Jane Devonshire's Tear and Share Doughball Bread

Jane Devonshire's gluten-free tear and share doughballs are a great savoury bite for your Afternoon Tea. 

Photo credit: Mike Cooper

'One of the best ways to eat these dough balls is with lashings of garlic butter, but I have also included halloumi and the little piquanté peppers from a jar. You can add any flavourings that take your fancy, really.'

Ingredients

Serves 6–8

• 300ml warm milk
• 2 x 7g sachets gluten-free fast-action dried yeast
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
• 375g gluten-free plain flour
• 1 tablespoon xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten, to egg wash

Additional flavours (optional)

• 1 x 225g pack halloumi, diced into 1cm cubes
• 100g mild piquanté peppers, from a jar, chopped

Method

1. You will need a 21cm round, 7cm deep spring form tin.
2. In a bowl, combine the warm milk with the yeast and sugar and set aside for 5–10 minutes until a head has formed, similar to the froth on a pint of beer; if it doesn’t form, your yeast may not be active, so discard and start again.
3. Weigh out the rest of the dry ingredients into a bowl. Once the milk and yeast mixture is ready, add it to the dry ingredients with the olive oil and combine to form a dough using an electric whisk. If the mixture is a little wet, add more flour. Add any additional flavours such as the halloumi and peppers now and incorporate into the dough.
4. Divide the dough into ten equal-sized pieces and roll each into a ball (roughly the size of a table tennis ball). Starting in the middle of the tin, place them around the tin so they form a flower shape. Set aside in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until the dough has risen to the top of the tin.
5. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas Mark 7, and egg wash the top of the risen dough.
6. Place in the oven for 45–60 minutes, until risen and golden. When you tap the bottom it should sound hollow. This is great served as part of a sharing platter or with soups.

Recipe from Hassle-Free Gluten-Free by Jane Devonshire, Bloomsbury.

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