Rustic French Bread
Serve warm with a slather of butter for a taste of Paris in your own kitchen.
Instructions
8 stepsIn a large bowl, mix together the gluten-free flour, salt, yeast, and sugar with a wooden spoon. Add water ½ cup at a time, mixing after each addition until rough ball forms.
Drizzle oil over the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise in a warm place overnight (up to 20 hours, at least 8).
Using oiled hands remove the dough onto a floured board and divide it into two. Handle as little as possible to keep the dough light. Line a baking tray with baking paper or spray a baguette pan and form the dough into two rough logs. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cover again and allow to rise a further 60-90 minutes in a warm place.
Halfway through the second rise, preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
Fill a large oven-proof tray or bowl with boiling water and place it on the lowest shelf in the oven. Place the bread directly above and quickly close the oven door.
Bake the loaves for 20 minutes. Remove the steam tray and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the loaves are golden-brown in color.
Let cool down slightly before serving.
Recipe Notes
Adding a pan of water during the first half of the baking traps in steam which gives the bread a chewy, crunchy texture.
Most yeast is gluten-free but make sure there is no added flour or grains. The longer you can leave the first rise, the better the flavors that develop. Using a baguette pan makes two even, well-formed loaves but you can easily bake without them, the resulting loaves may just be slightly flatter.
