight is that you don't know how heavy handed the original recipe was in measuring.  Using approximate weights for the listed volumes, I ended up with a batter that was too thin and ended up adding a good ½ cup of extra gum free, gluten free mix I had made up for the sourdough starter recipe.  It helped significantly with the fluffiness.  So I recommend going for the thick batter that is mentioned and I do recommend either the xanthan gum or some flaxseed meal for binding.

Teff & Oat Flour Yogurt Pancakes
Makes 16 4-inch pancakes, serves 4 From Fresh tart.

¾ cup teff flour
¼ cup oat flour (grind oats in a spice grinder in a pinch)
⅛ tsp xanthan gum (optional, or ½-1 tbsp flaxseed meal)
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ c orange juice
orange zest (optional)
½ c plain yogurt
½ c milk
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp butter, melted, divided
blueberries (optional)
warm maple syrup and good butter to serve

In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the dry ingredients. In a 2 cup glass measure, whisk together juice, optional zest, yogurt, milk, egg, vanilla, and 2 Tbsp. of the melted butter. Stir wet mixture into the flour mixture until fully combined (batter will be quite thick).

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium high heat until quite hot. (I kept my pan at low-med heat to avoid over browning and allow the pancakes to set enough to flip easily at the correct time.) Brush pan with a very thin coating of some of the remaining melted butter and spread batter into 4-inch pancakes. When the pancakes bubble, the edges start to dry, and the bottoms are browned, flip and continue cooking until done and browned on the second side. Brush pan with melted butter between each batch. Serve warm with maple syrup.

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Gluten Free Sourdough
From Gluten Free on a Shoestring

3 cups (420 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter as recommended)
1½ teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
9 tbsp (68 g) tapioca starch/flour
2 tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
1½ tsp (9 g) kosher salt (closer to 1 tsp sea salt, still 9g)
¾ cup (165 g) fed gluten free wild yeast sourdough starter
1½ cups (12 fluid oz) warm milk (about 95°F), plus more by tbsp if needed
4 tbsp (56 g) unsalted butter at room temperature

Grease a standard 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Set the pan aside.  (I would definitely use an 8x4-inch pan another time.)
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a strong hand mixer fitted with dough hooks, combine the all purpose flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch/flour, granulated sugar, and salt, and mix or whisk together thoroughly.
Add the active starter, 1½ cups milk, and the softened butter, and beat on medium speed to combine. This batter-style dough won’t resemble traditional bread dough, but rather a soft cookie dough.
Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until the dough has taken on a whipped appearance (about 5 minutes).  The dough should be tacky to the touch, but should hold its shape when scooped out.
If the dough feels at all dry to the touch, add more milk one tbsp at a time, beating it in until well-combined and the dough reaches the proper consistency.

The dough will stick to the bowl while mixing
but easily form together with a spatula.

Transfer the bread dough to the prepared loaf pan. Using a moistened spatula, press the dough into every corner of the loaf pan and spread the top into an even layer.
For a more traditional loaf shape, pile the dough a bit more toward the center in a dome.

Cover the loaf pan with lightly oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rest in a warm, draft-free place until it has risen to about 150% of its original size, at least 4 hours. It will not fully double in volume, and will rise more in the oven than it does while resting.
As with traditional yeast bread dough, it will take longer to rise properly in colder, drier weather and less time in warmer, more humid weather.  Wild yeast sourdough takes longer to rise and depends in part upon the age and vigor of the starter.
This dough is much less likely to overproof and take on that pock-marked appearance than bread made with conventional yeast.  When unsure about whether the bread has proofed enough, allow it to keep rising.
During the end of its rise time, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Remove the plastic wrap and using a sharp knife or lame, slash the top of the loaf from one short end to the other, about ¼-inch deep.
Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Reduce temperature to 350°F, rotate the pan 180° around, and continue to bake until center of the loaf reads 200°F on an instant read thermometer (about 30 minutes more).
The crust will not darken very much, but the loaf needs to sound hollow when thumped quickly with a finger.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow the bread to cool for about 10 minutes in pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

To freeze the bread, cool the loaf completely, then slice, wrap tightly, and freeze the slices. Defrost as many slices at a time as you need in the toaster.

 

 For detailed instructions on building the starter and feeding it, check out the original post at Gluten Free on a Shoestring.

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.
 

Check out the rest of our gluten free bakes:

Coconut Banana Zucchini Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm 

Gluten Free Oat Crackers  from Ambrosia
Gluten Free Sourdough Bread and Teff and Oat Pancakes from A Messy Kitchen
Keto Coconut Flour Bread from Sneha’s Recipe 

Oatmeal Raisin Gluten-free Quick Bread from Food Lust People Love
Rice and Almond Thin Crackers with Sea Salt from Karen’s Kitchen Stories