Ingredients for Blender Rice Bread
400 grams rice (I highly recommend measuring your rice, but if you don’t have a scale, this is about 2 cups)
1 cup warm water (about 100° to 110°F, so as to not kill the yeast)
1 tablespoon sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons quick-rise yeast (1 packet)*
1-3/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
Sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning, optional
*Editor’s Tip: If you prefer using active dry yeast, proof it before adding it to the blender. Combine it with the water and sugar and let it sit until it’s frothy, about five minutes.
Directions
Step 1: Soak the rice
Place the rice in a large bowl. Cover it with 2 inches of cold water, and let it soak overnight. The next day, drain and discard the water.
Editor’s Tip: In my experiments, I found that I could reduce the soaking time to two hours if I was really in a pinch. But soaking the grains overnight was the best way to fully hydrated them, which led to the best texture in the finished bread. It’s generally considered safe to soak rice on the counter. If you live in a warm climate, it may be better to soak it in the fridge to avoid any chance of fermentation occurring.
Step 2: Blend the ingredients
In a high-powered blender, combine the water, sugar, yeast, salt, oil, and drained, soaked rice. Blend them on high in 30-second bursts until the batter is smooth and the temperature reaches 105°F (taking the temperature ensures the bread will rise properly). Don’t have an instant-read thermometer? You can just blend the mixture until it’s smooth.
Editor’s Tip: You’ll want to use a Vitamix blender or a similarly high-powered blender. If it’s rated to grind grains into flour, it’ll work for this bread. I’m not sure that a regular blender or immersion blender would be powerful enough to pulverize the rice.
Step 3: Let the batter rise
Spray an 8-1/2×4-1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour in the batter, cover the pan, and let the batter rise for 30 to 60 minutes or until it just reaches the rim of the pan.
Editor’s Tip: It’s pretty chilly in my kitchen during the winter, so I proof bread in the oven. I add a small pan of boiling water to fill the oven with steam and bring the temperature up. It’s a perfect makeshift proofing box. (Except for that one time when my husband preheated the oven without looking inside first. Poor bread.)
Step 4: Bake the bread
Preheat the oven to 350°. Sprinkle the top of the bread with sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning, if desired. Bake the bread for 30 to 40 minutes until it’s set and golden. Remove from the pan immediately and cool it on a wire rack.
Editor’s Tip: I’m really into my thermometer, so I always check for doneness by poking the middle of the bread. The temperature should be 205°.
How I Eat Blender Rice Bread
Make a Spam sandwich: You can add any sandwich fillings to this bread, but Spam is my go-to with rice bread. It reminds me of spam musubi in all the best ways. I like to sear the spam in a hot skillet, then glaze it with brown sugar and soy sauce. I add it to the toasted bread along with a few asparagus spears and a scrambled egg (usually cooked like José Andrés’s microwave omelet because I’m lazy and it really does taste fantastic).
Turn it into toast: When I say I’m obsessed with toast, I don’t just mean for breakfast. Sure, this bread totally works when it’s simply slathered with butter, jam or Nutella Peanut. But it also makes a solid fancy toast. I’m talking anchovy butter with radishes, smashed avocados with heirloom tomatoes, or tahini butter with chili-crisp chickpeas. Have some fun with it!
Get creative with grilled cheese: If you ask me, there’s no such thing as too many grilled cheese recipes. This bread makes a particularly good one because it’s so fluffy and soft, which makes the insides feel even cheesier. I’m on team mayonnaise when it comes to making a perfect grilled cheese, in case you were wondering. It’s easier to spread from end-to-end, and creates a crispier, more flavorful crust. But if butter is your thing, you do you.
Related:
I Tried the Viral Salami Cups, and I Have One Note
I Made Chocolate Chips from Scratch, and It’s a Total Game Changer
I Tried the Viral Pizza Caesar Wraps, and It’s the Best Use for Leftover Salad
ADVERTISEMENT
