Cooling Longevity Noodles

Cooling Longevity Noodles

This is a satisfying, gluten-free, bread recipe that you can make either warming or cooling by a simple change in the secondary flour that you use. The result is soft and chewy on the inside with a crunchy crust. Unlike most commercial gluten-free breads the main ingredients are not just a list of starches. The bad news is that it has a rather short shelf life. But, don’t worry, it’s easy to make it fresh every day as they do in Ireland.

Ingredients and Equipment: 

Dry Ingredients:

  • 1½ cups white rice flour
  • ½ cup of buckwheat flour (cooling) or sorghum flour (warming)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. xanthan gum

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1¼ cup buttermilk
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted

Instructions: 

Step 1
Heat Oven: Set your oven to 450°F and grease your baking sheet. Put a large, empty pan that can hold water on the shelf below where you will bake the bread.

Step 2
Mix Dry Ingredients: Whisk the rice flour, either the buckwheat or sorghum flour, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt together in a large bowl. You can sift them together or simply mix them together very thoroughly so that the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Step 3
Combine Wet Ingredients: Beat the egg whites together in a medium sized bowl until just combined, melt the butter and add to the egg and whisk in the buttermilk. Stir gently until smooth and creamy.

Step 4
Form Batter: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Spread some buckwheat (or sorghum) flour on a clean surface. Turn out the bread onto the surface and begin kneading the dough very gently until it’s stretchy. DO NOT over-knead.

Step 5
Bake: Form the batter into a ball, dust with buckwheat or sorghum flour and cut an X into the top of the dough and poke about 4 small holes to vent the bread when baking. Transfer to the oven on a baking sheet and pour water into the pan below the dough. Close door and cook for 20 minutes at 450ºF.

Step 6
Turn down oven heat to 375ºF and bake for approximately 20 minutes until internal temperature of the bread is 210ºF. The loaf should be golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Step 7
Cool: Let the bread rest for 5 minutes, then move it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.