Gluten-free Beer Bread

Just look at that bread!  Doesn't it look great?  After many attempts at making gluten-free bread, I think I have found the recipe that rivals a regular bread recipe.  It comes from the cookbook, Free For All Cooking:  150 easy gluten-free, allergy-friendly recipes the whole family can enjoy by Jules E. Dowler Shepard.  This is definitely worth looking for at your local library.  This bread uses beer, ginger ale, or club soda to help it rise, and rise it does!  I used a can of club soda, but you can use whatever you have on hand.  

Ingredients

3 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
    (omit if using ginger ale)
2 ¾ cups gluten-free high-fiber flour blend of choice
2 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if included in your flour blend)
¼ cup dry milk powder, or dairy-free milk powder, almond meal, buckwheat flour, or brown rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated cane sugar (I used regular sugar)
1 (10-ounce) bottle gluten-free ale, sparkling water, club soda or ginger ale, room temperature
2 ¼ teaspoons rapid rise or bread machine yeast
Milk of choice (dairy, soy, coconut or hemp milk), for brushing top
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds or other topping of choice 

Method

1. Grease a standard 9x5-inch loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, apple cider vinegar and honey.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, milk powder, salt and sugar.
4. With mixer on low speed, slowly pour dry ingredients into liquid mixture to combine. Continue beating while slowly pouring in the ale. When incorporated, add yeast.
5. Beat batter until smooth. Then increase mixing speed and beat for 4 minutes. (Mixture will be rather thin and wet, not thick like wheat bread dough.)
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, filling half the way up. Brush top lightly with milk to help it brown. Sprinkle with toppings of choice.
7. Cover pan with oiled wax paper and let dough rise in a warm, moist place for 30 minutes to 1 hour. (An oven preheated to 200°F, then turned off, with a bowl of water in the oven to add moisture, is a good option).
8. Preheat oven to 375°F.
9. Place pan in preheated oven and bake for approximately 35 to 45 minutes. When done, internal temperature of the loaf should be 205 to 210°F. It should be golden brown with a nice crust.
10. Remove loaf to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Gently remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

This is what it looked like in the beginning

By the end of the rising period, it was coming above the loaf pan

I could not believe how much it rose in the oven (again, standard for those who bake with regular flour)

I'll be honest...I just enjoyed taking photos of this loaf of bread :)

Ready to be used...

We enjoyed this bread by making some "Big Bob" sandwiches - my Dad's recipe - toasted bread, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, tomatoes, and lettuce.  Prior to going onto a gluten-free diet, we enjoyed these daily in the summer, but this was our first and only time this summer.  It was delicious!