Gluten-free, vegan sandwich bread

2 to 2 ¼ cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F)
2 teaspoons organic cane sugar or maple sugar
2 packages active dry yeast (4 ½ teaspoons)
⅓ cup honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup
⅓ cup grapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 cup millet flour
1 ½ cups sorghum flour
½ cup sweet rice flour
1 cup potato starch
½ cup tapioca flour
2 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons sea salt

Tips for making Gluten-Free Yeast Breads (from my own experiences):

1. Measure correctly! Use a knife to level off the flour and check at eye-level when measuring liquids in a glass-measure. Just a little bit too much flour or too little water can throw a recipe off. Be careful with the xanthan gum too, if this is off just a little the results could be drastic!

2. Don't bake when you are distracted or very tired. I know this from experience! Did I add that xanthan gum or not??

3. Make sure your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature. An inexpensive oven thermometer placed inside of the oven can tell you what the actual temperature is. Adjust your dial accordingly.

4. Make sure your dry ingredients are well-mixed. There was a time that I forgot to add the xanthan gum to my French Bread recipe (must have been distracted) and so I added it at the end after I had added the wet ingredients. I had french bread dough running out of the side of the pan, it was a total mess!

5. After the dough has been mixed, be your own judge and add a little bit of water (usually a tablespoon at a time) to get the consistency of thick cake batter. I made this recipe again this past Friday and realized it was too thick (I may have over measured ever so slightly or my ingredients held less moisture) and so I added 1/4 cup more of warm water to get the consistency I was looking for. You would do this with baking gluten bread only you would add (wheat) flour a little at a time. I have found that with my vegan, gluten-free bread adding water a little at a time works well.

6. When rising this dough make sure your environment is neither too hot nor too cool. Placing the bread pan in a warm water bath works well. I simply place the bread pan into a 9 x 13-inch pan and add hot tap water, boiling water is too hot for this recipe. The hot water cools fairly quickly and you are left with a nice warm water bath.

7. You be the judge to determine when it has finished rising. It takes me about an hour, though when my kitchen was very warm one day, it only took 40 minutes. Watch it and when it is doubled in size it is ready to go into your preheated oven.

8. If your recipe fails then take a look at these tips again to see where you could have made a mistake.

9. Though this recipe will stay fairly moist for days, freezing individual slices preserves the bread and makes it very easy to pop a slice in the toaster for a quick sandwich when you do not have time to make a whole loaf of bread. Simply slice the bread and place in between pieces of waxed paper then place into an airtight container in your freezer.

10. I almost forgot one very important tip, do not substitute ingredients. My recipes have been carefully tested and retested in a variety of ways and so using different ingredients could alter the recipe drastically.

If you have tips to share then please share them below in the comments section. Also, I would love to hear your results if you make this. It will help me with my next book. Thanks and enjoy! :)

1. Oil a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

2. Place 2 cups of the warm water and the sugar into a small bowl (a 4-cup liquid measure works well). Make sure the water is the right temperature. If the water is too cold the yeast will not become active and if the water is too hot it will kill the yeast. Add the yeast and stir. Proof the yeast by allowing it to stand for 5 to 10 minutes. It should become bubbly, if not start over with fresh yeast and water. Then add the honey and oil. Stir well with a fork or wire whisk.

3. In a large bowl, add the millet flour, sorghum flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, and sea salt. Combine the flours with a wire whisk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk them together as you are pouring to avoid lumps. Continue to whisk for another 60 seconds or so, or until the batter thickens and becomes smooth. Then use a large spoon and continue to stir for another minute. If the batter seems too thick then add up to ¼ cup more water and mix well.

4. Transfer batter to the oiled loaf pan and gently spread out with the back of a spoon, forming a loaf shape. Place pan in a warm spot (but not too hot) to rise. Let rise for 40 to 60 minutes, or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. After it has risen, bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Let stand in the pan for about 10 minutes. Loosen sides with a knife and place onto a wire rack to cool. © Alissa Segersten 2009. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com

Serving Size: 24 slices? Tried to make it as low of calories possible--not sure if 24 slices is possible, but the skimpier the better

Number of Servings: 24

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user WANNABESINGER9.