So I stumbled upon the creation of this recipe sort of by mistake, the best ones sometimes happen that way. I was making an Indian feast for my family and wanted breads, but I didn't feel like making flat breads and I wanted something for toasted sandwiches the next day, so I decided to make a focaccia, but to give it a bit of an exotic twist I decided to add chick pea flour, and because I have been exploring the gluten free baked goods again I decided that this too was the way to go. Result? A very quick, very simple bread that is tender and delicious, high in protein, has good amounts of fibre, has that 'to the tooth' factor that many gluten free breads lack, freezes well and toasts like a dream.
So as you can see, this doesn't have the big, spongy holes of our wheaten focaccia, but it is tender, delicious and best of all, safe for all those people who cannot eat such delicacies.
Ingredients
260g gluten free plain flour (I used the one from Aldi as it is cheap and readily accessible and Aldi are good at standardisation, so one sold in Australia should be pretty similar to one sold elsewhere. A word to the new to the world of gluten free though, all gluten free flours are not the same, so if you use a different one check out the texture of the batter at the end of the little video and try to get it pretty close in consistency).
100g chick pea flour (besan)
10g psyllium husk
8g gelatin (you can do without this if you are vegetarian, but it does add moisture, mouthfeel and structure to a gluten free bread)
10g instant yeast
8g salt
400ml warm water (about the same temperature as you)
30g olive oil
5g apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar or lemon juice)
3 egg whites
Into a large bowl mixt the dry ingredients, including the yeast, make a well in the centre, add the COMBINED wet ingredients (everything else) and then give it a really good stir until it is smooth, don't worry about over stirring, there is no gluten here to upset so give it a good bash.
Let the batter sit in a warm place for 30 minutes, then give it another good stir and then spread it into a baking tin that has been lined with baking paper, I use a 24x33cm straight sided brownie pan.
Lovely. Now go turn on your oven, we need this to cook at 195 degrees C fan forced or 200-205 if not fan forced.
Give that 20 minutes to heat fully, this will allow your batter to settle back down and start rising again, then, when the oven is hot, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, sprinkle on a few salt flakes if you wish (I did) and then into the oven.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown, set out on a rack and let cool in the pan for five minutes, then lift out onto a cooling rack and strip off the baking paper before it starts to steam and make the focaccia soggy.
Oooo! That's a pretty thing!
Cut into rectangles and pretty much do what you want with it. If it is to go into the freezer for toasted sandwiches or focaccias I wait until it is cold and then portion it and split each portion open before freezing or it is like trying to hack through rock, if it is to sit in the fridge I leave it as it is and cut as I go to keep everything as fresh as possible. Remember, this is a preservative free bread, so keep it in the fridge and use it within a couple of days, if you don't think you will finish it, freezer.
So what did I do with this one? Well, I made chicken burgers. Want to see?
Yes, they were delicious, yes they were a huge hit.
I hope you enjoy this focaccia as much as we did, even the non-gluten free people in our house gave this one the thumbs up, this makes me happy.
Have a great day, xxm.
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