The best gluten free bread, ever. Herbed and apricot cardamom.

Oh my goodness. I stumbled upon Sea's recipe for gluten free rosemary teff rolls. Intrigued, and itching to try out the teff flour I got for Christmas from Dana, I started out. I wanted to split the dough in half once it was made, making one half savory, to be dipped in garlic and herb olive oil, and making the other half sweet. 

When I was a kid, my mom used to get loaves of this great white bread with apricot chunks in it that I've been itching to replicate. That bread was soft and plain, but with bursts of sweet-sour apricot pieces throughout that I couldn't get enough of. I Googled "apricot bread" to get some flavor ideas, and came up with some recipe with apricots, nuts, and cardamom. I didn't have any nuts, but I love cardamom. Every year for Christmas (prior to herself and 2/3 of her children going gluten free), my mom would make a braided cardamom loaf, with large grain sugar on top. This year Dana made one using Bob's Red Mill bread mix, changing things up and adding cardamom, and it was delicious. Sorry Dana, this is what we are having next year. 

I wasn't expecting much. I've baked some decent gluten free breads before, but nothing this close to regular bread. I was blown away. Crunchy on the outside, soft and well, bread like inside. Not crumbly and stiff like other breads. Alex was blown away. I was blown away. Just to be sure, I microwaved a few this morning and ate them for breakfast with butter, and yup, still soft and bread like. Ooooh. 

Apricot Cardamom Rolls

For the original roll recipe go here.

3 eggs

1/4 c oil

1/4 c sugar plus 1 t plus 1 T

1 t cider vinegar

2 t vanilla

1 1/4 c milk, warm

1 t salt

1 T xanthan gum

1/3 c potato starch

1 1/2 c rice flour

1/2 c sorghum flour

1 c tapioca starch

1/3 c teff flour

1 T yeast

1 t cardamom

3/4 c diced apricots

1 beaten egg, for the egg wash

large grain sugar

Combine yeast, 1 t sugar, and milk in a bowl and let sit until foamy. Toss apricots in 1 T sugar and set aside. Beat eggs in the mixer until combined. Add in oil, vinegar, and 1/4 c sugar. Dump in all the dry ingredients and the foamy, yeasty milk, and mix until everything is moistened. Scrape down the bowl, and then turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat for 4 minutes. Fold in the apricots. 

Using two spoons, shape the dough into balls and place a few inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Smooth the tops with wet fingers, then brush with beaten egg. Let rise for half an hour or so until doubled in size, then sprinkle with large grain sugar. Preheat the oven to 375, and place a pan with 1/2" of water on the bottom rack. When the oven is hot, bake the rolls 20 minutes. I made two pans of rolls, if you do that bake them one at a time. 

For Herb Rolls

Same recipe, follow the directions above but add in the herbs with the dry ingredients, leave out the cardamom/vanilla and apricots/extra sugar.

-add in 1 t each of rosemary, thyme, dried onion, oregano, as well as 1/2 t of pepper and paprika. Next time I might mix in some Parmesan and maybe garlic!