Craving for the crumb: making Focaccia

A little over a month of being gluten free, I had the strongest craving for bread. Thankfully, Ritual carries gluten free baguettes from Kitchen Revolution; but not wanting to be limited to just one type of bread, I decided to try my hand at making my own. I've been baking mostly sweet muffins and cookies the past month, so I needed to switch things up and make something savory instead.
I came across this blog trying to look for bread recipes. It has so many! I narrowed down my bread choice to focaccia since I love its earthiness from the herbs, plus I didn't have a loaf pan to make sandwich bread or those fancy French bread pans to make baguettes. I adopted the recipe making use of gluten free flours that I can easily (and cheaply!) find here in the Philippines.
First thing about making gluten free bread you should know is that you should not expect a "dough" like consistency after mixing all the ingredients. From what I've been reading, most gluten free bread starts more like a very thick muffin batter rather than a cohesive dough ball. And since there is no kneading required to develop the gluten, it cuts the preparation time by 5-10mins. Another bonus is that, you can use your God-given tools -your hands, in mixing the dough. No need to bring (or buy) a stand up mixer.

Garlic Focaccia - Italian Flatbread Recipe

makes one loaf.

1 1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 cup potato starch (not potato flour!) or tapioca starch

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1/ 1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped (or t tsp. dried)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cup warm water (at 110º F)

A pinch of raw sugar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

1/2 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice

1 egg, beaten

cornmeal for dusting

Fresh garlic sliced for topping

Whisk together the flours, starch, xanthan gum, sea salt, garlic, and herbs in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, proof the yeast in warm water and pinch of sugar.

When the yeast is poofy, pour the mixture into the dry ingredients. (If the yeast mixture doesn't bubble, throw it away and start over.)

Add the olive oil, sugar/honey, vinegar, and egg .

Stir to combine. The dough should be sticky- it doesn't really feel like typical wheat bread dough- more like a thick muffin batter.

Scoop the dough into a 9-inch cake pan dusted with cornmeal.

Using wet hands pat and shape the dough into a rounded loaf. You can make those dimples that regular focaccia bread has if you like.

Top with sliced fresh garlic; sprinkle with extra herbs, and a little coarse sea salt.

Place in a warm, draft free environment (I placed mine in my microwave)

Allow it to rest and rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F

Bake until golden and firm- from 25 to 35 minutes. It should sound hollow when you thump it.

Remove from the pan as soon as you can handle it, and cool on a wire rack.

This bread is best eaten the day it's made. To preserve the freshness, wait until the bread is completely cool and slice into wedges. Wrap these tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.  Thaw by placing them in the fridge or in the counter. Toast/ grill as usual and serve up with a douse of olive oil and you choice of sandwich fillings.

The result? A triumph for me and gluten free baking. My first homemade bread! I nice garlicky loaf good for making a nice grilled cheese sandwich. Or you can serve on the side with your tomato soup. This can also be a quick breakfast with scrambled eggs on the side.  Although I will use a bigger pan next time or split it to 3-4 smaller panini loaves as I found the bread a little too thick for my preference. Still scores me an 8/10.