This gluten-free currant bread will keep for a day or two at room temperature under an upturned bowl but is best stored in the freezer in a zip-lock plastic bag. Pre-slice the loaf so you can take out just what you need, and reheat the slices briefly.
Ingredients
- DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup (4 ounces) sorghum flour + extra if needed
- ½ cup (2 ounces) brown rice flour
- ½ cup (2½ ounces) tapioca starch + extra for shaping
- 2 tablespoons golden flaxmeal
- 1 tablespoon buckwheat flour
- 3 tablespoons psyllium flour
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 package (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup (2 ounces) dried Zante currants
- ½ cup (2 ounces) dark raisins
- 1 tablespoon sliced almonds, optional
- LIQUID INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) milk
- ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons grape seed oil or canola oil
- Canola oil spray, for top of loaf
- 1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
Directions
Put a stand mixer bowl and a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet in the oven. Heat the oven to 100° F.
Combine the dry ingredients except the currants, raisins and almonds in the warmed mixer bowl.
Heat the milk and water to warm but not hot. Mix the eggs lightly in a bowl and beat in the oil. Add the milk and water, pour over the flour mix, and stir briskly to make a batter.
Place the bowl on the mixer stand. Beat at medium speed with the dough hook for 5 minutes. The dough should firm up and start to come together. If not, add another tablespoon or two of sorghum flour, but the dough should be moist.
Dust a work surface with tapioca starch and top with the sticky dough. Sprinkle with starch, pat together and turn over smooth, using a dough scraper and adding more starch if needed.
Pat the dough flat, add half the dried fruit and press in. Fold in three, pat flat and repeat with the remaining dried fruit. Form into a ball between your cupped hands. Gently flatten into an 8-inch domed oval.
Place the loaf on the lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking oil. Let rise in the 100° F oven for 45 minutes, until about tripled in bulk. Leave at room temperature while heating the oven to 400° F.
Combine the egg yolk and water to make the egg wash. Brush the loaf with the egg wash and arrange the almonds on top, if using. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and the interior reaches 195° F on an instant-read thermometer. Let cool on a rack before slicing.
Nutrition Analysis: 190 cal, 5 g fat, 65 mg chol, 630 mg sodium, 33 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 4 g protein.
The author of more than a dozen cookbooks to date, Gluten-Free Living Contributing Editor Jackie Mallorca’s titles include The Wheat-Free Cook and Gluten-Free Italian.
