New Mum’s Food Adventures

Yes, you can make these without caputo. I would suggest Kim’s Gluten Free Bread Flour Blend from her website let them eat gluten free cake. Her recipe for soft bread rolls would work perfectly for this recipe.

I don’t bother with the beautiful pictures I just take pictures to show the texture and that it works. The image below, I tore off a corner to see if the dough was not only cooked right but if it had the right texture.

I also didn’t proof these. Here they are tucked in and filled seam side down and then baked in a preheated oven at 200C fan forced.

These were really easy to make but the recipe is not only not refined but it relies more on how it feels as a dough.

The Filling:

• Cooked and diced bacon. I used 5 bacon rashers. About half a cup of diced bacon maybe even a bit less.
• Tomato paste 2 Tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon basil pesto (mine was store bought)
• Salt to taste
• Half teaspoon freshly cracked pepper. I use 4 peppercorn mix
• Half teaspoon garlic salt
• Half teaspoon onion powder
• Half teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/3 of a zucchini diced into small cubes
• Optional, a bit of green capsicum. I had two mini caps and added it
• Optional Sun-dried tomatoes in oil. I used Sandhurst sun-dried tomatoes
• Cheese. I used Sheese vegan dairy free cheese so I could eat it without getting sick

Cook the bacon until crispy then cool and dice. Then pan fry the veggies until cooked. Make the seasoned sauce before combining ingredients in a bowl. So 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, teaspoon or more pesto to taste, seasonings and salt. No need to cook the sauce into the ingredients but you can if you like. The sauce should be thick enough to coat everything yet clump the ingredients together. More juice will release from the zucchini so no need to thin the sauce. You only want just enough to coat the ingredients and add a punch of flavour. When the zucchini adds moisture, some of that sauce will go into the bread dough and may cause pockets so be generous when adding the cheese. Add the filling first, then the cheese as desired per dough portion.

The Dough:

This mixture needs to be more about the texture than the measurements. It needs to form a dough that is firm but too sticky to touch yet easy to dust with flour and knead.

• 2 and 1/2 cups Gluten Free Caputo flour
• 1 metric cup of water. That is 250ml you may need extra water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 sachet of instant yeast or 1 teaspoon of instant yeast
• Half teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg. If vegan, Well & Good egg replacer works great. But also using baking powder will do the job just fine

Preheat oven to 200 C

Mix liquids and yeast and sugar together well before adding the flour. If not, the yeast can form little lumps in the dough and not spread.

Add flour and use either a stand mixer or a hand mixer with dough hook attachment. I used an electric hand mixer. Once combined it should be a dense dough that is thick but also still too sticky to touch but not so sticky that it feels like a paste. If it’s too dry it won’t work and won’t be bready instead it can become a gummy dense mess. Use a silicone spatula or bowl scraper and do a scrape and fold. It should stick and be able to form a ball while being too sticky. If not then add more water a tablespoon at a time until it’s right.

Flour your work surface well and have a pile of flour accessible to sprinkle on top now and then. Use the scraper or spatula to carefully plop the dough down. Cover hands with flour and sprinkle some on top and carefully knead until smooth. Form a log of dough and divide it up. I made 6 large buns but 8 might be more appropriate.

You want the dough fairly thick in the middle and not as thick on the edges so sprinkle some flour on your work surface then use your hands and press the dough ball out. Slowly and gently press the dough into a circle about a half an inch thick and the size of a mini pizza. If the centre is too thick then the dough will split like mine in the image and it will behave like a volcano.

Place filling in the centre with cheese and gently pick up the edges and fold and pinch. Similar to making bao buns. Lay the dough seam side down on a baking paper lined pan. Allow spacing up to an inch as they do expand quite a bit. No need to proof but you can if you like. Proofing will result in a fluffier bread. Personally if I were to proof I would only do it for around 20 minutes. Any longer and it might overproof. But you don’t have to proof as the yeast will still rise and react.

Baste the outside of the bun gently with your choice of fat or oil or use spray oil. You could use butter or olive oil or any oil you like really. I used oil but I regret not using melted nuttelex butter. I feel it browns better and tastes better. But the results I got from oil were good. The crust was lovely and soft.

Cook for 30 minutes at first. Longer if needed. Up to 45 minutes. Cool on a cooling wire rack. Mine were enormous. But they were just right for a lunch item. One was enough for me. Hubby had two as he was very hungry. These are easy to make. The only thing that takes time is folding them carefully as they can be too sticky or tear. Just be gentle and slow and flour your hands well.

The flavour of the filling should be nice and flavourful to compliment the gluten free dough.

They’re easy but can be disastrous. Make sure the dough where the filling sits is thick or it can burst one. Two of mine did but it wasn’t too bad but I noticed the weak spots and didn’t bother to fix it. So learn from my mistakes because if I had of used real cheese it would have oozed out like lava. These are worth doing when you’re bored with regular food and feel creative.

Whatever you would put on a pizza, use that as filling. Works great with all sorts of ingredients. Personally I love this recipe without bacon and caramelised onions added. Many ways to do this and it’s easy. But they can also be great party food as you can make them as small or large as you like.