sometimes you just need to recreate a childhood favorite. red velvet was a cake my grandmother taught me to make, so that she wouldn’t have to. i love its sweet/tart quality and the richness of the cocoa. i started to make a cream cheese frosting but the cake was so moist it didn’t need it.

this brioche is adapted from the recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks,  Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. i wanted it to be really rich and buttery (half and half and sweet butter seriously bumped up the flavor). my cousin took sandwiches made with my brioche to work for a week and never guessed it was gluten free bread. i make this bread every week now for my mom and auntie who are not gluten free.

Gluten-Free Brioche

adapted from “Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day” by Zoe François and Jeff Hertzberg

Makes enough bread for three 1.5 lb loaves

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch (tapioca flour)
3.75 cups cornstarch
2.5 Tbs instant yeast or 2 Tbs granulated yeast
1 Tbs kosher salt
2 Tbs xanthan gum
2.5 cups half & half or milk
1 cup honey
4 eggs
1 cup melted unsalted butter or neutral flavor oil
1 Tbs vanilla extract
Egg wash
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Whisk together the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, yeast, salt and xanthan gum in a 5 qt bowl.

Combine the liquid ingredients and gradually mix them into the dry using a paddle attachment until there are no dry bits of flour.

Cover and allow the dough to rest for 2 hours. The dough can be used now or refrigerated for up to 5 days.

On baking day, grease a 8.5″x4.5″ pan. Break a 1.5 lb piece of dough and shape it into a round. Wet your hands as the dough will be sticky. Elongate the dough into an oval and put it in the pan. You might need to wet the top a bit to smooth it out. Let it rest for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you are using non refrigerated dough).

Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle raw sugar right before baking. Bake at 350F for about 40-45 minutes.