Healthy French Baguette

Since my new project is to eat a healthier gluten free lifestyle more frugally than I have found so far, I decided to post it under here instead of the food and travel blog. I am very excited about the results as this is the first time that I have used a corn based recipe.                

I am currently working  out of the cookbook You Won’t Believe It’s Gluten-Free. What I really like about the book is that it shows the food items, such as breads, using different flours. So for example, she has four different recipes for the baguettes. Corn -based, Oat-based, Potato-based and Rice-based.  I chose the corn-based because at the beginning of each of the recipes, there’s her own personal review [or that of the testers] and  this one was well received.

 The ingredients that are used include egg whites, apple juice and apple cider vinegar, baking soda, baking powder, xantham gum, oil, salt and cornstarch. One and 1/4 cups of cornstarch to be exact. I have never used that much however I trusted the recipe and it came out great. First, I beat up the egg whites until they were foamy and then added the rest of the ingredients. Kind of like a fun science experiment. I wondered how such a watery mix would produce bread.? Then, it thickened. A lot! The picture you see is what the batter actually looked like. More like cottage cheese at this point.

The batter goes into a plastic bag (possible a icing bag would work) and then pushed through a hole into a baguette pan or into a shaped disposable foil pan, which I used. I also used a donut pan to try and make bisquit shapes. Those, I sprinkled some Italian seasoning on also. Both of the breads came out completely different and are both pleasant. The donut shaped loaves remind me of cream puffs minus the filling of course. Now that I re-tasted it, a little Bavarian creme might not be so bad! The consistence is very much the same if not a little heavier. With the small loaves, I am even more excited.  I cut them into slices and tried them at different stages in the cooling process. Right out of the oven I really liked the texture. The taste was really reminiscent of, well, cornstarch. I tried it plain, with butter and with peanut butter. Definitely liked it more with another complimenting flavor. As the bread cooled, I liked everything about it even more. The texture and lightness is even better as it cools and the taste of cornstarch is not so dominant.

 Have you ever gotten home and your “regular” bread, white or whole wheat, was flattened by a poor bagger?Not with this! I keep playing with a piece pushing it down with my finger and watching it bounce right back. Great taste and kid friendly. Another thing that is great about this recipe is that not only did my son like it but I gave him parts that did not brown and he didn’t need the crust to cut off. I put peanut butter and sliced bananas on it for his after summer program snack. So far tonight, no tantrums over the bread rage. It’s not time for a bath yet though.

As far as the crust on this bread, the recipe says to spray with water 10 minutes into baking (total bake time is only 15-20 minutes) for the crust to brown. I used spray oil on the rolls and water on parts of the baguettes and where I got it wet, is nicely but not overly browned. Light crispy crust and soft spongy middle. I will definitely use this one in the future for everyday bread.

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