This post is also available in:
Italiano (Italian)
This gluten free bread is worth the wait. Theese panini are so soft and good that they don’t taste like they’re gluten-free!
So soft that it looks like a cloud! This gluten free bread is truly a dream. Literally, because it’s been a while since I dreamed at night about getting my hands on a delicious gluten free sandwich as it should be, soft and tasty, light and airy, perfect to stuf with some steamed broccoli, a drizzle of olive oil and chili pepper. Hey, I’m from south Italy, after all…
This time I wanted to take my premonitory dream seriously. I scribbled something on a piece of paper, starting from a little flour, a piece of fresh yeast and water, just as needed. Intended to savor the softest sandwich I had ever eaten, I accepted the agony of waiting eighteen hours (sigh!) before taking my bread out of the oven. But it was worth the wait. Thi gluten free bread was highly appreciated by family and friends who assured “You can’t feel any aftertaste at all! and “I could never tell it was gluten-free”. Okay, now I sound like one of those action movie trailers, you know? But I really wanted you to feel my enthusiasm.
You will need:
For the poolish
- 100g of Schar’s bread mix (I highly recommend measuring by weight rather then by volume)
- 140ml of water
- 2g of fresh yeast
- Half a tsp of sugar
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water, then also pour in the flour. Knead with a wooden spoon until you get a smooth, rather liquid, mixture. Don’t worry, that’s the right consistency. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let this pre-dough rest for 12h hours. I prepared it around 8 pm and then resumed the preparation the following morning.
Let’s make this gluten free bread real
After the rest time, add to your first dough:
- 200g of Schar’s Bread Mix
- 120ml of water
- A tbsp of olive oil
- A tsp of salt
Knead again until you get a smooth dough with a slightly creamy consistency: don’t worry, because after leavening it will be firmer. Let it rise again for a couple of hours, covered.
After leavening, first pre-heat the oven and bring it to 200 ° C. It should be around 392 °F. In this way, by playing in advance, you will avoid having to wait too long to bake. In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread a little oil on the bottom. Then, sprinkle with a little rice flour and cornmeal mixed together.
With your hands slightly wet, divide the dough into four parts: in this way you will get four rather large panini (between 90g and 100g each). Work the dough between your hands to form smooth piles, then lay them a little apart on the parchment paper. With a knife, make cuts on the surface, then grease a sheet of cling film and cover the sandwiches so that the greased part comes into contact with the dough. Cover with a cloth and let it rise for another hour.
When the leavening time is over (finally!) brush the surface of your sandwiches with an emulsion of water and oil. Simply pour a little oil into a cup of water and mix very quickly to separate the oil molecules into the water, then dip a brush into this concoction and brush it gently along the surface of the sandwiches. Bake for about 30/35 minutes or until golden brown.
