I have a love - hate relationship with yeast. There are days when it works wonderfully for me. When all my tricks to get it to perform with gluten free flours are spot on. Then there are days...where it doesn't matter what I do...it just sits there...leaden.
Unfortunately, I've been making mini panettone brick bats this week. I had to go out and buy more raisins, since I used up what I had. I ran out of small panettone wrappers making the different batches. Then last night, it worked...a panettone loaf worth eating.
These are my tips for working with yeast and gluten free flours:
- Use double the amount of yeast called for in a bread recipe
- The yeast rises better when it has a sugar to feed it
- Do all the shaping first and then allow the dough to rise
- Let the bread rise in a warm location
- Never use water or other liquid hotter than 115 degrees Fahrenheit
- Try not to bake bread on a rainy day
How was the panettone? Delicious! Rich and smooth on the tongue. The touch of wine brought out the flavor of the fruit and peel. We enjoyed it with a cup of espresso for breakfast.
Recipe
Protein Content:
Original Content: 26.26 g
GF Content: 26.094 g
Sponge
13 g sweet rice flour (.78 g)
13 g arrowroot starch (.038 g)
15 g millet flour (1.725 g)
27 g white bean flour (5.805 g)
6 g chia seed meal (1.26 g)
30 g instant yeast
33 g cane sugar
120 ml milk
1. In a medium sized bowl, dump in the flours, meal, yeast and sugar, then stir together. Pour in the milk and stir again.
2. Place the sponge mixture in a warm location and allow to ferment for about 45 minutes.
Fruit Mixture
28 g candied orange peel
28 g candied lemon peel
28 g raisins
28 g golden raisins
2 g lemon zest, grated
2 g orange zest, grated
40 ml white wine, Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc
1. Dump all the ingredients in a container with a lid. Shake the mixture until it is throughly blended.
2. Allow the mixture to sit for at least 45 minutes, but you can allow it to sit and soak longer. This can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
Final Dough
25 g brown rice flour (2.25 g)
20 g sweet rice flour (1.2 g)
20 g arrowroot starch (.06 g)
38 g almond meal (7.6 g)
25 g white bean flour (5.375 g)
4 g agar agar powder
6 g sea salt
fruit mixture (from above)
sponge mixture (from above)
51 g eggs
4 g glucose syrup
43 g butter, softened
30 ml agave syrup
Egg Wash
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
smidgeon sea salt
1. In a large bowl, dump in the flours, agar agar, salt and fruit mixture. Stir together, making sure that the fruit is blended throughout and not clumped together.
2. Add the sponge mixture, eggs, syrups and butter to the bowl. Stir together until it forms a soft ball. If the dough is still loose, add a little arrowroot starch until the dough forms a soft ball.
3. Grease and flour a panettone wrapper (1 large or 4 small). Take the panettone dough and place in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Form the dough into a smooth ball and then place in the large panettone wrapper. Or divide into 4 equal pieces and place in the small wrappers. Lightly brush the egg wash over the top of the dough. Then place the wrappers in a warm location so it/they can rise for 3 hours.
4. Place an oven proof bowl on the bottom shelf of the oven. Then preheat the oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit/196 degrees Celsius. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash again. Next score the center of the dough with a small X and place a pat of butter in the center of the cut.
5. Place the wrapper(s) on a parchment covered cookie sheet and place in the oven. Using a squirt bottle spritz water over the interior of the oven and on top of the bread. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes for the large wrapper and 20 to 25 minutes for the small wrappers. Cool completely before serving.
