A guide to making alternative Bread: Crusty bread and Gluten free baking
In a world where everything can be easily bought from the shelves of our local supermarket, it’s all too easy to forget how special it can feel to spend time baking bread in your own home. There are considerable benefits too, as home-baking gives you the opportunity to add more nutritional value and fewer additives than the commercially available produce on your local supermarket shelf.
Few things in life feel as inviting as homemade bread, and few things smell as comforting and homely as they sit cooling on your kitchen counter, gently filling your home with that unique and irresistible aroma. It feels good to make, and feels even better to enjoy because you can make it your way, exactly the way you want it.
What you put into your own homemade bread is entirely up to you, although there are some great ideas below to get you started. You can choose your own flour, or even grind your own; you can use unsaturated fats, control your own levels of salt and cut out the artificial ingredients and preservatives. Making your own bread also gives you the power to cut out allergens and gluten, while at the same time creating something you’ll love to enjoy and share.
Making your own bread is instantly impressive, yet making that choice to do so doesn’t involve as much as you might think. Panasonic’s impressive range of Breadmakers has simplicity at its heart, with intuitive and easy to use controls, handy fruit and nut dispensers and best of all; a range of modes enabling you to easily create more specialised and rustic loaves such as artisan bread and gluten-free loaves and buns.
Crusty bread, rustic and delicious
The Panasonic range of bread machines are growing all the time and already have an incredible range of baking and dough programs with the potential to open up the world of home bread making to everyone. They feature a range of specialist rustic programs for artisan bread, sourdough and soda bread. Making artisan baking something anyone can enjoy anytime following a simple and easy to assemble list of ingredients along with a recipe that lets your bread machine do all the hard work for you.
You’ll need the following for two fresh and irresistibly crusty medium-sized loaves:
INGREDIENTS
1 cup of water (Luke-warm)
1.5 teaspoons of sugar (or alternative sweetener)
1.5 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
1.5 teaspoons of shortening or butter (again you can use olive oil here for a healthier unsaturated fat option
3 cups of bread flour
1 teaspoon of instant yeast
Simply place all the ingredients into your bread machine in the order listed, and let your bread machine’s baking programs adjust the kneading process based on the ambient room temperature taking all the guess work out of your culinary creativity. Once the dough has been kneaded and allowed to rest for the right time depending on the warmth of your room, the baking begins and the inner temperature sensor will take care of the rest, while the French or rustic artisan bread programs will take care of the mouth-watering, professional finish. All you need to do is sit back and wait to enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Fresh, wholesome and gluten-free
Gluten free bread is just as simple, and when compared to the commercial alternatives; is in a completely different league. Many of the Panasonic range of bread makers have dedicated programs to get the absolute best from your gluten free recipes; bread machines such as the Panasonic SD-ZX2522 are designed with an emphasis on gluten-free produce, not just breads, but gluten-free cakes and even pasta too!
Try this gluten-free bread with lemon and poppy seeds recipe for a modern, healthy take on a traditional favourite. This delicious recipe along with a whole range of other gluten-free breads, cakes and more are available in the ideas kitchen, if you thought that gluten-free cooking was less tasty, less adventurous and perhaps a little more complicated, then it might definitely be time to think again...
Enjoying the bread and cakes you love and making them in your own home doesn’t have to be something you only ever admire others doing. Gluten-free recipes and fresh, crusty homemade bread are both things anyone can enjoy with a bread machine, especially one designed and created with gluten-free bread recipes, and rustic artisan baking in mind.
If that sounds like you, then perhaps you have sat on the sidelines too long. With a world of fresh, delicious homemade bread waiting to be enjoyed whenever you want it, a breadmaker might be just the thing to help you dive in!
