Recipe Number One!

There's this fantastic French bakery around the corner from my workplace, and every time I walk past it, it reminds me that I can't eat bread. Lunch has become either expensive or time consuming to prepare, and is undoubtedly the most depressing meal of the day for a new-comer to the gluten free diet.

This is why my first recipe is for bread. I must hand most of the credit to Dove's Farm for this recipe - I first made the recipe on the back of their white bread flour. However, if you have also tried this recipe, you'll find that the bread is a little bit tasteless. Hence my experiment below:

Pesto and Pine Nut Bread

450g / 16oz White Bread Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Quick Yeast
2 tbsp Sugar
325 ml / 11 floz Warm Milk
1 tsp Vinegar
2 Eggs
5 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Red Pesto
A Handful Pine Nuts

1. Mix together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar.
2. In a large bowl beat in milk, vinegar and eggs.
3. Add the flour and mix to form a sticky dough.
4. Continue mixing adding the oil and pesto.
5. Place the dough in an oiled 1kg/2lb bread tin, cover and leave to rise for 1 hour.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 220C / 200C Fan Oven / 425F / Gas 7 for 45 mins.

I was really pleased how this experiment turned out! Like the original Dove's Farm recipe, the bread only really lasts at its best for a few days, and is nicer warm. However, the flavours make it a great bread with some strong cheddar, or dipped in soup. Yum!

Next time, I think I'll try 4tbsp oil and 2tbsp pesto. I'm also intrigued to see if it's possible to make little rolls in a muffin tin - especially if you can freeze them and they still taste good when defrosted!