Gluten Free French Bread or Baguettes

Who doesn't love sinking their teeth into a crusty French baguette? Pasta night at our house wouldn't be the same without it! We love dunking chunks of this bread into a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic and Italian herbs, Mmmm! It doesn't get any better than that.
This bread is crispy on the outside yet light and chewy inside without any gummy texture. Perfect! But that's just my biased opinion. This recipe makes 1 loaf of French bread or 2 baguettes. I used half of the recipe to make just 1 baguette today.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free all-purpose or whole grain flour mix
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1-1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 egg white (can be omitted)

Preheat your oven to 450F
Add all of the dry ingredients, except yeast, to the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to combine.
In a 2 cup measure, add warm water then stir in the yeast. Add the oil and egg white and mix well.

With the stand mixer running on low speed,

 slowly add the wet ingredients. Run until smooth.

Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then turn the mixer to medium speed and run
for a few minutes. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes or so to hydrate the flour.

Line a baking sheet or a French bread pan with parchment paper.

Place a piece of plastic wrap on your counter and dust it with flour.

Place the dough in the center of the plastic wrap and flour the dough well.

Using floured hands, gently shape the dough into a cylinder, then using the plastic wrap,

gently roll the dough back and forth to shape and lengthen it.

Keep in mind the length of your pan.

Roll the dough to the back edge of the plastic then carefully pick

up the plastic wrap and place the dough onto the lined pan.

Pull the plastic wrap out from under the dough and let rise for 20 minutes.

Using a very sharp knife slash the dough several times.

Place the pan into your preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
Allow the bread to cool slightly before slicing. Enjoy!