Gluten-Free Currant Oat Bread Recipe

Currant Oat Bread with cream cheese and jam.

The Folding Proofer will help any reliable gluten-free bread recipe achieve its best flavour and lightest, highest-rising texture.

This recipe is designed to use a few simple, whole-food ingredients that taste great and provide wonderful nutrition. It features whole grain oats, milk, eggs and dried currants, and comes together quickly in the food processor.

Currant oat bread is absolutely delicious toasted and topped with butter or cream cheese, and also makes good peanut butter sandwiches. For a more versatile flavour that is great for everything from ham sandwiches to grilled cheese, simply omit the cinnamon.

Timing: Start this recipe about four hours before serving time. Active preparation time is 20-30 minutes.

*Chia seeds may be replaced with 1Tb xanthan gum.

Currant oat bread makes fantastic toast.

Equipment: Brød & Taylor Folding Proofer, food processor, 12 cm x 22 cm loaf pan (8.5 x 4.5″). If using chia seeds, a spice or coffee mill will be needed for grinding. An instant-read thermometer can be helpful for gauging temperature of the milk mixture and for taking internal temperature of the baked bread.

Soak the Fruit. Using either the stovetop or the microwave, scald the milk and pour over the dried fruit. Cover and allow to cool to about 35 ºC (this will take at least an hour). While the mixture is cooling, grease the loaf pan and coat with GF flour (such as GF all-purpose or rice flour). Set up the Proofer with water in the tray and the rack in place, and set the temperature to 29 ºC. Measure the chia seeds, then grind to a fine powder.

Grind the Oats into Flour. Add the GF Oats to the food processor along with the rest of the dry ingredients (chia or xanthan, salt, yeast and cinnamon), and process for two full minutes, until the oats are powder fine.

Process the Main Dough. Add the remaining ingredients (currant-milk mixture, eggs and butter) to the processor and pulse until combined. Then process the mixture for two full minutes.

GF Currant Oat Loaf Rising in the Proofer

Proof the Loaf. Scrape the wet, soft dough into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. If desired, sprinkle additional GF rolled oats over the top crust and press gently to adhere. Place in the Proofer and allow to rise for 1 hour at 29 ºC. When proofed, the center of the loaf should be a little higher than the rim of the pan. About 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180 ºC and place a rack in the lower third of the oven.

Grind the oatmeal into flour.  Put the gluten-free oatmeal with the remaining dry ingredients (chia or xanthan, salt, yeast and cinnamon) into the food processor and chop for 2 minutes until the oatmeal is finely ground.

Bake. Transfer the loaf from the Proofer to the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, until nicely browned and the center reaches an internal temp of about 96 ºC. (If making the xanthan gum version, bake five minutes longer to an internal temp of 100 ºC). Allow to cool at least ten minutes, then remove bread from pan.