It worked; I’ve finally done it. This is episode 8743 of me trying to find the best gluten free bread recipe, and I’ve finally found a good one. Remember back in episode 4 when I tried the Jamie Oliver bread recipe and it sort of worked, sort of didn’t and I decided to try again with little to no improvement? Well, here I am trying it yet again (ep 6), and it’s finally worked. Here’s how I made Jamie Oliver’s gluten free bread recipe work with Crackd.
For my first attempt, I only used half of the recipe due to prior failings, I wasn’t the most optimistic. That resulted in a loaf that actually tasted good, but it was too squat to toast or use as sandwich bread, but great for tearing and dipping.
The original recipe
- 325 ml semi-skimmed milk
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 450 g gluten-free brown bread flour , plus extra for dusting
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons golden caster sugar
- 1½ x 7g sachet dried yeast
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Check out Jamie Oliver’s bread recipe here.
What I used the first time
- 225g Dove’s Farm Freee Brown Bread Flour
- 7g dried yeast
- 160ml vegan milk
- 60ml Crackd
- 1 scant tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
Changes I made
You’ll notice that I used a full sachet of yeast and almost the full amount of vinegar. The yeast was purely because measuring out ¾ of a 7g packet seemed like far too much effort and the vinegar was a conscious decision. Both the yeast and the vinegar help the bread rise. My previous attempts with this recipe haven’t worked too well because the loaves have been too heavy and stodgy, so I thought adding more of the ingredients that help give the loaf a lighter texture wouldn’t be a bad thing.
I also used apple cider rather than white wine. There was no real reason for this beyond I had apple in the cupboard and no white wine, but they’re both highly acidic light vinegars, so I knew it wouldn’t make a difference to the outcome.
The original recipe called for 35 minutes at 200c, the Crackd bottle recommends reducing by 10c and adding 10 minutes cooking time. As I was making a smaller batch, I opted for 40 minutes at 190c for my first attempt, which worked really well. I got a really nice crusty edge (crust, I know) and the inside was a lot lighter than my previous attempts.
How to make a gluten free bread recipe vegan with Crackd
As you can see, some of those measurements in my first attempt aren’t exactly half of the original, so when it was time to double up, I was going to double what I used the first time rather than using the exact amounts from the original. Then, like an absolute fool, I forgot on the day and followed the original anyway.
My Attempt at the full loaf
- 325ml hazelnut milk
- ½ cup Crackd
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 450 g gluten-free white bread flour , plus extra for dusting
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons golden caster sugar
- 1½ x 7g sachets dried yeast
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
I used white flour this time but only because it was the only GF bread flour I could get my hands on that week.
As per the Crackd instructions, I baked this loaf at 190c for about 50 minutes.
If you’ve been following this series, you’ll know getting the loaf to rise has been quite a mission. This one also didn’t exactly rise, but look how much it spread! It definitely double in size, just not in the ideal direction. Once again, only the very middle of this loaf could be sandwich bread, so I’m tempted to try this once again in a loaf tin and see what happens. But then I’ll need to play with the cooking times and I’ll be back at square one again.
But, in terms of texture, we have a winner. I hope you can see in the photos, but this loaf is clearly fluffier than some of the other GF loaves I’ve tried. Still not ideal in terms of regular bread. But very, very pomising in terms of GF options.
The cost
Now, gluten free bread is expensive. But so are egg replacers, so how does this work out cost per loaf compared with something store bought.
I’ve spoken about gluten free breads previously, and how they’re mostly terrible. The only two that I ever buy are priced at £3.50 and £3.85 a loaf, so that’s the figure I have in mind when calculating if this is worth it.
Both of these loaves are only available in my area via Ocado, so they have to be added to my weekly groceries and there’s no popping to the corner shop for a loaf. So even if this loaf were to work out equally as expensive as those two, it still wins in terms of convenience and the ability to make when required than having to plan to order in.
Obviously, prices vary depending on brands and supermarkets, but the items in this loa cost approximately the following amounts:
- Half a packet of GF bread flour – £0.85
- Two egg replacers – £1
- 325ml dairy free milk – £0.60
- 2 tbsp caster sugar £0.05
- 2 packets dried yeast – £0.22
- Olive oil – £0.23
- Vinegar – £0.02/0.03
And add a penny or two for the salt, working out the price per gram for less than a tsp seems pointless.
So, the total would be £3.
£3 a loaf makes this very fairly priced compared to the store bought ones. And as I said, neither of those are available to me anywhere other than Ocado, so this definitely seems worth it.
I know if I’d done this properly, there would also be gas/ electricity costs factored into that loaf. But the main takeaway here is that it’s not ridiculously expensive to make your own compared to the store bought ones. Not massively cheaper either though…
What do you guys think of this loaf? How does it look compared to the real thing?
Until next time,
Sophie
This loaf looks so good! If you hadn’t said it was gluten-free then I would have thought it was just a normal loaf of bread!
This loaf looks very appetizing and I’m glad to hear it is worth the cost and time of baking. Thanks for sharing!
I have never even tried to make bread with gluten so I can only imagine how hard it is to make gluten free bread and to have it tasting good! I bet your bread tastes amazing! X
This looks absolutely delicious!! I have to admit than other than your posts, I hadn’t really considered the complications with vegan bread, but sounds chaotic trying to get hold of. Yay for finding one that works that gives you good texture and flavour.
Baking, in general, is harder than cooking normally, because especially when you work with flour of some type it seems to require more expertise and precision, which you have like I was very impressed by how you decided on what alternative product to use. Looking at the original recipe it looks very similar to me, and I think you did an amazing job!
SHE’S ONLY GONE AND DONE IT! I feel like this is a proper cause for celebration tbh. This looks like such a lovely fluffy loaf, and at £3 per loaf you can’t really argue can you? X
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
I’m not vegan and I don’t think I have ever had gluten free bread but this sounds and looks so yummy. If I ever decide to make gluten free bread, I’ll definitely use your recipe. Amazing post x!
£3 is super cheap for all the ingredients to make this gluten free bread! I’ll definitely have to try this soon as I’m trying to lower my gluten intake to see if it’s that that’s affecting my stomach. Thank you so much for this fab recipe! xx
So the search goes on! I must say, this looks a lot more like bread to me and I think trying it in a loaf pan is a great way to get it to potentially keep its shape. I have been following your bread hunt for a while and your dedication inspires me. 🙂
This is awesome! Gluten-free food, especially bread, is really inaccessible in my area (rural, with only one small grocery store), so this is a very neat resource. It looks delicious! Thank you very much for sharing.
This looks delicious! My sister eats gluten-free so I will have to make it for her. I will eat it too as it sounds so good!
You make me so tempted to try and make bread! I haven’t done that since school and even then I was hopeless! XD
Daisy xoxo |
Wow, what a beautiful blog! I will direct some of my clients on here, and I will try some of your recipes, I promise! And will let you…
Amazing bread❤
I’ve loved following your GF bread journey, this one looks great! The texture looks really good, it honestly sounds like a nightmare trying to get it right. But it is inspiring to see that you didn’t give up with it. I still haven’t tried making my own bread yet, perhaps something to put on my 2021 goals this year. xx
Oooh! Congratulations on getting the Jamie Oliver bread to work after so many tries. I can imagine this being an amazing moment for you – especially with you not giving up and finding the right recipe that works. It looks like it turned out great as well. The size is perfect for simple tartines and all of that good stuff.
Nancy ✨ mdrnminimalists.com
It looks pretty good! it’s nice you were able to tweak this recipe and get it to work easier for you this time around! 🙂
Hope that you are having a wonderful weekend 🙂 We are off to the park later today 🙂
I always make the mistake of visiting your blog right around lunchtime, and this looks delicious! Great value too, definitely one to try for my friends who are gluten free. Thanks for sharing <3
//teandtwousgars.blogspot.com xx
this looks really good! thanks for sharing this
Gluten free and vegan is no easy feat! This loaf turned out so well, I haven’t tried making bread yet but I love the idea of a nice warm fresh loaf xx
Violethollow.com
My currently GF bread of choice is tiger bread from the supermarket. However, I so miss homemade bread so I may give this a go… Oh, homemade bread straight out of the oven!
Looks yummy! I’ll have to try it out.
xx- Nina
http://www.stylingwithnina.com/2021/01/how-to-wear-red-in-winter.html
£3 a loaf is definitely a great price especially if it looks this good and you know what ingredients are in it. Great job!
That bread look very delicious. Thank you for sharing recipe. I would like to try it.
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This loaf looks great Sophie! I would never have guessed it was gluten free by looking at it. My Uncle is gluten free and would love this recipe- I’ll send it to him!
Eve x
This gluten free loaf recipe sounds great and it’s great value too! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Wow it’s amazing you made a vegan version, I love trying healthy bread.
I cannot imagine bread with eggs, love the idea..
Will have to try this sounds great
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You’ve created such a gorgeous crusty loaf. The photos were so perfect that I wanted to grab the loaf right through my screen so I could take a bite. It really looks that irresistible!
It looks great! My cousin is always on the hunt for GF bread. I’m going to sharing this with her. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! x
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I’ve been into baking bread lately and completely abandoned gluten-free attempts because I failed several times. But now you give me hope 🙂
Lindifique
The texture of this bread looks amazing, Sophie; well done! I love all those tweaks – I am the same when I am baking, (un)fortunately, always looking to use up what I already have and include the ingredients I like (and know work). I am also impressed you keep trying even though something doesn’t work the very first time.