Timtana Bread

So I received a new flour in the mail a couple of days ago: Timtana flour, made by Montana Gluten-free Processors (in Montana of course!).  I’ve been waiting with some interest to see what it would look like and more importantly, what it would be like to bake with.

The Timtana flour comes from the seeds of Timothy grass (basically a perennial forage grass).  What is interesting, is that it is grown as a perennial, rather than continuous annual cropping like most other grains.  Its also packed with protein and nutrients.  Looking at the properties of it, I had some ideas in mind, thinking it might behave much like teff flour in baking.  Nutrient content as outlined on the bag:

120 grams = 1 cup flour

nutrition facts per 1/4 cup flour:

• 90 calories
• 2 grams fat (0 saturated, 0 transfat)
• nil cholesterol
• 0 mg sodium
• 19 gram carbohydrate (5 grams dietary fibre)
• 1 gram sugar
• 5 grams protein
• This stuff also contains Calcium and Iron!

The flour is completely gluten-free, processed in the Montana Processors facilities with no risk of cross-contamination.  Not only that, but the Timothy grass is also grown in fields that have not had any glutinous crops grown on them within a four-year period.  Hard-core attention to detail!!!

So this morning, I opened the bag of flour up, and was somewhat surprised!  Right out of the bag, the flour is much fluffier than most other gluten-free flours, which tend to fall either in the starch or the fine-sandy camps. The flour itself is a little bit nutty in flavour, with a sweet, slightly grassy aroma to it, and a light brown colour.

So for the first round, I figured I would go pretty basic, with bread.  Not too many other flavours as I really wanted to get a sense of not only how this baked up, but also whether the flavours would change much on cooking.  I’ve been thumbing through the new Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and opted to try out a modified and veganized version of the basic gluten-free boule.  I’ve made this gluten-free bread before, with millet flour, and wanted to see if the Timtana flour would provide much loft and whether it would develop a crust.

I mixed up this batch of dough by hand and it wasn’t difficult.  When you make the dough this way, it is quite a bit more dough-like than many other gluten-free bread “doughs”, but it remained fairly soft throughout.  After letting it rest for about 2 hrs, I split it in half, to bake part of it, and stash the other half in the fridge to see what it will be like tomorrow.  For those of you who haven’t tried the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (and you can do a gluten-free version!), you mix up a large batch of dough, let it go through an initial proof, and then store it in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, pulling of a loaf-sized amount as you need it.  It really does work, so we’ll see what happens with this batch with the Timtana flour.

So here’s the bread fresh out the oven — a small boule perfect for 3-4 people with dinner.  I baked this at 450 degrees, under cover for 15 minutes, and uncovered for 20-25 minutes.  The texture of the inside is quite nice — hearty but not too dense.  The Timtana bakes up with a nice crust, which is also aided a bit with the cornstarch I added to the initial flour mix.

The interior is fairly moist (made very few additions to this to encourage the moisture).  The crust is chewy, with a soft interior crumb, which I thought had a faint alfafa aroma.  Where the dough was browned, the flavour is much more nutty.  All in all, a pleasant loaf of bread — Jeff gave this a thumbs up.  I am thinking for the next round I may add a little bit of almond meal or flax meal.

I’m thinking this dough would also make tasty bagels — holding their shape well with a nice crust on the outside.

Basic Timtana Bread (adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day)

• 1 3/4 cup Timtana flour (210 grams)
• 3/4 cup tapioca starch (112 grams)
• 3/4 cup cornstarch (96 grams)
• 1 Tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon xantham gum
• 1 Tablespoon Ener-g egg replacer whisked with 4 Tablespoons water until very foamy
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 Tablespoon evaporated cane juiuce

Whisk dry ingredients together until well combined.  Whisk wet ingredients together, and add dry ingredients, stirring well until the dough starts to smooth out.  Cover and let the dough rest at room temp for 2 hours.  Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks if not using immediately.   Dough will be best if used by 7-8 days.

To bake, take half and smooth into a loaf or ball on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Let the dough rest for 30-40 minutes, and slash the top just before baking.   Put the pan in the oven, covering with a disposable lasagna pan for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil pan, and continue baking for about 20-25 minutes, until the internal temperature registers 205 degrees.  Let cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing.

I also tried the Timtana flour out in Banana bread — post to come as its just come out of the oven but is too hot to slice