Flatbread a la Pita Pockets

I miss bread. A lot. This rice bread available at the store is a. expensive (over five dollars for a tiny loaf) and b. not very good. It's actually pretty good toasted with coconut oil, but that's about it. It is absolutely terrible for sandwiches. So, we've been without bread for a long time. I've grown accustomed to the lack of sandwiches (lettuce wraps or straight-up salads are surprisingly satisfying in their stead).

Recently, though, I stumbled upon a recipe for a GF sandwich wrap bread. With a bit of futzing, I came up with a really tasty and surprisingly easy pita-type bread for sandwiches or burgers. (Real burgers! with lettuce and ketchup* and everything!) We had a nice pseudo-normal summer meal with those burgers and sides of carrot sticks and Better Made potato chips (fried in "safe" cottonseed oil - safe because it does not cause us an allergic reaction; "safe" because it is a GMO crop and heavily laden with pesticides). Better Made chips are also made in Michigan (where we are) so that's a bonus.

* homemade ketchup recipe to be posted soon!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package of dry active yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tsps sugar
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca or potato starch/flour (we used potato)
• 2 tsps xanthan gum
  
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 2 eggs
• extra oil & flour for oiling & flouring pan

DIRECTIONS:

• Proof yeast: stir packet of yeast into 1/4 cup warm water. Stir in sugar. Wait 10 minutes, or until yeast has at least doubled in size with a nice head (foamy top).
  
• Mix all dry ingredients (rice flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, sea salt) and set aside.
• In a stand mixer, combine wet ingredients (1/2 cup water, vinegar, oil, eggs) and mix well.
• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet.
  
• Beat on medium for roughly four minutes until it turns "doughy"
• Oil & lightly flour a "jelly roll pan"
• Scrape dough onto pan, press as thin as possible (fill pan) (oiling your hands first helps keep the dough from sticking to them)
  
• Prick dough all over with a fork
• Allow dough to rise 35-40 minutes in a warm area
• Bake for 10-11 minutes at 425*F - top will be slightly browned

If you allow the bread to cool for 15-30 minutes before using, it will become very soft and flexible. Cut the pan into 8 equal pieces (roughly the size of a commercially prepared piece of sandwich bread) and then slice those like you would to separate the top and bottom of a hamburger bun. Store the bread on the counter in a plastic zipper bag - do not refrigerate as it will get crumbly and stiff. I don't know how long this bread will store on the counter. The longest a batch has lasted in our house is roughly 24 hours.

Yields: 8 servings