Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Today I made the most awesome loaf of gluten free bread that I have ever made! (yeah, I'm a little proud of that!) Last week I tried a cinnamon raisin bread recipe, and I wasn't impressed. It tasted alright, but it was dense and not very soft. So today I tried again, and I don't know what I did, but I did something right! This loaf came out beautifully! It baked up perfectly with a nice rounded top (I have never made gluten free bread that kept a nice shape, they are always kind of flat). It was soft  on the inside, not dense or dry. I don't know if I'd be able to do it again, but I'll share with you exactly how I did it.



Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread (dairy free, sugar free)

1/2 cup warm water (110 F)
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 teas. yeast

1 cup raisins
1 teas. vanilla extract
2 T warm water

2 3/4 cups all purpose gluten free flour*
1 1/4 teas. salt
2 1/4 teas. guar gum (or xanthan gum)
2 teas. cinnamon

1/4 cup olive oil
3 eggs
1/4 cup warm water

In a small bowl, or glass measuring cup, combine 1/2 cup warm water, molasses and yeast. Set aside to proof, about 5 minutes. In separate small bowl, combine raisins, vanilla extract and 2 T warm water. Set aside.

Combine dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. To the dry ingredients, add yeast mixture, olive oil, and eggs. Add rasins (with soaking liquid) and 1/4 cup warm water. The dough will be like a very thick batter and very sticky.

Pour dough into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Let it rise in a warm place until the dough reaches the top of the pan. (I let mine rise at room temp for an hour and a half.)

Bake at 375 F for 30-35 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a cooling rack.

*Flour mixture is 2 parts brown rice flour and 1 part starch (I usually use a mixture of potato starch and tapioca starch, but arrowroot was on sale this week, so my mixture was brown rice and arrowroot)