6.23.2010

Gluten-Free Baguettes with Greek Olive Tapenade Recipe

Pinit
Print Friendly and PDF
Gluten free baguettes made from Pamela's Bread Mix
Rustic, easy gluten-free baguette.

Why do you always crave the things you can't have? Is it because desire dims upon acquisition? Is it the crusty chestnut that the chase is more interesting than the catch? Do we simply take for granted the things we hold, the things we use, the things we eat, day after day? Familiarity breeds perhaps not contempt but a subtle numbness. We slowly turn off to the everyday beauty, the generosity of the simple luxuries in our life. It seems to me a form of forgetting. A spiritual amnesia that coaxes us into believing we want what we don't have. And we neglect to appreciate what we do possess.

Which brings me, I'm sorry to say, not to any esoteric mystery, but. To bread.




Olive tapenade spread on a slice of gluten free baguette
Vegan olive spread on a slice of gluten-free French bread.

And here's why. While I do - truly - appreciate (and have, for years) the convenience and kind-to-my-tummy nutrition that an organic brown rice cake offers me as a humble, gluten-impaired celiac, I frankly admit that it is difficult to conjure any semblance of passion, or for that matter, what I would describe as desire, for this go-to celiac snack food. Yes, these foamy chewy discs have saved my life on more than one occasion. Yes, I keep a bag of them in the car at all times. Just in case. And yes, I am grateful for their existence on this fragile planet.

But I have never daydreamed about rice cakes. I have never painted Still Life with Rice Cake. Or written a poem about one. Though come to think of it, I have photographed a rice cake. In the car. With my iPhone. It does sport a  certain beauty all it's own it. In its own quirky, ricey way.



But it's not a baguette. It's not a rustic, crusty, warm from the oven loaf of golden goodness. It doesn't go with wine. And it's not a good match with garlicky olive tapenade. So as much as my bruised and enlightened heart can embrace a rice cake and accept my gluten-free fate in a quasi-Zen go with the flow sorta way, there is a longing I have nurtured for the last eight gluten-free years. A deep, unfulfilled desire.

The truth is, Darling- I miss a long, slender, warm, fresh baguette.

Now don't get all Freudian on me. I'm still talking about bread here. And as far as bread goes, we gluten-free folks have much to appreciate. Even revel in. There's this recipe for delicious gluten-free bread. And this multigrain recipe with cornmeal kick to it. We're no longer as deprived as our earlier, last century celiac counterparts in the bread department. We can make cheese sandwiches.

But lately I've been dreaming of the continental culinary jewel known as the baguette. A mainstay in every student's romance repertoire (if you were an art student, especially; if you majored in accounting or football, the allure of a blanket, baguette, a bottle of wine and thou may not have blipped on your radar screen, and that's truly a shame and a deficit you ought to repair this very minute- go!). And not only dreaming. I've been actively craving an olive tapenade and the classic vehicle to smear it on.

So I experimented with what I had on hand- a bag of Pamela's Wheat-Free Gluten-Free Bread Mix. I could have mixed my own flours, it's true. But it was late in the day when the burning desire hit. And Yours Truly just wanted to whip up a pre-dinner rendezvous comestible.

To quench my unbridled yearning.


Gluten free French bread style baguettes with a crusty golden crust
Crusty baguette's from Pamela's bread mix.

Easy Gluten-Free Baguettes from Pamela's Wheat-Free Bread Mix


I like Pamela's because the mix contains sorghum flour and millet flour, which gives the bread a golden sweet, soft taste. So this isn't dry and plain like your average white rice flour baguette. It has character.

What you'll need:

One of these French bread pans
Parchment paper

Ingredients:

1 bag Pamela's Gluten-Free Bread Mix with Yeast Packet
1 1/2 cups warm water at 115 degrees F
1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water till frothy*

Instructions:

Warm the oven briefly by turning it on and off.

Line the bread loaf pans or baking sheet with parchment.

In a mixing bowl, combine the (3 1/2 cups) bread mix with the yeast packet. Add the warm water and egg replacer. Beat for three minutes till smooth.

Divide the dough in half and scoop it onto the two French bread pans. Using wet fingers, smooth and form the dough into long baguettes. Use a knife to cut the tops with three of four slashes.

Place the loaves into the warm oven and allow them to rise for one hour.

Heat the oven to 375ºF.

When the oven is up to temperature, set the timer and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or so, until the loaves are firm to the touch and crusty.If the outside is not crusty or the loaves feel too soft, do the option below- place them directly on the oven rack at 350 degrees F- for about ten minutes.

Options:

Near the end of baking time, brush the tops with plain rice milk to help them brown.

If you like a crusty loaf, remove the loaves from the pan at 25 minutes and bake them directly on the oven rack at 350 degrees F- until firm and crustylicious.
If you prefer using eggs, use two beaten free-range organic eggs instead of the egg replacer I used.


Cool before slicing with a sharp bread knife. If you can wait.

Use baguette slices as a base for bruschetta toppings and tapenade (see below for recipe). Or slice lengthwise for garlic bread.

Wrap and freeze the second loaf, if you're not going to eat the first day.

Makes two gluten-free baguettes.




Easy to make vegan olive tapenade


Greek Olive Tapenade Recipe


Use your favorite Greek olives for this appetizing spread. I used a Greek Olive Mix.

Ingredients:

1 12 to 13 oz. jar Greek Olive Mix, pitted
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons fig balsamic vinegar- or your favorite balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey or raw agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon Italian Herb blend (thyme, sage, basil, oregano)

Instructions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse off and on until you achieve the consistency you prefer.

Taste for seasoning adjustments.

Serve with fresh baguette slices or gluten-free crackers (here's my favorite cracker recipe). 

Note: Tapenade is wonderful as a quick pasta sauce; stir some into extra virgin olive oil and toss with pasta, to coat.

Cover and refrigerate. Best eaten within a week.



More tempting tapenade from food bloggers:


Susan from FatFree Vegan Kitchen creates Artichoke Tapenade- yum.
Elana's Pantry whips up Fig Tapenade.
Jenn Cuisine serves up her Tapenade with capers and sun-dried tomatoes.



Gluten-Free Baguettes with Greek Olive Tapenade Recipe

34 comments:

Pinch My Salt said...

Those loaves are absolutely beautiful!

e.m.b. said...

That was a beautiful post, Karina. I hope your "Monkey" tummy was satisfied of its yearning.
You have made me want to try baking GF bread again. Every time I try, I am disappointed. I had rice cakes with my salad at lunch. :)They do have a strange subtle beauty to them.

http://mysteriesinternal.blogspot.com/

Rach said...

gorgeous loaves.

This post is fantastic and fantastically funny. :D

Jehan al Noor said...

OMG REALLY???? I am so doing this ASAP, I too yearn for the days I used to stuff my face with fresh French baguette from the most wonderful French cafe in Pacific Grove, CA with whole pats of butter on them. AH, to be able to eat baguette again! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! You truly are a GODDESS.

d.a. said...

Oh, to have a baguette slice dipped into a bowl with olive oil, Parmesan cheese & pepper! This recipe looks easy enough for even me to try. Thank you!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Oh, that tapenade! The color is so seductive, and I love the touch of agave in it. And those baguettes look like, well, wonderfully crusty French loaves. Who needs the gluten??

busy lizzie said...

Oh my gosh my mouth is watering. Your blog is amazing, I can't thank you enough. To take so much time and sharing all you know and all you do with newbies like me. I am eternally grateful. Being in NZ I will have to source other brands I guess, but knowing you can do all this gives me hope.

Diane-The WHOLE Gang said...

I'm headed to Santa Monica in July and I'll meet you at the peer. You bring the bread, I'll bring whatever you want.

Lois said...

Would love it if you would make it without the expensive, mail-order bread mix. The mixes are wonderful, but it's already expensive enough to be gf. So if you happen to whip out a pair of these beauties sans mix, be sure to let us know!

Kris DeForest said...

Beautiful! And what timing - I was just emailed a ridiculously delicious French toast recipe that uses a loaf of French bread. Thank you! Question: Can I use eggs instead of egg replacer? And if so, how many eggs?

Kalyn said...

Wow, the bread and the tapenade are both gorgeous. Beautiful photos. I'd love to eat this for a pre-dinner snack, or I could just make a meal of it!

Spring said...

I have been positively PINING for a crusty, chewy baguette. Maybe it's all the French I spoke while in Haiti. I am only sad that I have to wait to buy a pan before I can try this! (Maybe I'll put out the word on Facebook and find one to borrow) ;)

Karina Allrich said...

Thank you, everyone! I really enjoyed the flavor of this baguette. The sorghum and millet in the Pamela's mix creates a rustic bread- with more flavor than typical white flour baguettes. That said, I'll be experimenting with my own flour mix soon, now that I have the French bread pan.

As for the pan, if you don't have one or want one, you could always line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and form two long loaves on it.

xox Karina

Megan said...

Yum! I just made this bread and it was sooo good! Kris DeForest-I used two eggs as the package said, and it came out great!

Karina Allrich said...

Thanks for the egg tip, Megan. I'll add it to the recipe. xox Karina

Tasty Eats At Home said...

So glad that your egg-free baguette turned out! This looks positively delightful! I actually really like Pamela's bread mix. It's tasty and easy!

I Am Gluten Free said...

Those are mighty tasty looking!

Carrie-Lee said...

Thanks for this recipe! I am in the middle of making this as I type! I'm wondering if I can use the Pamela's bread mix as a substitute for the flour in your English muffin recipe... Do you think it would turn out any good? Or should I just stick to your recipe (meaning I need to buy Millet flour). Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Karina Allrich said...

We just toasted up some very thin slices (using the broiler). Perfect for appetizer toppings.

As for the English Muffins recipe- I have wondered the same thing. I bet it would work. Please let me know how it turns out if you do.

xox Karina

maryam said...

alas, the Pamela's Bread Mix isn't actually vegan - it has honey in it. it looks delicious and crusty, though!

Mama Holli said...

Katrina,
YOu have a beautiful website! I have linked your blog up at Midchix in the Gluten -Free Flock! I hope it brings you some Link Love! I know they will LOVE your wonderful recipes!

Katy ~ said...

I'm going to HAVE to look for this; it looks beautiful and amazing. I believe you have answered a call to the bread dreams of our celiac kid. Thank you ever so much!!!

Gluten? No. Free? Yes! said...

I just broke down and ordered French bread pans, after staring at these baguettes for the past few days. I can't wait to try them! Thanks!

MarlaM-mama said...

Karina, as always, these look amazing!
Please do put your flour mix into the recipe when you have it ready. I keep the individual flours, so when I read this, I could go make it NOW without waiting. Also, I can't have rice, so many packaged flours are off limits for me.
Thanks! I've had a French Bread pan for years! but had only used it once or twice before I went gluten-free. Can't believe it has been over 6 years! No gluten, grains, beans, eggs, milk or soy, and only a bit of cheese. I, too, carry boring things, just so I will have a bite to eat when I'm out. Your recipes help give me hope.
I know that woman does not live by bread alone, but by the living word given by God. However, to prove that God loves us, he provides this joyous, delectable food--almost heavenly--bread. It is His sign of love to me that even in this flawed fibromyalgic gluten/egg-free body, I can sit with my love, a loaf, and wine on a blanket and ENJOY life.

VacuumVixen said...

Karina, So glad I found this recipe today. :)

I just happen to have a bag of Pamela's GF bread mix on hand.

Since it's a beautiful summer day - I figured we'll have some beautiful baguette with fresh tomato, mozzarella, and basil and some mixed olives... with a nice glass of wine for dinner...

Thank you!

Amanda said...

I am so excited to have found this recipe! I have ordered my french bread pan, and cannot wait for it to arrive.

I miss the days of roasted garlic, tomatoes, kalamatas and feta on toasted crustinis. :)

Thank you! I can't wait to try it!

Jen said...

I ordered a french bread pan just so I could make these baguettes. Yum! It's been a really long time since I've eaten bread, and it was worth the wait :)

I do have a question though: I made the recipe exactly as written, using the EnerG egg replacer. While the bread is good, it does have a bitter aftertaste, and I'm trying to figure out what could have caused it and if there's any way to eliminate it. Any ideas? Thanks!

Karina Allrich said...

Thanks again, Everyone, for your baguette enthusiasm.

Many people report they can "taste" the Ener-G Egg Replacer. Perhaps I'm just used to it. I'm thinking- what if you added a teaspoon of sugar to fight the bitter aftertaste you detect? Or is there another vegan egg replacer you've come to enjoy?

xox Karina

Karina Allrich said...

PS:: Just thinking out loud here- Pamela's bread mix has a distinct molasses aftertaste. Maybe another bread mix or bread recipe here on the blog would work better for you as a baguette? xox K

Jen said...

Thanks for the help. I'm completely new to vegan baking (been gluten free for just over a year, but never did much baking) due to new food allergies, so this was my first time using the EnerG egg replacer. I'll try adding sugar next time. Thanks again!

Deni said...

My boyfriend is GF and I was in desperate need of some good bread. Desperate. And it just so happened that I was going to dinner at his parents' place that Friday night, so I thought.. I'll make him challah, he always whines that it's nearly impossible to braid GF dough so I thought I'd try! Anyway, i was looking for gf challah recipes and instead I came upon this which just looked too good to pass. I made it on baking sheets since I didn't have the french bread pans and I made slashes at the top to make it look like a baguette. Wouldn't you know, when I took it out of the oven, the slashes made it look like it was braided! And my bf's mother ooohed and ahed telling me it tasted just like glutenous challah. So, regardless of what kind of bread it is, it's good and crusty! thanks!

Anonymous said...

one tablespoon flaxseed meal plus 3 tablespoons warnm water let stand a few minutes till "gelly" use in stead of one egg. cheers! dee

Angela said...

This looks devine! I can't do Pamela's anymore due to potato and nut sensitivities...if you or anyone else has any flour suggestions please let me know=)I miss the ease of Pamela's and pretty much every other GF flour mix out there.

Christa said...

Thank you so much for all the info and help. I am in South Africa and cant get some of the products listed or any of the baking mixes but I will surely try my hand at them all. I have been diagnosed 3 years ago and its surely painful to smell those lovely smells when you pass a bakery. I Have to say your bread and baked goodies looks wonderful.
Regards
Christa

subscribe by email