Crackly French Bread (Gluten-free, Casein-free)

Combine the first four ingredients thoroughly. Slowly mix in the water, honey and yeast (if you aren’t sure if your yeast is still active, proof it in the water and honey for 5 minutes – if it gets foamy, it’s good to go), egg whites, and canola oil.

Beat with a mixer on medium for 2-3 minutes. It should be a fairly thin batter for a bread dough (slightly thicker than pancake batter).

Divide the dough in half, and put half into each side of the French bread pan, lined with parchment paper, sitting on a baking sheet. You really need to use parchment here, because French bread pans have holes, and gluten free bread dough/batter will drip right through them. If you don’t have a French bread pan, you can try making one out of foil (see the blog post for a link to a photo).

Brush the “loaves” with the reserved oil, if you wish. You can add diagonal slices across the top of the bread, every few inches. They may not appear right now, but they’ll show up eventually.

Allow to rise for about 35-40 minutes, until it is doubled in bulk (but not higher than the sides of the french bread pan).

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, then raise the temperature to 400 degrees for an additional 30 minutes.

Remove pan from oven. The bread should be light, crusty, and make a hollow sound when you knock on the crust.

Remove loaves from pan, and let cool (or don’t, if you like hot bread!) on wire racks.