A Moment For: The Fluffiest Gluten-Free Bread in Sydney

Bread and butter at a noodle joint isn’t the usual, but we’re glad chef Andy Wirya decided to add it to his Island Radio menu – his rendition is simply outstanding. The rice bread is impossibly aerated with a deeply golden crust. It’s as much a textural experience as a flavourful one.

“We wanted some sort of bread to soak up all the sauces and condiments we serve – but there’s nothing quite like that in traditional Southeast Asian cuisine,” Wirya tells Broadsheet. “After a dozen trials using different types of rice, we finally cracked it – a bread made entirely from Japanese rice.”

The bread is bolstered by sambal-spiked whipped butter. “It’s a recipe I created, bottled and sold during Covid. It’s a blend that’s really close to my heart because it helped me get through that time.”

The bread is free of flour, gluten, butter and egg – so if you go without the butter, it’s vegan too. “I honestly think it’s the fluffiest gluten-free bread I’ve ever tried. What makes it really special is the process behind it – pushing ourselves as chefs to create something that isn’t common and finding a way to make it work.”

Here are all the details.

What: rice bread with sambal butter.
How: “We start by soaking the rice overnight at room temperature, which helps activate some of its natural bacteria. The next day, we drain it well and blend it with yeast, grapeseed oil, sugar, salt and water until it’s completely pureed. This takes about 20 to 25 minutes, warming up to around 40 degrees Celsius to activate the yeast. The batter is poured into a greased pan, covered and proofed at 40 degrees for 10 minutes with zero humidity. Without removing the pan, we crank the temperature up to 195 degrees and bake for up to 40 minutes until it’s golden.” It’s sliced and arrives in a set of three.
Cost: $12
Where: Island Radio in Redfern.

@heyandy11
@island.radio