This is simply a variation of the Gluten-Free Crusty Boule Bread that I posted about back in May. Though I love that bread dearly, the shape of the loaves make sandwiches kinda tough. I had been wanting to make some open-faced chicken salad sandwiches this week (recipes to follow), so rather than buying some terrible, store-bought gluten-free sandwich bread, I decided to experiment with this recipe a little. It turned out beautifully, this bread is the real deal. Crusty, grainy and just plain tasty.  Feel free to add in fresh herbs on any kind, I decided to go without this time, but with how easy this bread is to make, I plan on making it often, so I think next time I may add in from fresh thyme or rosemary.

Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë Francois
Makes enough for one loaf

1 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
1 tablespoon granulated active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water (heated to 110°F)
2 large eggs, at room temperature* (I use fresh brown eggs from Painted Meadows Farm)
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
olive oil
coarse sea salt

*A note about the eggs: The first two times I made this bread I didn’t totally make sure that the eggs were adequately at room temperature, then I read somewhere that making sure they are at room temperature is very important because if they are too cold it will keep the yeast from doing it’s job. So this time, I put the eggs in a lukewarm bath for about 10 minutes to bring them to room temperature, and wow what a difference it made in the final dough.

Egg Wash:
1 Tbsp heavy cream, half and half, or milk
1 large egg yolk

Beat egg yolk with cream.

Directions:
Mix together the brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, yeast, salt, and xanthan gum in the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl, if you are doing this by hand).

Add the water, eggs, oil, and honey to the dry ingredients. Mix with the paddle attachment (or with a large spoon if you are mixing by hand) for a few moments until the dough has fully come together. It will be soft. It will sort of slump off the paddle. Don’t worry. That’s the right texture. Add the rosemary and mix one more time.

Put the dough in a large, clean bowl and cover it with a clean towel. Put the dough in a warm place in your kitchen, then leave it alone to rise about 1 hour. After 1 hour, put the dough in a greased loaf pan and allow to rise another hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°. After the dough has risen a total of two hours, brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 45 minutes or so, or until the internal temperature has reached 180° and the thermometer comes out dry.

Now here is the hard part: Take the bread out of the oven, allow to cool a couple of minutes and remove the loaf from the pan. Let it cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.