Perfect Gluten Free + Vegan Bread Bowls!

For as long as I can remember - the one recipe request I have heard from so many was for a real good- gluten free bread bowl. I didn’t put the recipe off per say.. I just waited until I knew I could REALLY do it justice. We have arrived to that moment as this bread is PERFECT.

Its easy to shape & can be made in any size. I recommend either diving the dough into 4 Medium Sized Bowls or 6 Small. (pictured here is the small size- it fits perfectly in a standard soup bowl. You could even make just 2-3 large bowls if you wanted. The dough will bake up beautifully no matter what. To give you an idea I would say it just about doubles from the size of the dough to the time its baked.

This bread is unbelievable.. I’m extremely proud. It has a lovely outside crust with a soft, spongy bread on the inside that doesn’t soak up the soup too quickly and doesnt get super soggy. The bowls won’t break down and leak soup either. By day 2 the outside crust tends to soften up quite a bit but not to the breads detriment- it still tastes really good. The best part is that these bowls will stay soft at room temperature for a good 2-3 days as long as you wrap them up well once they cool. Or of course you can freeze them another day.

Psyllium provides the structure to bread that it needs very similar to how gluten works. It allows allows for more moisture which means the bread gets bigger. Its kind of a miraculous ingredient when used correctly. I’m finding it also allows for recipes to contain less ingredients. It really opens the door to a new frontier of innovation & I’m really excited to go down the path and see what I can create.

Psyllium is a really unique ingredient that has properties to it that I have not found in any other ingredients besides gluten itself. So I don’t think (at this time) anyways that I can recommend a way to substitute it successfully.

Since the bread is gluten free vegan- it only make sense to make a gluten free + vegan broccoli cheddar soup to go with it! So that’s exactly what I did. That soup can be found in the next post! :)

Have you ever heard of the term oven spring??

Oven spring is a magical thing that happens in the oven that bread bakers aim for. IF there is enough hydration and structure in the dough and you put the dough into a very hot oven (preferably on a pizza stone or baking steel) then the moisture in the dough quickly bubbles up and creates a lot of height in the bread in the first 10 minutes in the oven. This then equates to a fluffy bread with a beautiful crumb & lots of perfect air bubbles. Even without an oven spring happening the bread will still taste good .. it’ll just be a bit dense in comparison. I discovered that mixing in too much flour when shaping the dough prevented the oven spring from happening because it reduced the amount of moisture in the dough. This is why I suggest trying to shape the dough using only a few tbsp of flour at the most.

Ingredients (Some of these are affiliate links that earn me a few cents if you shop using them! :)

Better Batter Gluten Free Orginal Blend

This flour blend continues to amaze me. It can do so many things better than most other blends that I have tried. As a result its extremely popular. Around the holidays it tends to sell out everywhere. Usually its available on Amazon and at Walmart. Lately I have been ordering it from the Better Batter website directly. When they sell out- they tend to restock pretty quickly. Check back within a day or two if they are sold out when you look. I buy it in bulk now (Up to 40 lbs at a time) as I cant risk running out. I use it in too many recipes that we love.

What if you cant get your hands on it? This may be the case if you live outside the US. My friend Nichole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring has figured out a mock recipe for better batter. Her version should work great in this recipe! The owner (Naomi) of better batter has confirmed that the mix is similar to the official version.

Better Batter so kindly offered me a 30% off promo code to share with all of you! This can be used as often as you would like for every single purchase made directly on BetterBatter.com Use the code: BakingAngell30

Expandex

This bread is truly only possible because of the magic of expandex. It is a modified form of tapioca starch that was formulated to improve gluten free baking. The word Modified tends to worry people- so let me explain further. Essentially they studied tapioca and removed portions of it leaving only the parts that would allow for it to cause amazing elasticity (aka its name) in gluten free recipes. This flour allows me to get an incredible rise with everything I use it in. It traps the air bubbles in the dough just like regular flour with gluten does! Its honestly incredible. If you eat any processed or store bought foods you have eaten many forms of modified starch. Its nothing new- its just semi new to the home baker. Its non gmo and I typically get it from the brand Judee’s on amazon. Under no conditions can you sub it out for another regular starch.

Outside of the US there is a product called Ultratex 3 I have not worked with it but from what I understand its comparable! I would use that in the exact same quantity as the expandex amount that I call for.

Yeast: I recently learned about a special yeast made for sweet breads. Breads with sugar that are higher in fat have a harder time rising and typically take much longer to do so. Which means that this yeast has some extra oomph to it. Which gives me confidence that it could really benefit gluten free bread recipes. https://amzn.to/3AQPMsZ

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of getting that specific bag- any brand will do. Just make sure that its fast acting or listed as instant.

Sugar- REAL Sugar is important. Its what feeds the yeast and makes this bread possible. I do not recommend swapping in a liquid sweetener as that could throw off the recipe. Please don’t use any keto sugars or even coconut palm sugar. It may not work as well.

Gluten Free + Vegan Bread Bowls

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Yield: 4 Medium Bowls or 6 Small

Author: Brittany Angell

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 52 MinInactive time: 2 H & 40 MTotal time: 3 H & 52 M

This has been one of the most requested recipes that I have gotten over the years. I needed to wait until I nailed down the exactly right texture of bread which has been a long process of trial and error. The bread needed to be really sturdy and rise well without the help of any sort of mold (aka proofing freeform). I wanted it to be crusty on the outside and soft on the inside- but not TOO soft so that it didn't get instantly soggy with soup. I finally nailed down the perfect balance of all the criteria and this may be the best bread I have ever made. Best of all it stays soft at room temperature for a good 2-3 days. The size of the bread bowl you choose to make is completely up to you. The baking times will not vary much- If you go with larger bowls you may just need 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees rather than 25-30. You can make 3 large bowls, 4 Medium or 6 Small. The small size is what is pictured here- it fits in a normal sized bowl quite nicely & holds about 3/4 cup of soup.

Ingredients

• 598 grams of Warm Water
• 14 grams (4 Tsp) Psyllium Husk Powder
• 31 grams (2 Tbsp) Organic Cane Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Fast Acting/Instant Yeast
• 385 grams Better Batter Original Blend
• 50 grams Garbanzo Flour Or Superfine Rice Flour (White or Brown- but MUST be superfine)
• 134 grams Expandex
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Vinegar (18 grams)

Instructions

1. Carefully measure luke warm water to a stand mixer bowl. (a hot temp will kill the yeast). Then measure in the psyllium husk powder & give the mixture a quick whisk until combined.
2. Add in the sugar & then yeast and whisk it together again. If you have used your yeast recently & know its alive then you can skip the step of waiting for the yeast to activate (aka start to bubble and froth ) But If you are unsure you can let it sit at this point for 5 minutes. If you see any development from the yeast you know you are good to go.
3. Add in all of the remaining ingredients being careful to measure accurately. Turn the stand mixer on low until the dough begins to come together then mix on high for about a minute or two. I like to scrape down the sides once or twice to make sure all of the dough is well mixed. Oil a large glass bowl and place the bread dough into it. Cover it tightly with ceran wrap and then cover with a towel and stick it in a warm spot. If its a cold day- then I will preheat my oven to the lowest temp possible (175 degrees) and then turn it off. I place the bowl into the oven- with the door cracked open for 15 minutes then close it. OR, if its a relatively warm day I will just leave the bowl on top of my stove.
4. Let the dough proof for 2 hours. Giving it ample time is important as the psyllium will absorb a substantial amount of the moisture and make the dough quite easy to work with.
5. After the 2 hours its time to shape the dough. Place a Pizza Stone or Baking steel onto the middle rack of your oven (with no racks on top) Preheat oven to 475 degrees while shaping. Flip a standard sized rimmed baking sheet upside down and place a sheet of parchment on top of it. We will be using this to proof the dough- and to slide the bread into the oven onto the baking stone when its time.
6. Important: Use the BARE minimum amount of better batter flour to shape the dough. If you use too much the bread will NOT get nearly as fluffy or springy in the oven. Sprinkle and spread 1 Tbsp of Better Batter on your counter and flip the proofed dough out on top of it. Cut the dough into 3, 4 or 6 equal sized pieces. (Tip: when I'm making 6 I like to gently shape the dough into a rough and cut it like a pizza). After this I use only about 1 more tbsp to shape all of the dough (not 1 tbsp for each piece- 1 tbsp total) with the exception of dipping my hands into more flour to keep them from getting sticky. Knead the dough into smooth rounds (I often do this by throwing/slapping the dough onto the counter to get a smooth surface and then folding the sides under and gently rolling briefly. It is ok if the bottom is not smooth. Place the balls of shaped dough onto the prepared upside down baking sheet.
7. Using a brush or your hands cover each dough ball with a layer of water. This helps restore the moisture to the dough that was lost when shaping and will give the bread a boost when it proofs. I use this as an opportunity to further smooth out the surface of the dough. Then- brush or spray a layer of oil over them to prevent sticking. Gently layer ceran wrap over all of the shaped bread bowls- and cover that with a towel. Place the upside down cookie sheet on top of your preheating oven and set the timer for 40 minutes.
8. Your bread bowls should have increased in size by almost double. Sprinkle a little better batter over the top of each one and using a sharp knife, lame or razor blade cut a design into the top of each bread bowl.
9. If the oven has fully preheated- turn it down to 450 degrees and using the cookie sheet to slide the parchment with its bread directly onto the baking stone. Do this quickly and carefully getting the oven door as quickly as possible without burning yourself. Set the timer for 22 minutes.
10. Next throw 2-3 cups of ice cubes into the bottom of the oven and quickly shut the door again. (I do this within the first few minutes of baking). Most bakers will have a hot pan in the bottom of their oven to throw the ice into. I have found this to be unnecessary as the oven is so hot the ice will evaporate and wont leave a trace behind or harm the oven. The steam created will allow the bread to spring to its full potential size. Do not open the oven again until the end of the baking time.
11. After 22 minutes at 450 degrees, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and set the oven for another 25-30 minutes. Bake until firm to touch- the crust should be crisp. Carefully remove from the oven all of the bread bowls using the back of the cookie sheet. . In general gluten free bread is a bit gummy while its hot and its best to let it cool and set itself up before slicing into it. Otherwise steam will escape and you may end up with your loaf losing some of its spring. The texture will be the very best if you give it an hour or more to cool.
12. Store in the freezer for another day or at room temperature in a sealed bag/or tightly wrapped in ceran wrap once cooled. It will stay soft for 2-3 days at room temperature.

Notes

If you would like to make the bread dough 1-2 days in advance you absolutely can. I would suggest allowing it to do its two hour proof in the oiled bowl after mixing it. Then transferring it to a large well sealed Tupperware container and placing it in the fridge. You can "deflate" it before putting it into the container - don't worry it will proof up nice and big again.

Then whenever you are ready to make the bread take it out of the fridge and shape it. Since the dough is cold it will take more like 1 1/2 hours or so to fully proof (rather than 40 minutes which is how long it takes if the dough is warm and is doing its second proof the same day its made.)

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