No, this is not a gluten free egg bread recipe. You can find it here. This is an article in which I argue for and against the presence of eggs in bread, specifically in gluten-free bread.
Here is an excerpt from my booklet “Gluten-free for beginners” where I talk about gluten-free bread.
“From my own experience and from working with other people, bread is the hardest of all gluten-free foods to make. Modern bread is sweet, soft, and the taste of wheat bread is unmistakable. If I told you that gluten-free bread would taste the same, it would be a lie. No matter what grains, pseudo-grains, seeds or nuts it’s made from, gluten-free bread tastes different than wheat bread. Only highly processed gluten-free bread with lots of sugar and additives, flavor enhancers and gums resemble familiar bread in consistency, color, taste and shelf life. At first, to make the transition as smooth as possible, you can use this one, but then, after you learn how to make your own bread, from the ingredients you like and tolerate best, you will get used to its taste and you will even discover new favorite tastes”.
Gluten-free bread, a challenge
So, when starting the gluten-free diet, gluten-free bread is one of the biggest challenges. There are now many types of gluten-free bread on the market, but most of them contain many additives to improve the taste of this bread, to make it fluffy and risen, or to make it last as long as possible on the shelf. It is not a healthy bread. And it’s expensive.
When I started the gluten-free diet there was not much information about gluten-free bread. It took me a while to make an edible bread. I’m not complaining, this is how I became Oana gluten-free, searching, trying, experimenting 😊.
There are now hundreds of recipes for breads, buns, loaves and other bakery specialties. Anyone who wants to make bread at home can find the recipe they want. Including on my blog. Most of my bread recipes are egg-free. But eggs have a beneficial effect in gluten-free bread. They are a natural “additive” that makes bread more nutritious, gives it a soft, non-crumbly texture, good taste, and makes it last longer than egg-free bread or bread with chemical additives.
Here are the arguments that support this hypothesis.
They increase the protein content
The ingredients used for gluten-free bread usually have a lower protein content than wheat. Gluten-free bread focuses on starch and fat to help bind the dough together. Commercial bread has added protein from soy or egg substitutes. As we said in this article, soy should not be consumed often and in large quantities, as would be the case if we were to eat bread with added soy every day. Eggs can be a natural addition to bread to increase its protein content, making it more nutritious.
Gives a soft texture
Gluten-free bread tends to be “dry”. The egg yolk contains fat, which helps the bread crumb to be soft and well-hydrated. The egg white is rich in two proteins called ovalbumin and ovomucin. Ovalbumin holds the foam during egg white beating, while ovomucin acts as a gel and helps retain air bubbles in the bread structure.
Softens and colors the crust nicely
When the bread contains eggs, the oven should be set at a lower temperature than for bread without added eggs. This is because the chemical reactions between the amino acids and sugars in the dough and caramelization occur at a faster rate with the inclusion of the extra protein. This makes the crust golden brown. Due to the fat content, bread with added eggs absorbs heat slowly. Adding eggs to a bread recipe prevents the crust from becoming hard.
It helps the yeast in the risen process
Eggs are a risen agent themselves. Cakes that contain enough eggs do not need baking powder, they only rise with the help of eggs, like this sponge cake, for example. In bread, eggs help the yeast in the risen and leavening process. Because there is no gluten network to trap air in the dough, the egg helps adding volume in the gluten-free bread, similar to the chemical process in sponge cake.
They give a good taste to the bread
No other grain, pseudo-grain, legume or nut can mimic the taste of wheat. Some have a neutral taste, like rice, others can be slightly bitter, like millet and some nuts, and if you’ve been eating wheat bread all your life it’s quite hard to get used to a different taste. Lecithin, a fatty acid found in the yolk, “softens” the flavors of the other ingredients, making the gluten-free bread taste smoother and less pronounced. And the caramelization of the crust adds a slightly sweet flavor that also dulls the possible bitterness of certain ingredients.
It prevents the bread from spoiling quickly
The fatty acids in the egg lower the pH value of the gluten-free bread, which prevents mold and other unwanted bacteria from spoiling the bread. It also prevents the starch from degrading, which makes the bread stay soft for longer.
Why not add eggs to bread
It goes without saying that anyone with an egg allergy should not use eggs in any recipe, not just bread.
Those who are vegan and do not use any animal products can also not use eggs.
Who wants a simple bread, only with naturally gluten-free flour, or even from seeds, as this bread made from millet seeds, psyllium bran, yeast, water and salt, can get it quite easily, without the addition of eggs, if they like the strong taste of millet or other pseudocereals like buckwheat and quinoa, or almonds and coconut.
Conclusions
The process of making gluten-free bread is quite difficult to understand at first. But once you master the process, you’ll come to the conclusion that homemade gluten-free bread is much healthier and more pocket-friendly than industrially manufactured bread.
Bread with added eggs is a healthy bread, enriched with protein and good fats, and is very simple to make. You can make your first gluten-free breads with eggs and you will get a soft and non-crumbly texture, a beautifully colored and uniform crust and a not very pronounced taste of the ingredients.
source: here
