Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Moley, moley, moley!

This week's assignment for HBin5 has proven to be a challenging one. Our assignment is to mix up a full recipe of Gluten Free Olive Oil Dough (page 238-239 of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Dayand to then make 1 loaf of bread, a pizza, and a sesame baguette from the dough. This dough calls for soy flour, tapioca flour, and Xanthan Gum, which sparked a discussion about less costly and more readily available ingredients. That xanthum shit ain't cheap. I read along while a bunch of people started baking and subbing, and then complaining. Turns out this bread is a stank one, with a dough that smells unpleasant and a flavor to match. Not one person who has baked it thus far was very impressed. Therefore, I didn't make a gluten free bread. Blatant disregard for homework is not very me (maybe because I'm a teacher?), but I am not about to eat carbs that I don't even like. My metabolism isn't what it was. Since I decided to blow off this assignment, I went back in time to one I skipped in March: Avocado Guacamole Bread (pages 160-161).

Now, E and I adore avocados, and we especially love guacamole. I had some pretty high hopes for this dough. I made half a batch, spiked it with a rounded teaspoon of cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of cumin, lots of fresh cracked pepper, and a whole avocado instead of half. Then I shaped the dough into buns and sprinkled the tops generously with shredded taco cheese (you know, the seasoned cheddar blend you use on nachos and such). In the end they were pretty and I loved the flavor, but honestly, most of the bang comes from the cheese and cayenne. There is very little avocado or tomato flavor in the bread itself, which makes me think I should double both if I bake this again. I know some people used salsa in place of the tomato, and I think that would have been a good way to go. Ah well! Live and learn, then smear this baby with fresh avocado.

Stop by Michelle's blog and visit the Bread Braid to see the brave souls who actually made gluten free breads!

13 comments:

Tina said...

Well you can't go wrong with avocado...in my book anyway! I think it looks pretty good.

Kim said...

My son is allergic to wheat so I am pretty familiar with gluten free baked goods and they are not for me either. The avocado bread does sound good to me though. I bet it was great with the smashed avocado on top.

Pam said...

Love that avocado! It sounds great!

Petra said...

Great idea to take the chance and to visit one of the missed breads instead. I am gald I made the gluten free but I should have made 1/4 batch instead.Now i am stuck ith a bowl full of dough that I can't get myself to use.

Joy said...

Your avocado bread looks great!

Michelle said...

We enjoyed the Avocado Bread too, it was so nice a moist! However I do wish it was a bit more green in color!!!

Cristie said...

Goodness, really I can't believe that you didn't follow the homework rules being a student and all. I wish I would have thought to post something that I had baked that isn't on the schedule . . . very smart. Your bread looks great.

Bonnie said...

I liked the guacamole bread. I thought it was one of the better recipes in this last bunch. I skipped the gluten-free as I was supposed to be going to Europe and have been getting ready to go. Ha! Darn Icelandic volcanoe. Oh well, I guess I didn't miss much either with that gluten-free stuff.

Femalechef said...

Great job

Jenny said...

Mmm...I'd go for a slice of that bread smeared with avocado. It looks great!
~Jenny~

Cathy (Bread Experience) said...

I liked the avocado bread, but you're right, it could've used more avocado and tomato. Sounds delish with the extra spices and cheese.

Ezzie said...

I loved this bread and am one of those who used salsa with it. but I agree with you...it didn't have much of an avacado flavor...yeah definitely needs double the avacado! Great pic!

Elwood said...

The avocado bread looked so good. It was one of my favorites that we've done so far.