Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread (in a bread machine)

I didn’t realize how much I missed cinnamon raisin bread until I found this recipe—and starting salivating. I’ve always liked cinnamon raisin bread, but it’s not like it was ever a staple in my diet. But, when yummy bread is a rarity, the mere possibility of its existence is exciting. And when yummy bread itself is exciting, yummy bread with juicy little flavor explosions (ie. raisins) in it becomes downright drool-worthy.

This is very close to the real thing (and by “real” I mean glutinous) although we may add a bit more cinnamon next time.

(Adapted from “125 Best Gluten-Free Bread Machine Recipes”)

1 ¾ cup brown rice flour

½ cup potato starch

¼ cup tapioca starch

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. xanthan gum

1 ½ tsp. instant yeast

1 ¼ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 ¾ cup raisins

1 cup skim milk

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tsp. cider vinegar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1. Combine dry ingredients (brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, sugar, xanthan gum, yeast, salt, cinnamon and raisins) in a large bowl. Mix well.

2. Add milk, oil and cider vinegar to the bread machine baking pan. Add eggs and egg whites.

3. Select the “Dough Cycle” on your bread machine and gradually add the dry ingredients to the baking pan. (The recipe says to add the dry ingredients once the paddle starts turning, but we have a couple issues with this method. First, our bread machine has a 15-20 minute warming period, which means that the eggs, milk, oil and vinegar would start to bake a little before the dry ingredients went in. And second, if the paddle starts turning without any dry ingredients, it splashes the wet ingredients everywhere, which is rather messy.)

4. Once the bread machine starts mixing, run a spatula down the sides of the baking pan to make sure no flour gets stuck in the corners.

5. Optional: When the bread machine stops mixing, remove the kneading blade. This will maximize the prettiness of your loaf. If you don’t care how friggin’ pretty your bread is, leave the blade in.

6. Let the dough cycle finish and then turn off the bread machine.

7. Select the “Bake Cycle” and set the time to 60 minutes and the temperature to 350°.

8. When the bake cycle finishes, remove the bread and enjoy!