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    As people discover Manna from Anna, there's been a lot of chat and
questions about it on the listserv. We discovered Manna several months
back and been using it ever since. I answered some people's questions
about it and gave them some suggestions, so I thought I'd post the same
info for all others that are interested.

   First of all, YES, the mix is GF. I've had the same doubt, so I
called Anna and talked to her. She is a celiac too and guarantees that
it is GF. The only thing I'll say about it: it contains flour from 2-3
different beans and that makes it high enough in fiber to bother people
that have problems with beans. I sometimes ( not often ) get a mild
stomach ache if I eat too much of it at a siting - not hard to do
because it tastes so GREAT!

   Unlike almost all other GF breads, this one you don't have to
freeze. I keep it, as a loaf, in the refrigerator and it stays soft,
not crumbly and tasting good for over two weeks. I've also made
hamburger buns with it and they turn out great

    I use a cloche to bake the bread in the oven. A cloche is a clay
bread pan with lid. The clay wicks out all the excess moisture from the
bread and gives you a loaf of bread that looks and tastes like it was
baked in a brick oven. For burger buns I use tin rings that I put on
top of a cookie sheet. I butter the cookie sheet, butter the rings, put
the dough in the rings and bake at 350. One bag of mix will make 6-8
buns and one small loaf of bread. I also modified Anna's recipe just a
bit:

 1) Combine:
    1-1/3 cup 'blood warm' water
        3 tsp sugar
        2 tsp yeast (one packet)
    1-1/2 tsp dough enhancer
        1 tsp apple cider vinegar

      mix well (until it froths up ) and set aside for 10 minutes

 2) In a mixing bowl combine:
        2 whole eggs
      1/4 cup olive oil
      1/2 tsp salt

 3) After 10 minutes combine yeast mixture with other liquids already
    in the mixing bowl.

 4) Mix in Manna flour mix ( I do it with wooden spoon ) and mix well

 5) Put dough in greased and dusted cloche - I rub with olive oil and
     dust with some corn meal. Set aside for 2 hours to rise.

 6) Bake at 350 for 1 hour

 7) Take out of the oven, remove cloche top let bread cool down for 10
    minutes and remove from cloche.

Using this technique and the cloche, I get perfect loaves that are 14"
 long, 4-1/2" wide and 4" tall. Very fluffy, lots of great air bubbles,
 and because of the cloche a crust to die for!


Some other suggestions:

  - for a Tuscany-loaf taste, mix 1/4-1/2 cup grated parmegan cheese
     into the dough

  - for a hearty sandwitch loaf: mix the parmegan cheese, some sliced
     green olives and some thyme into the dough! You won't believe the
     result - in my case I eat almost half the loaf the first hour out
     of the oven!

Happy baking ...
Dimitrios, Santa Clara, CA




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