Forgot Apple Cider Vinegar In Bread Recipe...Oops

[Coleslawcat]

I found some Bob's Red Mill bread mixes on sale for $2 at Fry's so I bought them. I am making my first loaf now and realized I forgot to add the apple cider vinegar after it was already rising. I notice vinegar is a common ingredient in most gluten free baking. Any idea if I messed up the loaf? Is there a chance it will still turn out? What purpose does vinegar play in gluten free baking?

Thanks for indulging my many questions.

[RiceGuy]

Well, I wouldn't say apple cider vinegar is in most gluten-free baking, but I have seen it as an ingredient from time to time. Given that it is acidic, I suppose it may have a similar role as the ascorbic acid included in rapid rise/instant yeast. Specifically, the acidity helps the yeast do their thing faster, thus the dough will rise faster. There may also be a bit of effect on the texture of the dough, though having experimented, I can't say there's much effect. I guess there may also be a slight difference in taste.

Overall, I don't think the omission of the vinegar would ruin the results. It may be a matter of preference, as are many aspects of baking, gluten-free or otherwise. I think I've seen recipes with lemon juice too, which would presumably have a similar role in yeast breads. Quickbreads with such acidic ingredients include them for very different and specific reasons, and in those cases it is usually far more important to include it.

[Coleslawcat]

  On 1/26/2010 at 10:41 AM, RiceGuy said:

Well, I wouldn't say apple cider vinegar is in most gluten-free baking, but I have seen it as an ingredient from time to time. Given that it is acidic, I suppose it may have a similar role as the ascorbic acid included in rapid rise/instant yeast. Specifically, the acidity helps the yeast do their thing faster, thus the dough will rise faster. There may also be a bit of effect on the texture of the dough, though having experimented, I can't say there's much effect. I guess there may also be a slight difference in taste.

Overall, I don't think the omission of the vinegar would ruin the results. It may be a matter of preference, as are many aspects of baking, gluten-free or otherwise. I think I've seen recipes with lemon juice too, which would presumably have a similar role in yeast breads. Quickbreads with such acidic ingredients include them for very different and specific reasons, and in those cases it is usually far more important to include it.

I think you nailed it with the rising. The bread simply wasn't rising at all. It did rise after I put it in the oven to bake. The texture was odd, but it was also my first time baking with this mix, so I'm not sure I can attribute that to my error. It tasted awful though, I can't imagine 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar would change that too much. I guess I'm just not a fan of this mix. I am toasting it up to use for breadcrumbs since I don't want to eat it as bread. I have one more bag of mix I bought because of the great price, so I will give it one more chance and make sure to include the vinegar the next time.

[Takala]

Bob's RM gluten-free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix contains:

"Contains garbanzo flour, potato starch, corn starch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, evaporated cane juice, fava flour, xanthan gum, potato flour, sea salt, guar gum, soy lecithin, and a yeast packet "

It has 2 kinds of bean flour in it, garbanzo and fava. Many people don't like the taste of bean flours. They also tend to go rancid more quickly after being ground, especially if they are not refrigerated- hence those bread mixes tend to go on sale.

I've made decent gluten-free quick breads from scratch with fresh bean flour, and remember being surprised at the first time at how it tasted- rather "bread - like" - I'm not in the supertaster group so I don't mind garbanzos. I would avoid fava, it makes some people sick.

In a quick bread, the vinegar is used with baking soda to help leaven it - make it rise. It is also used in many gluten free baking recipes to give the resulting dough a little bit more of both a slightly sour/acid taste closer to wheat, and to make the dough slightly more elastic.

Too much vinegar in a yeast risen bread causes the yeast to fail. Leaving it out of your Bob's mix probably didn't do much except to make the end result slightly more crumbly.

If you are into gluten-free bread baking, you should go ahead and splurge on one of the Betty Hagman books and then adapt those recipes to your tastes and substitute what you want. Some of her recipes have a lot of ingredients but you can leave out or switch them without it being a disaster- for instance, if a recipe called for 1 egg and 2 egg whites, I've used 2 eggs and it still worked. I always put a pinch of spice in my breads, which, in tiny amounts, seems to help the flavor- usually a pinch of cumin and something like cinnamon or nutmeg. If you can find gluten free Chinese five spice powder, a mix of sweet and peppery ginger and anise, that works, too.

[RiceGuy]

  On 1/26/2010 at 8:30 PM, Takala said:

Bob's RM gluten-free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix contains:

"Contains garbanzo flour, potato starch, corn starch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, evaporated cane juice, fava flour, xanthan gum, potato flour, sea salt, guar gum, soy lecithin, and a yeast packet "

It has 2 kinds of bean flour in it, garbanzo and fava. Many people don't like the taste of bean flours. They also tend to go rancid more quickly after being ground, especially if they are not refrigerated- hence those bread mixes tend to go on sale.

I've made decent gluten-free quick breads from scratch with fresh bean flour, and remember being surprised at the first time at how it tasted- rather "bread - like" - I'm not in the supertaster group so I don't mind garbanzos. I would avoid fava, it makes some people sick.

In a quick bread, the vinegar is used with baking soda to help leaven it - make it rise. It is also used in many gluten free baking recipes to give the resulting dough a little bit more of both a slightly sour/acid taste closer to wheat, and to make the dough slightly more elastic.

Too much vinegar in a yeast risen bread causes the yeast to fail. Leaving it out of your Bob's mix probably didn't do much except to make the end result slightly more crumbly.

If you are into gluten-free bread baking, you should go ahead and splurge on one of the Betty Hagman books and then adapt those recipes to your tastes and substitute what you want. Some of her recipes have a lot of ingredients but you can leave out or switch them without it being a disaster- for instance, if a recipe called for 1 egg and 2 egg whites, I've used 2 eggs and it still worked. I always put a pinch of spice in my breads, which, in tiny amounts, seems to help the flavor- usually a pinch of cumin and something like cinnamon or nutmeg. If you can find gluten free Chinese five spice powder, a mix of sweet and peppery ginger and anise, that works, too.

That's correct about the bean flours spoiling. I never buy Bob's flours anyway, since many are stone ground. This creates too much heat, and the bean flours are essentially rancid right out of the mill. Fresh bean flours do not taste bad, though most do taste different than grain flours. Don't know about fava making anyone sick. I probably use fava more than any other, though not much in breads. I don't use garbanzo at all - just doesn't taste good to me. White bean flour goes well in breads if you ask me.

I also agree with the addition of some spices. I like rye bread, which gets a notable portion of its flavor from caraway seed. Adding caraway will help if you enjoy that rye bread taste. I also like some ground ginger in breads, especially when bean flours are used. It seems to help counteract the beanie taste, though again, fresh bean flours are essential anyway.

[Takala]

from wikipedia, on fava beans

  Quote

Health issues

Broad beans are rich in tyramine, and thus should be avoided by those taking monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors.

Raw broad beans contain vicine, isouramil and convicine, which can induce hemolytic anemia in patients with the hereditary condition glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD). This potentially fatal condition is called "favism" after the fava bean.[1][2]

Broad beans are rich in L-dopa, a substance used medically in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. L-dopa is also a natriuretic agent, which might help in controlling hypertension.[3] Some also use fava beans as a natural alternative to drugs like Viagra, citing a link between L-dopa production and the human libido.[citation needed] Broad beans are widely cultivated in district Kech and Panjgur of Balochistan Province of Pakistan and eastern province of Iran. In Balochi language, they are called Bakalaink, and Baghalee in Persian. The elders generally restrict the young children from eating them raw (when unmatured) because they can cause constipation and jaundice-like symptoms.[citation needed]

Areas of origin of the bean correspond to malarial areas. There are epidemiological and in vitro studies which suggest that the hemolysis resulting from favism acts as protection from malaria, because certain species of malarial protozoa such as Plasmodium falcipacrum are very sensitive to oxidative damage due to deficiency of Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme which would otherwise protect from oxidative damage via production of glutathione reductase[4]

[RiceGuy]

  Quote

Raw broad beans contain vicine, isouramil and convicine, which can induce hemolytic anemia in patients with the hereditary condition glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD). This potentially fatal condition is called "favism" after the fava bean.[1][2]

OK, but I think the operative word there is RAW. So, the individual would have to have the genetic condition mentioned, and eat raw fava beans. Thankfully that's not going to happen very often.

I'm sure many foods have substances which under certain conditions might potentially be harmful. One which I'm already aware of is that raw sweet potato has oxalate crystals. But, thankfully, cooking destroys the crystals. However, for those with sensitive skin, it is suggested to handle the raw roots with rubber gloves. Same with taro root.

Many types of seeds and other things have arsenic. But rarely does anyone consume enough to get poisoned. Speaking of which, rice grown in the US commonly has more arsenic than rice grown in India. There is more than one type of arsenic too, so it is important to distinguish between them.

Open Original Shared Link has saponins, which apparently is what makes it so bitter, and it is somewhat toxic too. The leaves apparently can be toxic as well, if one was to consume enough of them.

One which many on this board consume is Open Original Shared Link, from which tapioca is made. It has its own potential for harm also.

Let's not forget all the major allergens too. Truly, if we avoid all foods which might be potentially harmful, we'd starve.

Anyway, your point is well taken, but I'm not worried about eating fava, and I don't think too many people should.